Reconciling Freedom with Religion in Tunisia
By Aymen Allani
17 October 2014
Tunisia has not yet
seen the end of the ongoing conflict between those who believe that freedom of
creative expression should be boundless and those who see such freedom
concerning religious imagery as blasphemous. Most Tunisians believe this issue
is a struggle that will end only when one of the two parties prevails over the
other, framing it as a zero sum game between religion and art. The reality,
however, is much more complex. There is no doubt that the conflict between
artistic creativity and religion will continue. Therefore, we should change the
method with which we deal with this ancient and yet ever-evolving conflict by
promoting dialogue to find solutions agreeable to all sides.
Since the departure of
former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali on Jan. 14, 2011, in the wake of a
popular revolution, Tunisia has witnessed multiple cases of violent reactions
to exhibitions of artistic works that contained religious imagery. Showing the
Iranian feature film Persepolis in the Tunisian colloquial dialect on the
“Nessma” TV channel in October 2011 promoted outrage in Tunisia. The film
contains a scene with a personification of God. Demonstrations against the
movie broke out after it was aired, whereby many individuals stormed the
channel director’s home and tried to burn it down.
Debate over the limits
of creativity reached its peak after an incident in the northern suburb of the
capital city of Tunis in June 2012, when a group of fine artists exhibited
paintings and sculptures as part of the Al-Abdaliya Spring Art Festival. Among
the works displayed were depictions of women being stoned, cartoons of
Salafists – one dressed up as Superman and another steaming from the ears – and
a reference to God written in letters composed of ants. Many perceived these
pieces as a provocative assault on Islam.
After these and other
similar incidents, many secular Tunisians used confrontational tactics to
condemn religious conservatives through strong statements denouncing the
incidents, sensationalist stories in the media, and political rhetoric by
parties in favor of their narrow and immediate interests. Most secularists did
not try to understand the motives of those who opposed Persepolis or the
Al-Abdaliya Festival. They contended that freedom of expression is absolute,
indivisible and guaranteed to all Tunisians through international conventions.
Similarly, the religious conservative movement felt humiliated in its core
values bringing back unpleasant memories of past suffering and marginalization
under the former regime. While strongly opposing all sort of violence, each
side must engage and understand the other.
Today, a dialogue must
be initiated between the proponents of absolute freedom of expression in the
arts and those more conservative groups, who feel their religion threatened by
such freedom, aiming to find the common denominator between the two parties.
All groups desire to maintain the climate of freedom they enjoy in Tunisia,
which guarantees for all parties that they are free to express themselves and
free to practice their religion. Adhering blindly to either position, without
attempting to understand and engage with the other side, will eventually result
in more violence and may accelerate the loss of freedom for both sides.
Dialogue has proven
effective in a similar incident where some groups prevented the theatrical
production “100 percent Halal” in Manzel Bourguiba (Bourguiba house, in
English) in Bizerte by comedian Lutfi Al-Abdali, which they believed mocked
religion and constituted an assault on Islam. The performer received death
threats before presenting the same comedy play in Klibia. Lutfi was adamant and
courageous by engaging his opponents on discussions concerning some aspects of
his play. He published a message on YouTube explaining his position and
inviting his critics to a dialogue that would, in his words, “spare the country
the chaos and dissent.” In the end, the show was held in Klibia under the best
of circumstances, after agreement over a minor change in the play’s scenario.
The performance was then attended by the people who had originally opposed it.
Lutfi was subjected to
a great deal of criticism, with many perceiving his actions as dangerous to
freedom of expression by granting legitimacy to the so-called “religious
police” that censors the arts. In fact, the artist’s behavior is not
self-censorship but rather responsible behavior in a climate where hatred is
rampant among members of the same nation and the threat of violence is very
real. Artists should take charge of their freedom nobly and rationally and
place dialogue before confrontation, particularly in a country that is
undergoing transition and has not yet reached a state of full and sustained
political stability.
Aymen Allani is a Tunisian citizen who works in
journalism and civil society. New Age Islam publishes this commentary in
collaboration with Search for common Ground (www.commongroundnews.org).
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