Tunisia: Understanding Conflict 2012 - Johns Hopkins School of ...

Islamism and Laïcité in the Tunisian Constitution
Jennifer Nath
Islam—the freedom to publicly practice it, or the fear of too much of it—was discussed
or alluded to by almost all the individuals and groups who shared their experiences,
expertise and vision for their country’s future with our group from SAIS. While the
emotional salience of religious freedom was a constant theme throughout the discussions,
how such a demand would be practically implemented and the very definition of what it
means to be “islamist,” “secular,” and “laïque” lacks consensus in today’s post-Ben Ali
Tunisian society.
As of the writing of this chapter, Tunisia has voted for both a new government,
tasked with running the basic bureaucracy of the country, and a Constituent Assembly,
whose job is to write a new, democratic constitution. While three parties currently
comprise a leadership coalition in the Constituent Assembly, the Islamist party,
Ennahdha, has earned the largest number of votes. Their appeal to Tunisian voters lay not
only in their promise of freedom for public religious expression for practicing Muslims,
but from the fact that they were long-suffering victims of Ben Ali. Their survival as an
underground movement gave them political legitimacy and emotional credibility in the
eyes of many Tunisians. Furthermore, Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of Ennahdha, has
promised to safeguard the rights of women enshrined in the Personal Status Code,
promote tourism, end corruption and improve the economy, among other things.
However, their mandate is only one year long—at the end of about a year, regardless of
the state of the new constitution and country, elections will be held again to grant power
to a new group of leaders within a more permanent political structure. With a mandate
made heavy by high unemployment, 700,000 educated young people, and little aid,
Ennahdha has a difficult job, and risks paying a high price for failure.
This chapter will explore and discuss the debate surrounding the place of Islam in
the development of democracy in Tunisia, focusing on how it may be reflected in the new
constitution. Because the project of “the marriage of Islam and democracy,” as
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