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2012-08-03

Religiosity on the rise in post-revolution Tunisia

By Monia Ghanmi for Magharebia in Tunis – 03/08/12

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Tunisia has witnessed a surge of religiosity within society following the liberation of mosques and the support of religious freedom.

According to a recent opinion poll by Sigma Conseil and daily newspaper Al Maghreb, 87 per cent of Tunisians were interested in religion.

The poll also revealed the adherence of a large number of Tunisians to religious rites in accordance with the Maliki Sunni school of law. Nearly two-thirds of Tunisians perform the five daily prayers regularly, half at home and the other half in mosques.

The poll also found that two-thirds of Tunisians fast the entire month of Ramadan, as well as on some other religious occasions. Only 10 per cent of

Tunisians said they rarely fast or do so for only a few days during Ramadan. The number of Tunisians performing the Umrah (minor pilgrimage) also increased after the revolution, according to the religious affairs ministry.

The poll concluded that the importance of religion in Tunisian life varies according to age groups. It is higher for those who are over 55 years of age and lower for those less than thirty-years-old. The poll revealed also that women were more religious than men.

The month of Ramadan represents one of the most important events exemplifying the spread of religiosity across Tunisia. Worshiping increases during this month and mosques experience throngs of people, especially on Fridays and during the Taraweeh prayers.

Sami Akrout, a youth enthusiastic to perform his religious duties, said: "I have prayed regularly since I was almost four years old and I did notice that there is a strong resurgence of religiosity, especially among young people."

Ali Ibn Amor is another young student keen to perform his religious rites, despite the time constraints and the temptations of youth.

"Religious duties are my priority in life before everything else. This practice guides me to work hard and well, to be tolerant and to maintain high morals," he said.

The number of women praying in mosques has also increased, despite the many burdens borne by each one of them during the holy month. Some make sure to accompany their husbands while others accompany their friends.

"We know that the prayers of Taraweeh are not obligatory, yet their performance is rewarded by God," commented Aisha Bouraoui, a woman in her forties. "I make sure during this month not to miss a single one of these prostrations." She added that most women in her neighbourhood go to mosques to pray.

Salwa Jabnoun began praying Taraweeh in the mosque three years ago. "I have discovered that being present for Taraweeh prayers in a mosque gives the power of faith and a great sense of happiness and peace of mind which reflect positively on behaviour," Jabnoun said.

But for some Tunisians, religious practices are tied to important holidays. Alaeddine Yahiaoui said that he only practices his faith truthfully during Ramadan.

"I know that fasting in Ramadan is one of the most important acts of worship that gives the believer God's reward. It is also an opportunity to accustom oneself to staying away from sin and from illicit acts," Yahiaoui added.

In spite of the many manifestations of religiosity in society after the revolution, some perceive this to be superficial.

"Unfortunately, religion has become a form and not behaviour," Raouf Hamaid said. "In appearance, there is an increase in the number of religious people and attendees of mosques. In reality however, there is a decline in ethics and good behaviour."

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  1. Anonymous_thumb

    الإسلام هو الحل 2012-12-26

    The law of God is all just, beneficial and merciful. “Should not He Who has created know? He is the Most Kind and Courteous and Knowledgeable. God the Almighty is more merciful to His servants than a mother to her child. As for the tyrannical positive laws and systems, they produce only evil, injustice and loss. There are innumerable examples about this here and there. You can also feel the big difference between our situation when the sharia law was implemented and our fate under imported regimes: socialism, capitalism, democracy and secularism. Omar, God bless him, used to say “If a ewe stumbles in the Euphrates River, Omar will be held accountable for it on the Day of Judgement and asked why the road wasn’t paved for it.” He used to hold his shirt even though he was the caliphate of Muslims. He used to sleep under the trees. When a man looking for him would find him, he would say “you were just, so you made sure you established security and then slept”. When Omar would pass a shepherd he would tell him “o shepherd!” An the shepherd would reply “yes, you are our shepherd.” Omar would reply “I passed by a river more fertile than your river!” Governance is a trust and commitment. But when religion got lost, some considered presidency like a gain. The Islamic state used to take care of all its citizens when they become old, incapable of working and earning a living. It offered them adequate housing, food, drinks and clothes. Alms and donations were sufficient from the rich to the poor in establishing security and prosperity. Secondly, the caliphate is established to implement religion and life policy. It is misery for those who sold their religion for an ephemeral ungrateful life. This misery is even greater for someone who sold his religion for the life of others. We are all sure that there is no reform without returning to religion and implementing the sharia of God the Almighty in all aspects of life, political, economic, social and moral be it public or private life. The Muslim is the individual who loves his homeland the most, cares for it and has its interest at heart. He stays away from false allegations promoted by democrats, secular and atheists. Islam is the solution. Thanks to it, we will secure happiness in this life and the afterlife.

