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terms of campaigning, the political pendulum could swing toward the secularists. The large problem for the secularists in the political process is that their identity is inherently complex. Their ideas are not easily made into a slogan, quickly understood through something to which the population can relate, and do not easily resonate based on identity dynamics. Ideas need to have either an institutional mechanism, usually law, to explain them or include them within the public sphere. Alternatively or additionally, ideas need to resonate with identity. These are the two ways in which an idea can take on a particular resonance and power within society. The religious side has both aspects for the Arab-Muslim Tunisian. The secular side does not. The Current Diversity of Opinions on Secularism in Tunisia While the organizational and practical electoral impediments are important to explore in Tunisia, the most important in the long term is the ideological divergence among secularists. There are two basic groups, the laïque secularists and those that for the purpose of this chapter will be called religious secularists. Interestingly, anyone with whom we spoke that declared him or herself as part of Ennahdha or more religiously inclined could actually be a part of this latter group. Also important to note is that many Ennahdha leaders discussed their desire to follow the AK Party model in Turkey. While there are many critiques of Turkish secularism, democracy, and the similarity between the AK Party and Ennahdha, the seeming desire of Ennahdha to exist within a framework of some separation between religion and state is important to the viability of the argument of this chapter. Rachid Ghannouchi sees himself as following the path of the AK Party as a moderate Islamic party trying to break the strict secularism of the past while remaining democratic. The secularists should join him in this desire to create a more viable framework for the relationship between religion and state. In an inchoate democracy, it is important to hammer out these ideological differences to form a system that in the long run has a capacity to function for the interests of the country. 44
Laïque Secularism Laïque secularism emerged out of a specific historical process within Tunisia. Latifa Lakhdhar best exemplified this type of secular belief structure through her discussion visà-vis the niqab affair that occurred at Manouba University. She felt that wearing a niqab was problematic in school for academic and security reasons. She stated that wearing the niqab in public places was not a sign of liberty, but rather it is imprisonment (SAIS Group Meeting, 26 January 2012). The way that this idea was construed was not anti-religious, but rather that laïque secularism seeks to maintain the established way of being Muslim in Tunisia. The laïque secularists are against changing the separation of religion from state and seem to believe that this separation brings a more “enlightened” society. Additionally, the sentiment exists that a large part of the religious change occurring is imported from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. These countries fund salafists to come into Tunisia and create a movement toward salafist Islamic interpretation, creating tension within Tunisia. Thus, the shift away from secularism is not perceived as an innately Tunisian phenomenon. Both Professor Lakhdhar and Colonel Mohamed Salah Hedri, a leader in a religious Muslim party (SAIS Group Meeting, 24 January 2012), touted this belief in our meetings. Additionally, Hatem Bourial discussed the fact that there is money coming in to elementary education seeking to shift the ideology in Tunisia over the long-run (SAIS Group Meeting, 25 January 2012). The principal difference between the two types of secularism is the interpretation of religion’s role in society and most basically what Tunisian society should be. Both Professor Lakhdhar and Colonel Mohamed Salah Hedri very much ascribed to the historical tradition of the Malikis. However, Professor Lakhdhar felt very strongly about the importance of women’s rights and the historical process that liberalized and secularized Tunisia. Important for these laïque secularists is that secularism is not a rejection of religion, but a separation of religion from the public sphere. It is the idea that there is a separate civil code that has emerged, which should be the basis of law-making. In this sense, there is a high importance of the Tunisian social contract whereby the rights of religious minorities are protected. The result of laïque secularism, however, is 45
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Johns Hopkins University School for
Page 7 and 8: Acknowledgements We are most gratef
Page 9 and 10: List of Acronyms AKP Adalet ve Kalk
Page 12 and 13: xii
Page 14 and 15: proposed goal (as in the previous e
Page 16 and 17: democracy is a continual testing pr
Page 19 and 20: What’s in a Revolution? The timin
Page 21 and 22: limited to Tunisia, these vivid dep
Page 23 and 24: political system before any of the
Page 25: discontent of so many in Tunisia wh
Page 28 and 29: eality,” signified by Tunisian pe
Page 30 and 31: mantra sparked the Kasbah sit-ins r
Page 32 and 33: in early January of 2011, you would
Page 34 and 35: independence from the Ottoman Empir
Page 36 and 37: ack to the 1970s (SAIS Group Meetin
Page 39 and 40: Two Tunisias: How A Revolution Whic
Page 41 and 42: continued to cite statistics claimi
Page 43 and 44: inequality were most severe. Combat
Page 45 and 46: in government could drop precipitou
Page 47: for bold political leadership in Tu
Page 50 and 51: History of Secularism in Tunisia In
Page 52 and 53: 1) Freedom to form and to join orga
Page 54 and 55: Source: Stepan, Alfred C. “Religi
Page 58 and 59: that in practice many people who es
Page 60 and 61: Short-term • Secular parties must
Page 63 and 64: Islamism and Laïcité in the Tunis
Page 65 and 66: girl, a high-achieving student at h
Page 67 and 68: laws are either supported directly
Page 69 and 70: and she argues that he, like many s
Page 71 and 72: during exams, preventing other stud
Page 73 and 74: Constituent Assembly should keep th
Page 75 and 76: Women’s Rights in Tunisia: A “N
Page 77 and 78: dismiss the question as a non-issue
Page 79 and 80: In immediate post-revolutionary Tun
Page 81 and 82: Others express concern about the va
