The Socioeconomic Bases of Tunisian Nationalism and Islam

In: Canadian review of studies in nationalism: Revue canadienne des études sur le nationalisme, Band 17, Heft 1-2, S. 69-82

Abstract

The historical role of Islam in the Tunisian nationalist movement is examined, particularly during the struggle for independence immediately before & after WWII. This movement is traced from the mid-nineteenth century in the context of Third World nation- & state-building. The regimes & reforms of Tunisian rulers prior to the French takeover of the country in the late 1880s, & political activities under the French Protectorate, are described. Activities of the Destour Party (1919-1926), & the more radical Arab-Islamic Neo-Destour party, established in the 1930s, led by Habib Bourguiba, are recounted. During Tunisia's struggle for independence from France, Islam was the factor defining national identity, & the source for communication with the masses. By the early 1980s, during the presidency of Bourguiba, Islamic symbols became expressions of opposition to a monolithic view of the Tunisian nation-state. Within the nationalist movement, Islam has served as a source of legitimacy, as the language of the masses, & as an ideology serving the needs of different social classes at different times. S. Dilts