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  2. Anonymous_thumb

    lol-)* 2012-8-13

    “The poll sheds light on Tunisia’s reality”? Yet, given how complex these recent times are, a survey is not entitled to shed light on anything; it is an invention – yet another one – by the Western pseudo-democracies to manipulate the public and weigh the dice even further for their late democracies. They manipulate all the technical elements of the poll to the point of making it say whatever the funder / commander wants to hear. All of this is nothing but a manipulation: the choice of who is polled and the people polled are indirectly involved all the way to the context and the way in which the questions and other, more sophisticated elements are formulated. Polls are one of the tools of manipulating public opinion, and are always presented at an opportune time, before an election or any other event. The citizens know that they must beware of polls, whose insides are never exposed to these same public opinions that they target. Polls, like many other means of manipulating democracy or whatever is being claimed to be a democracy, therefore lose any interests that they should be due. Anonymous is the latest person to dare to mention a survey to support his argument, which is in any case lame.

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  3. Anonymous_thumb

    Tounsi 2012-8-10

    Anonymous is nothing but a propagandist for Ennahda, who takes to hiding and does not have the courage of his convictions. Of course, opportunism does not show itself! But, there is no need to take the Tunisians for idiots. The wheel keeps on spinning and tomorrow will be another day!

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  4. Anonymous_thumb

    zinzin 2012-8-8

    Open a dictionary before writing such nonsense! What school of journalism teaches that a step backward is a revolution? Religious government in 2012 is a disgrace!

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  5. Anonymous_thumb

    Anonymous 2012-8-7

    To lo7 – Since you love numbers and riddles and have a sense of humour on top of that, I too am going to offer you an explanation. In the first half of this year, the number of tourists in Tunisia increased 41% compared to the same period the previous year, which is to say there were about 700,000 more tourists. The total number of tourists who arrived during the first months of this year was around 2.5 million. Tunisia has therefore become popular again. This should certainly make you happy and make you proud because it helps the national economy and sweeps the anti-Tunisian propaganda coming from some people who want to scare the tourists. I suppose that not all of these tourists are drinking beer, but anyway … When the number of persons increases 41% and the consumption of beer increases only 20%, it is a little disappointing for the beer manufacturers. But, if you think that the consumption still has increased, I offer you another explanation: after Ben Ali and his Trabelsis fled, their mafioso accomplices could not leave the country. I think the fall of the regime had to be a tragedy for them because the time of their privileges was over. Given their lifestyle, I would not be surprised if they were drowning their sorrows in beer. There is a logical explanation for everything.

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  6. Anonymous_thumb

    فلة 2012-8-4

    Religiosity is a new phenomenon in Tunisia. I hope it will reach 100% of religiosity whether in Ramadan or in other days.

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  7. Anonymous_thumb

    Proud to be Muslim 2012-8-4

    From my personal point of view about the rise in religiousity for a big category of the Tunisian society especially young people, this is due mainly to the sound nature of every individual who learnt the truth and decided to follow it after many years of repression exercised on them in their way of thinking, acts and even appearances. As for those who blame the behaviour of many people who have recently shown their adherence to religion I tell them: the negative aspects in which young people have grown up for several decades require a lot of time and education to get rid of.

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  8. Anonymous_thumb

    al07 2012-8-3

    This is hypocrisy, pure and simple! Why do you think that beer consumption has increased by 20% in Tunisia and, at the same time, the Society of Beer Manufacturing of Tunisia became the Society of Beverage Manufacturing of Tunisia (SFBT)??? Yesterday, the Tunisian men and women were afraid of Ben Ali. Today, they are afraid of Ennahda and its salafist associates! It is as simple as that.

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  9. Anonymous_thumb

    Anonymous 2012-8-3

    The poll sheds like on Tunisia’s reality. First of all, I note the article’s first paragraph, which says that Tunisia has witnessed a surge in religiosity following the liberation of mosques and the support of religious freedom. To put it clearly, this means that Ben Ali, who claimed to be fighting against Islamist terrorism, was in fact leading a fight against Islam and persecuting believers. From my personal experience, I can confirm that even in certain European countries, where Islamophobia is part of everyday reality, there has never been a persecution of Muslims as repugnant as Ben Ali’s. He would open files on believers who regularly visited the mosques for prayer. Just at the threshold of a mosque, people were risking being arrested and imprisoned on false charges. Or they would mysteriously disappear for some time to be tortured by the police (who are now protesting for their rights). Before being released, they were advised to shut up if they wanted to avoid getting the same treatment again. The revolution was an enormous gain for the Tunisians with regards to religious freedom. This also explains their vote en masse for the party Ennahda, which was banned and absent from the scene for decades. A large part of the Tunisian people recognised themselves in this party, which, therefore, angered the big losers, who had often acted with arrogance. They accused the voters of ignorance or Ennahda of having bought votes with a handful of petrodollars from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. They also tried to accuse the party of electoral fraud, which was not the opinion international observers. Perhaps they are now going to attack the results of this poll.

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