Eight 8 after the Arab Spring,

Eight years after it launched the arab spring, Tunisia is still—by contrast. Tunisia’s case in the
minds of most Westerners broadly, is portrayed as the cradle of democracy the freedoms,
guaranteeing free opinion and rights for all citizens of different affiliations, but I believe that this
portrayal is exaggerated and contrary to what is happening inside the country. A citizen who is
deeply rooted in the fundamentalism that has prevailed over the past fourteen centuries has seen that
the simplest rights and freedoms in his life can’t be reached because of the brutality of the
intellectual repression that is imposed on him.
After the revolution and the constitutional amendment, Tunisia has moved forward toward
modernity for external cosmetic purposes, then return to internal purposes in order to maintain
positions. The 2014 constitution begins with the name of God and ends with “God is the guarantor
of success.” It represents an expression of “commitment to the teachings of Islam,” Recognition of
the Arab-Islamic identity. Article 1 of the Constitution states that Islam is the religion of the state,
despite the presence of Jewish citizens in Tunisia for more than 2,500 years, as well as Christians,
Baha’is, Druze, and nonreligious people. These minorities are prevented from running for president.
They are constitutionally restricted to those who hold “Tunisian nationality since their birth” and
“Religion of Islam” in article 74.
The state is a sponsor of religion, guaranteeing the freedom of belief and conscience and the
practice of religious rites guaranteeing the neutrality of mosques and places of worship and the
employment of parties, and is committed to spreading the values of moderation and tolerance,
protecting holy sites and preventing them from being destroyed! It is also committed to preventing
acts of atonement and incitement to hatred and violence. This is the sixth chapter of the constitution,
which claims to be free, tolerant, and integrated, but within it the state is given the right to select the
sacred and a justification for the laws of blasphemy and the current criminalization of any criticism
of Islam.
The charge for insulting the sacred in its old form led to the judgment of two people for seven years
and a fine after the publication of a book entitled Illusions of Islam, in addition to the forced
displacement of Jalal Brik because of the videos he publishes about Islam and the violation of the
Ministry of Defense and Presidency; he is still in exile.
Religious freedom is often restricted in the name of protecting the rights of the three parties,
national defense, and public security. We return to the formality of what is said about the state
governorate on the neutrality of mosques and places of worship. The government subsidizes
mosques and pays the salaries of imams, while the rest of the role is not entitled to the restoration
and repair; the pioneers are doing this. In addition to this chapter, it is governed internally by old
decrees and pamphlets, some dating back to 1981, allowing the state to close cafés and restaurants
in Ramadan despite the demonstrations of secularists who refuse to interfere in the citizen’s choices
of fasting or not.
We also recall Nuha Bashini, who was deposited to a psychiatric hospital under a court order after a
complaint filed by her father based on her belief, which was considered by the hospital doctor to be
contrary to social norms! Despite the constitutional processes of Western modernity, the state has
not made any effort to activate education in parallel; it still has many distinctions between the sexes
and most among the religious minorities. Islamic religious education is compulsory in governmental
schools. Courses about Islam are offered approximately one hour per week, and the religious
curriculum for high school students also includes the history of Judaism and Christianity. The
government allows other religious groups to educate in private schools. Moreover, Tunisian law
does not guarantee any sexual freedoms but criminalizes and punishes them on the basis of religious legislation that is not free in any way, such as homosexuality described as “sodomy and
lesbianism,” punishable by three years’ imprisonment according to chapter 230.
It is regrettable that the laws of rights and freedoms are in a situation that is not in force and is
reflected in internal decisions and pamphlets that politicians use to cover their secular appearance in
the eyes of the international community and maintain their popularity among the fundamentalists.