Just opposite Fateh mosque on Hurriya Avenue in Tunis, bearded vendors in traditional Afghan clothing stand in front of their merchandise: Afghan chador—covering for women—Nigella sativa plants—granules said by the Prophet Mohammd to be a cure-all remedy— and copies of the Koran.
The scene of indistinguishable women wearing niqab and bearded men clad in long robes has become a popular phenomenon since the revolution last year. Such attire was banned during the reigns of former President Ben Ali, and his predecessor, President Habib Bourguiba.
Just opposite Fateh mosque on Hurriya Avenue in Tunis, bearded vendors in traditional Afghan clothing stand in front of their merchandise: Afghan chador—covering for women—Nigella sativa plants—granules said by the Prophet Mohammd to be a cure-all remedy— and copies of the Koran.
The scene of indistinguishable women wearing niqab and bearded men clad in long robes has become a popular phenomenon since the revolution last year. Such attire was banned during the reigns of former President Ben Ali, and his predecessor, President Habib Bourguiba.
Known as “Salafists”—strict followers of The Prophet Mohammad and his companions, especially with regard to their understanding of the Koran and the Sunna—they have recently become a central focus of Tunisian society and gained the attention of both local Tunisian and international media.
“We are surprised by the overestimated focus on us by the media,” said 37-year old Tariq Shehemi, an advocate of Salafi philosophy who dropped out before completing the second stage of basic education.
“I have never heard news of a woman wearing indecent clothes, but when it comes to the niqab, a big noise ensues. All our actions are magnified and pictured by the media as a war or an invasion.”
Extreme approaches, limited understanding?
Salafists in Tunisia are divided into two main streams of thought. The first adopts Da’wah or knowledge-oriented Salafism and proselytization of Salafism. The second adopts Jihadist beliefs and its advocates are known for their extremist views and leaders who have been implicated in violent acts, most famously the assassination of Shah Masoud—Afghani political and military leader— masterminded by Tareq Maa’foufi.
“Unfortunately, most of those affected by the rigid Salafi ideology in Tunisia are undereducated individuals who do not understand, in particular, deep religious matters,” said Mohammed Qoumani, a specialist in Islamic movements and co-founder of the Progressive Islamic Movement in Tunisia.
“They lack critical thoughts and directly consult religious references and books. Their understanding is merely limited to the so-called “Salafi ideology”, or emulating the ‘good ancestors’ formal approaches, like growing beards and other trends seen today in Tunisia.”
In a report released by the ‘International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners’, which analyzed the files of 1,208 Salafi detainees during Ben Ali’s reign, most came from underprivileged and destitute regions: 46% from northern Tunisia, 31% from the center, and 23% are from the south with ages ranging between 25 and 30 years, and with low levels of education.
Salafists and violence
This past May, Salafists attacked wine sellers and smashed bars and inns in Sidi Bouzid—in southern Tunisia— and Jendouba, in the north-east. In July 2011, they attacked a cinema theater in Tunis to prevent the screening of a movie titled La Rabbi La Sidi (No Lord, No Sir) on the pretext that it doubted the existence of God and propagated atheism.
Following a series of accusations leveled to the government, led by Ennahda—of being lenient with the Salafi stream on the one hand, and the heightened state of unrestrained freedom on the other— the Islamist Minister of Interior, Ali Laarayedh, emphasized that his ministry would continue to keep the country in a state of emergency that began since the revolution broke out.
The education link
Rafiq Aouni, a leader at the recently licensed Salafi Reform Front Party, has based its political, social and economic projects on the Koran and Sunna, and rejects all things contrary to Sharia. Nevertheless, he also stressed that educational levels play an important role in religious understanding.
“Levels of education have an impact on awareness of the deep issues related to the righteous ancestors’ approach, and Islam in general,” Aouni said. “Some young people who have recently joined Islam are very enthusiastic but have limited thinking. Raising their awareness to properly understand the essence of Islam and the righteous ancestors’ approach takes time.”
Most Salafist in Tunisia prefer sending their children to the traditional ‘Kuttab’ (religious schools), instead of kindergartens or nursery schools, where an imam or a Koran memorizer is the teacher who helps children learn and memorize the Koran, in addition to some of the Hadith—a traditional account of things said or done by the Prophet Mohammad or his companions.
Najm al-Din Khuwaildi, who sends his pre-school child to the ‘Kuttab’ said, “I’m free to choose the school I feel more appropriate for my son. Teaching our children the Holy Quran and inculcating the teachings of Islam in them is better than the loose behavior taught in kindergartens.”
Sociologist Ayman Ben Ibrahim says it is only natural that Salafists choose to educate their children in Islamic settings especially since they had been marginalized during the era of Ben Ali.
“The era of the former regime, which persecuted Salafis, prevented them from exercising their rights,” he said. “It generated a kind of repression, which has caused them now to wholeheartedly lead a lifestyle they were barred to have. They now have a feeling that they are fighting a ‘cultural’ war, having to do with a particular way of living, against the rest of society”, he added.
Old traditions conflict with modern day society
Wearing a niqab in the Tunisian University remains one of the most controversial issues, which was later dubbed “Faculty of Arts Crisis,” in which a group of Salafists staged a sit-in inside the faculty in Manouba Governorate, demanding that niqab-clad female students only be required to show their faces to female professors and that a prayer place be established inside the campus.
“The sitters-in are hiding behind the two demands of setting up a place of prayer and allowing female students in niqab to take exams,” said Faculty Dean, Habib Kazdaghli. “But their main issue is gender segregation.”
Dozens of female students in niqab at the time demonstrated in Tunis and raised slogans like “We haven’t stood against your right to wear no niqab, why do you deny our right to wear it”.
Keeping the faith
Sheikh Hassan, a 37-year old imam of Baraka mosque at Hammam-Lif—a coastal town about 20 km south-east of Tunis—holds semiweekly meetings with a number of Salafists at a small house. “I meet with willing brothers very often in a house especially arranged for this purpose,” he said. “I teach them what they have not yet understood about the teachings of Islam, and answer their questions about Salafist interpretation regarding different issues.”
In addition to the niqab debate, common-law marriage is considered one of the most conspicuous issues linked to Salafists, which has become a recent phenomenon in Tunisia, particularly in some popular neighborhoods near Tunis, like Tadamon, Intilaqa and Malasseen.
