The National Union for Religious Frameworks in Tunisia—a union of imams and preachers—are planning a one-day strike on the first day of Eid al-Adha (Islamic celebration commemorating the Prophet Abraham) under the slogan ‘Which Eid are you talking about?’
“We took this decision the backdrop of the confiscation of mosques by some religious extremists and those who provoke sedition and sectarianism among the Tunisian people,” said Fadhel Ben Achour, the Union’s President.
The National Union for Religious Frameworks in Tunisia—a union of imams and preachers—are planning a one-day strike on the first day of Eid al-Adha (Islamic celebration commemorating the Prophet Abraham) under the slogan ‘Which Eid are you talking about?’
“We took this decision the backdrop of the confiscation of mosques by some religious extremists and those who provoke sedition and sectarianism among the Tunisian people,” said Fadhel Ben Achour, the Union’s President.
Ben Achour said the strike aimed at finding solutions to the social and financial status of imams and preachers. The union is expecting 1700 mosques, out of 5000, to participate in the strike.
Religious strike perturbs many
Activists on social networking sites said that this is a very “unprecedented”, “bizarre” and “absurd call in the Arab and Muslim worlds.”
Facebook pages affiliated with the Islamists, accused the imams’ union of using the Tunisians’ religious feelings to serve the aims of the opposition and the General Union of Tunisian Workers in order to overthrow the government.
Historic background
The union, which was founded after the revolution, threatened a hunger strike to be launched by the imams and preachers during the month of Ramadan this past August because their professional status has still not been settled and because of the constant change of the mosques’ imams.
However, the union postponed the strike after many promises made by the supervisory authority, which stressed the need to negotiate the union’s demands. Ben Achour accused the government of ”avoiding negotiating with the union around the negotiation table many times, and of delaying the implementation of the demands.”
The union is asking the Tunisian government to activate the basic law of the religious framework in a way that guarantees their social and financial rights and protects the religious system against partisan and political exploitation.
The union says that the Tunisian government has pledged to expel every imam or preacher who calls for sedition, sectarianism and divisions among the Tunisian people. ”Some of the mosques have become platforms for calls for sedition and for the demonization of the General Union of the Tunisian Workers and the opposition,” said Ben Achour.
The union plans to file a lawsuit against Noureddine Alkhadami, the Minister of Religious Affairs on December 25, 2013, for what the union considers negligence by the ministry to impose control on religious institutions (houses of worship and mosques). According to him, ”this has contributed to the growing methodological politicized speeches, especially those related to the issue of Jihad in Syria.
On the other hand, Sadik Arfaoui, Advisor to the Minister of Religious Affairs, denied the existence of a national union for religious frameworks in Tunisia. He said that the ministry has filed a lawsuit against Ben Achour “because he is claiming that he heads a union that does not exist. No one can take a strike decision in mosques, not even the government itself.”
A risk alarm
The mosques in the era of the ousted president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, were under a control and monitoring system for fear of a coup against the regime. They were the mouthpiece of the ruling party. But most of these mosques today have become a space for the mobilization of the Tunisian youth for jihad in hotbeds of tension all over the world. This has provoked civil society organizations in Tunisia who have criticized the government for not seriously interfering with volatile mosques.
A report issued by the committee responsible for monitoring the workflow inside mosques revealed that “the situation in the mosques is very serious.” The report rang an alarm bell and said that there is a real threat of a disastrous situation in the country if the government interventions continue to be slow in resisting extremism and the calls for violence lauded by the mosques.
The report, which has monitored the conditions of mosques from 2011 until 2013, revealed that the number of attacks on religious personalities by militants and outlawed groups has exceeded 1060 attacks and the number of political and partisan speeches in mosques has reached 1300.
Imams and worshipers filed around 6000 complaints expressing their condemnation of provocative speeches and behaviour by aggressors. Moreover, the number of mosques out of any government control during the same period has reached 216 mosques.
Noureddine Alkhadami, the Tunisian Minister of Religious Affairs, revealed upon assuming office in November 2011 that the number of mosques that had been seized by Islamist militants in the wake of the revolution during the period of lawlessness reached 1100, while the number of mosques that have witnessed unrest is 2200 mosques.
Amid accusations by the opposition and the Union of Tunisian Workers of attempts to politicize mosques, Alkhadami said in September 2013 that the number of mosques seized after a year and a half was only around 100 mosques. He added that “the status of these mosques will soon be resolved and this will most likely happen before the end of the current year.”
