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

A Warning for the Future
Many of the individuals interviewed were optimistic about a future Tunisia in which
Islam could be respected and “referenced” to a certain extent in the Constitution and
political culture. Salah Bourjini expressed his confidence that Tunisia would remain
moderate, tolerant and open (SAIS Group Meeting, Washington, DC, 29 November
2011). In addition, Kamel Ben Younes, of the International Studies Institute and the
BBC, is skeptical that there would be room for “abuses” of Islam in the Constitution,
because the writers would be subject to a high level of scrutiny, and would be moderated
by the internal conflicts among them. Furthermore, he reiterates that the inherently
moderate nature of Tunisian Islamic practice may prevent a drift towards extremism
(SAIS Group Meeting, 25 January 2012).
However, there were a number of Tunisian intellectuals who saw warning signs in
certain post-revolution activities. Khadija Arfaoui saw in the film Persepolis a warning
from Iranian to Tunisian women (SAIS Group Meeting, 23 January 2012). While there
seems to be little danger of an Iranian-style radical Islamist coup in Tunisia at the
moment, the hijacking of democratic revolutions by well-organized religious extremists
is certainly not an unheard-of phenomenon in the Muslim world. Therefore, it is
important that those who construct the legal frameworks in which religious provisions
may be involved take note of the various ways the laws could be misinterpreted, taken
advantage of, or abused, and incorporate as many safeguards as possible.
Recommendations
• Citizenship: Ennahdha should be clear about its plans to construct a civil state,
and firmly apply the law accordingly. They should clearly articulate that
acknowledging Tunisia as an Arab and Muslim state does not require its citizens to
universally practice Islam.
• Religious freedom: The principles of ‘no compulsion in Islam’ but freedom for all
who want to practice within the bounds of democracy resonated throughout the
interviews with the Nahdha youth in addition to the religious youth in Kairouan. The
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