Page 83 and 84: something every Tunisian boy does n
Page 85 and 86: Mr. Ghannouchi is equally surprised
Page 87 and 88: Mr. Hedri showed concern over the l
Page 89: has occurred in response to politic
Page 93 and 94: The Post-Transition Constitutional
Page 95 and 96: Theoretical Literature While there
Page 97 and 98: Tunisian Case Following Ben Ali’s
Page 99 and 100: parties. With the internal arrangem
Page 101 and 102: issues of unemployment, reduced cor
Page 103 and 104: Recommendations • NCA and politic
Page 105 and 106: Political Party Development Amy Ham
Page 107 and 108:
experience and expertise, will be k
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with Laryssa Chomiak, SAIS group me
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epresented a complete departure fro
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To some extent, the focus on the qu
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• Enhance the legitimacy and enfo
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Ennahdha and the Salafis Roberta Lu
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The trial against Nabil Karoui, the
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Some Possible Explanations The hesi
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the salafist movement Al-Salafiya A
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violence, to lay the bases for a ne
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Tunisian Civil Society Before and A
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Bourguiba,” Bellin points out,
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nip in the bud any challenges to pa
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“training-of-trainers” (ToT) ev
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The focus of civil society groups i
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economic development in Tunisia. Th
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The Tunisian Youth Fallout: A Look
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that they found voting to be the mo
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head (Dégage, 2011). It should the
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graduates are unemployed (SAIS Grou
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to participate as a citizen in a de
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are rumored to consist only of 3,00
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Medium-term • At some point, the
Page 153 and 154:
Part III: Security, Justice and Eco
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The Role of the Military in Post-Be
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insufficient to prevent the demonst
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disruptions during voting, the tota
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This is in sharp contrast to the mi
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Recommendations While the military
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Internal Security and Reform in Tun
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The Implements of Repression There
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undesirable organizations, stifle d
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evolution, many police, especially
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A Way Forward: Policy Reforms At pr
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Transitional Justice and National R
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Those released therefore included p
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The current situation in many ways
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circulating that the informal strik
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the commercial interests of the ban
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and clear limits to police behavior
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Addressing Unemployment Rebekah Cha
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The forecasting is based on the ass
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of its revolution. This has had a c
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Boosting the Tourism Sector The tou
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absorb all of the university gradua
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language and technology skills, whi
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Understanding Unemployment in Tunis
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ather than shifts from low to high
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Figure 2: Unemployment by age and e
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the Tunisian economy. Thus, creatin
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• Encourage entrepreneurship: Tra
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U.S. Assistance in Tunisia Cody Die
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cultural differences that may inhib
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the Constitutional Assembly in Tuni
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order to receive these funds over o
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and access to jobs in Libya for Tun
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Conclusion P. Terrence Hopmann The
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the domination of the salafis and o
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well educated, but under or unemplo
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persons, a huge contingent for such
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List of Interviewees Washington DC,
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• Salah Bourjini, former division
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• Ahmed Ibrahim, Secretary of the
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Bibliography Abouzeid, Rania. 21 Ja
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Cook, Steven A. 20 January 2011.
Page 237 and 238:
Le Monde. 25 January 2011. “Tunis
Page 239 and 240:
Silver, Vernon. 12 December 2011.
Page 241:
World Bank. 2004. “Dynamique de L
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