Abstract:

This paper presents the discourse, or more often the struggle, between secularists and Islamists in Tunisia relating religion and the state within the desired democratic system. The movement of 18 October is a landmark in the efforts for constructive work between different political constituents which emphasized that the relationship between religion and the state is not expected to have a ready-made formula; instead, it is the product of a social pact that interacts with politics, culture and economics. The paper looks into the basis or foundation for cooperation, the feasibility of the merger between religion and the state, the timing – before or after democracy takes hold – the focus on form and substance of democracy, its connection to laws, etc. Whereas it may be possible to separate religion from the state, it is not possible to separate it from politics as this requires a dissociation of some devout believers from their system of belief, thus denying their basic rights. There are no guarantees that within a democratic system some groups and parties basing themselves on religion will be against democracy. These groups should remain part of the political system, the solution being to honour a social pact that is based on respecting constitutional institutions, national identity, principles of the republican system and human rights.

Read full text here The state and identity-the relationship between religion and politics – Tunisia as an example

Keywords:

Tunisia

Problematique

State

Religion

Pact

Laws

Constitution

Rights

Democracy

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#centre_for_arab_unity_studies #CAUS #Tunisia #the_relationship_between_politics_and_religion #identity #state

Notes:

(*) Contemporary Arab Affairs, Vol. 6 No. 3, July 2013; (pp. 358–375) DOI: 10.1080/17550912.2013.824141

(**) This paper was originally presented at the Symposium on Religion and the State in the Arab World, convened by the Centre for Arab Unity Studies (CAUS) and the Swedish Institute of Alexandria in Al-Hammamaat, Tunisia, October 2012.

Published By: University of California Press Journals
Copyright & Usage: 
© 2013 The Centre for Arab Unity Studies

(***) Salaheddine Jourchi: President of the forum group ‘Al-Jahez’; a Tunisian journalist and rights activist.

Corresponding author e-mail: saidanadhmi6@gmail.com


مركز دراسات الوحدة العربية
مركز دراسات الوحدة العربية

فكرة تأسيس مركز للدراسات من جانب نخبة واسعة من المثقفين العرب في سبعينيات القرن الماضي كمشروع فكري وبحثي متخصص في قضايا الوحدة العربية

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