Tunisia
(2000)
Islam is the state religion. The Constitution provides
for the free exercise of other religions that do not disturb the public
order, and the Government generally observes and enforces this right;
however, it does not permit proselytizing and partially limits the
religious freedom of Baha'is.
There was no change in the status of respect for
religious freedom during the period covered by this report.
Amicable relations exist among all religious
communities. The Government prohibits proselytizing as an act against the
public order for which foreign missionaries may be expelled.
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues
with the Government in the context of its overall dialog and policy of
promoting human rights.
Section I. Government Policies on Freedom of Religion
Legal/Policy Framework
Islam is the state religion. The Constitution provides
for the free exercise of other religions that do not disturb the public
order, and the Government generally observes and enforces this right;
however, it does not permit proselytizing and partially limits the
religious freedom of Baha'is.
The Government recognizes all Christian and Jewish
religious organizations that were established before independence in 1956.
Although the Government permits Christian churches to operate freely, only
the Catholic Church has formal recognition from the postindependence
Government. The other churches operate under land grants signed by the Bey
of Tunis in the 18th and 19th centuries, which are respected by the
postindependence Government.
Religious Demography
The vast majority of the population of 9.2 million is
nominally Muslim. There is no reliable data on the number of practicing
Muslims. There is a small indigenous Sufi community but no statistics
regarding its size. Reliable sources report that many Sufis left the
country shortly after independence when their religious buildings and land
reverted to the Government (as did those of Orthodox Islamic foundations),
leaving them no place to worship. Although the Sufi community is small, the
its tradition of mysticism permeates the practice of Islam throughout the
country. During annual Ramadan festivals, Sufis provide public cultural
entertainment with whirling dervish dances.
The nominal Christian community--composed of foreign
temporary and permanent residents and a small group of native-born citizens
of both European and Arab origin--numbers approximately 20,000 and is
dispersed throughout the country. According to church leaders, the
practicing Christian population numbers approximately 2,000 and includes an
estimated 200 native-born ethnic Arab citizens who have converted to
Christianity. The Catholic Church operates 5 churches, 14 private schools,
and 7 cultural centers throughout the country, as well as 1 hospital in
Tunis, the capital. It has approximately 1,400 practicing members, composed
of temporary and permanent foreign residents and a small number of
native-born citizens of European and Arab origin. In addition to holding
religious services, the Catholic Church also freely organizes cultural
activities and performs charitable work throughout the country. The Russian
Orthodox Church has 100 practicing members and operates two churches--one
in Tunis and one in Bizerte. The French Reform Church operates one church
in Tunis, with a congregation of 140 primarily foreign members. The
Anglican Church has approximately 50 foreign members who worship in a
church in Tunis. The 30-member Greek Orthodox Church maintains one church
each in Tunis, Sousse, and Jerba. A community of 43 Jehovah's Witnesses, of
which about half are foreign residents and half are native-born citizens,
also exists.
With 1,800 adherents split nearly equally between the
capital and the island of Jerba, the Jewish community is the country's
largest indigenous religious minority. There are also 150 members of the
Baha'i Faith.
Governmental Restrictions on Freedom of Religion
The Government controls and subsidizes mosques and pays
the salaries of prayer leaders. The President appoints the Grand Mufti of
the Republic. The 1988 Law on Mosques provides that only personnel
appointed by the Government may lead activities in mosques, and stipulates
that mosques must remain closed except during prayer times and other
authorized religious ceremonies, such as marriages or funerals. New mosques
may be built in accordance with national urban planning regulations but
become the property of the State. The Constitution stipulates that the
President of the Republic must be a Muslim. The Government also partially
subsidizes the Jewish community.
The Government allows the Jewish community freedom of
worship and pays the salary of the Grand Rabbi. It also partially
subsidizes restoration and maintenance costs for some synagogues. In
October 1999, the provisional Jewish community elected a new board of
directors, its first since independence in 1956, which is awaiting approval
from the governor of Tunis. Once approval is obtained from the governor,
which is expected to be only a formality, the committee is expected to
receive permanent status. The acting board has changed its name to the
Jewish Committee of Tunisia. The Government permits the Jewish community to
operate private religious schools and allows Jewish children on the island
of Jerba to split their academic day between secular public schools and
private religious schools. The Government also encourages Jewish emigres to
return for the annual Jewish pilgrimage to the historic El-Ghriba Synagogue
on the island of Jerba.
The Government regards the Baha'i Faith as a heretical
sect of Islam and permits its adherents to practice their faith only in
private. Although the Government permits Baha'is to hold meetings of their
National Council in private homes, it reportedly has prohibited them from
organizing local councils. The Government reportedly pressures Baha'is to
eschew organized religious activities. The Government also does not permit
Baha'is to accept a declaration of faith from persons who wish to convert
to the Baha'i Faith. There were credible reports that four members of the
Baha'i Faith were interrogated by Ministry of Interior officials in 1999
and pressed to sign a statement that they would not practice their religion
and would not hold meetings in their homes.
