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

and she argues that he, like many scholars are currently doing, must permit a modern reinterpretatation
of Islamic texts (SAIS Group Meeting, 26 January 2012).
Ahmed Ibrahim, of the Pole Démocratique et Moderniste, further expands upon
the skepticism of the idea of a true marriage of Islam and democracy. He states that the
country should be founded on a basis of citizenship and questions the legitimacy of
Ennahdha’s victory, arguing that their success was due to the dispersal of secular interests
among multiple parties, which have now succeeded in establishing a unified opposition.
While Ennahdha itself- may not genuinely be supportive of the salafists, he fears that the
state will hesitate to assert the rule of law on the street, and the extremists will be able to
impose their way of life in a “politique du fait accompli.” He sees the need for a
consensus on how Tunisians describe themselves and their enduring identity: religious to
varying degrees in their personal and public lives without over-emphasis on the barrier
between the two, and without judging or defining themselves too strictly (SAIS Group
Meeting, 25 January 2012).
Progressive Pragmatists
In addition to those publicly active individuals who are supportive of the idea of
institutionalizing Islam in the Tunisian democracy and those who are fiercely opposed,
there is a group of people who approach this issue from a pragmatic perspective. While
embracing the idea of a truly democratic Tunisia, these individuals acknowledge the
deeply rooted place of Islam and Muslim identity play in Tunisian culture while arguing
for a progressive evolution and re-interpretation (ijtihad) of what Islam and secularism
mean in the Tunisian context. Hatem Bourial discusses the importance of retaining an
authentic Tunisian identity, as opposed to defining oneself first as Arab and Muslim and
thereby “dealing on a political scale” with the Arab and Muslim world. He notes that
Tunisia has historically been a moderate country in terms of its practice of religion and its
treatment of its previously significant minority populations, and this history of
moderation should be preserved. Most importantly, instead of attacking secularism or
Islamism as they are understood today, he argues for a new and specifically Tunisian way
of being secular. He feels that the debate and lack of consensus over what it means to be
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