In general the Government does not permit Christian
groups to establish new churches, and proselytizing is viewed as an act
against the public order. Foreign missionary organizations and groups do
not operate in the country. Authorities ask foreigners suspected of
proselytizing to depart the country and do not permit them to return. There
were no reported cases of official action against persons suspected of
proselytizing during the period covered by this report.
Islamic religious education is mandatory in public
schools, but the religious curriculum for secondary school students also
includes the history of Judaism and Christianity. The Zeitouna Koranic
School is part of the Government's national university system.
Both religious and secular nongovernmental organizations
(NGO's) are governed by the same law and administrative regulations on
association that impose some restrictions on freedom of assembly. For
example, all NGO's are required to notify the Government of meetings to be
held in public spaces at least 3 days in advance and to submit lists of all
meeting participants to the Ministry of Interior. There were credible
reports that two Christian religious organizations did not attempt to
register because they believed that their applications would be rejected,
although they were able to function freely under the auspices of their
respective churches. Neither group believed that it was a victim of
religious discrimination. A third group, composed of foreign Christians
mostly from Sweden and the United Kingdom, is active in providing medical
and social services in the city of Kasserine in the west. Despite its
ambiguous legal status, this group (with 15 to 20 members) reports that it
has been free to pursue its social and medical work without interference
and states that it does not believe that it has been subject to religious
discrimination.
Religious groups are subjected to the same restrictions
on freedom of speech and the press as secular groups. Primary among these
restrictions is "depot legal," the requirement that printers and
publishers provide copies of all publications to the Chief Prosecutor, the
Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Culture prior to publication.
Similarly, distributors must deposit copies of publications printed abroad
with the Chief Prosecutor and various ministries prior to their public
release. Although Christian groups reported that they were able to
distribute previously-approved religious publications in European languages
without difficulty, they claimed that the Government generally did not
approve either publication or distribution of Arabic-language Christian
material. Moreover, authorized distribution of religious publications was
limited to existing religious communities, because the Government views
public distribution of both religious and secular documents as a threat to
the public order and hence an illegal act.
The Government promotes interfaith understanding by
sponsoring regular conferences and seminars on religious tolerance and by
facilitating and promoting the annual Jewish pilgrimage to the El-Ghriba
Synagogue.
There was a credible report of a Muslim couple in
Bizerte who had converted to Christianity and were not permitted to renew
their passports as a result of their conversion. Muslim women are not
permitted to marry outside their religion. Marriages of Muslim women to
non-Muslim men abroad are considered common-law, which are prohibited and
thus void when the couple returns to Tunisia. Non-Muslim women who marry
Muslim men are not permitted to inherit from their husbands, nor may the
husbands and any children (who are considered to be Muslim) from the
marriage inherit from the non-Muslim wife.
Although civil law is codified, judges are known to
override codified law with Shari'a (Islamic law) if codified law
contradicts it. For example, codified laws provide women with the legal
right to have custody over minor children; however, judges have refused to
grant women permission to leave the country with minor children, holding
that Shari'a appoints the father as the head of the family who must grant
children permission to travel. In 1999 one human rights activist reported
that Ministry of Interior officials refused to issue her minor son a
passport because the child's father, who was then jailed, was not present
to give permission.
Governmental Abuses of Freedom of Religion
During the period covered by this report, credible
sources estimate as many as 1,000 persons were serving prison sentences
because of their membership in the illegal Islamist group An-Nadha or for
their alleged Islamist sympathies; however, there were no reports of cases
in which it was clear that persons were arrested or detained based solely
on their religious beliefs.
According to human rights lawyers, the Government
regularly questioned Muslims who were observed praying frequently in
mosques.
There was no change in the status of respect for
religious freedom during the period covered by this report.
Forced Religious Conversion of Minor U.S. Citizens
There were no reports of the forced religious conversion
of minor U.S. citizens who have been abducted or illegally removed from the
United States, or of the Government's refusal to allow such citizens to be
returned to the United States.
Section II. Societal Attitudes
Amicable relations exist among all religious
communities.
There were no incidents of religiously motivated
violence. However, there is great societal pressure for Muslims not to
convert to other religions, and conversion from Islam is relatively rare.
Muslims who do convert may face social ostracism for converting. There is
some conversion among individuals in the Christian and Jewish communities.
Section III. U.S. Government Policy
The U.S. Embassy maintains good relations with leaders
of majority and minority religious groups throughout the country, and the
Ambassador and other embassy officials met regularly with Muslim,
Christian, Jewish, and Baha'i religious leaders throughout the period
covered by this report.
Embassy officials discussed religious freedom issues
with government officials on various occasions during the year. In November
1999, the Ambassador hosted a meeting of a cross-section of Islamic
scholars, religious leaders, and lay persons to discuss Islam in Tunisia.
An Embassy political officer attended the May 22-23, 2000 Jewish El Ghriba
pilgrimage in Jerba in commemoration of the Jewish festival of Lag B'Omer.
Sources: U.S. State Department - Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor |