Duke Students on a tour of Tunisian Parliament
Edward Said’s magnum opus Orientalism is nearly universally praised for its critical analysis of Western attitudes towards the East. He argues that the understanding the Middle East as a stuck in the past, controlled by religious extremism with a “backwards” values system that is incompatible of true political freedom and democracy, is based on a reconstruction of reality through a Western perspective meant to justify power and control by the more ‘enlightened’ side. While the work is most widely studied as a means of critically analyzing the power – knowledge dynamic and the importance of narrative control, I think an underdiscussed part of that equation (that is at least from the couple courses I have taken which use the text) is his emphasis on breaking concepts of homogeneity of the region. One of the largest realizations I have taken away from my time here is just how much breadth there is amongst state that all are categorized under the label of Muslim countries, or the Arab World. This in turn has had a direct impact on my understanding of citizenship.
Over the course of this trip we have studied in class the many facets of citizenship but I will choose in this post to focus on the two most practical: participation and representation. At the end of the day the primary components of a health democracy are citizens that exercise their rights and representatives that provide for the best interest of their constituents. As such, analyzing the relationship between the two provides valuable information towards understanding the political climate of a given nation. In looking at this relationship in the two countries we have studied extensively, Morocco and Tunisia, I came to an interesting conclusion about the role of religion in these ‘Muslim countries’ and its impact on citizenship.
The observation I have made is that the participation aspect of citizenship is split between a political and religious lens and the balance of these two based on the closeness of Islam and the state are a major determinate as to what citizenship looks like. More simply put, the more the government aligns itself with Islam as a for of legitimacy and as a basis for rule, the more participation centers around local religious communities rather than political participation and advocacy. This can be seen in the difference between the highly political activity in Tunisia, which does not officially tie the government with Islam, and the more community based activity in Morocco where the monarch is tied directly to Islam.
The table used to sign both Tunisian constitutions and to swear in all presidents since the revolution
In Tunisia we were fortunate enough to speak with the two of the framers of the Tunisian constitution which was ratified in 2014. In their discussion of three year process of writing the constitution, they mentioned how the relationship between Islam and the government was a big point of contention, specifically if they would tie the government to Islam directly or remain secular. Ultimately a compromise was decided with the wording of the first and second amendments which we also frozen from future adjustment. The first contains verbiage to define Tunisia as a nations where ‘Islam is the religion of its people,’ which acknowledges the essential nature of Islam to the country, but importantly does not make it the religion of the government. As clarified in the second amendment there are a multitude of protections for non-Muslims to have the same protections and treatment as any other member of the community. In this more secular government the scales of the religion-politics dynamic are tipped towards the political. As a result the lived experience of citizenship is also centered around politics almost exclusively. This is illustrated by the fact that Tunisia was ranked highest amongst countries in the Arab World in the categories of freedom of political association and freedom to criticize the government. There is a constant conversation between the citizenry and the government and much of the government processes are opened to the public for contribution both through individuals and CSOs. The prevalence of CSOs and open establishment of political parties I think are particularly important. With thousands of CSOs and over 200 political parties, a very significant portion of the population are involved in political participation beyond the basic allowances of voting. The government is viewed as for the people and as such, subject to the will of the people.
Outside view of the Moroccan Parliament
Now compare this to Morocco where the scales of the religion-politics dynamic are tipped in the other direction. The monarchy of Morocco has since its establishment claimed legitimacy through the monarch being a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammad. In fact one of his roles as king is defined as ‘Protector of the Faithful.’ While just as in Tunisia there is a tolerance of outside religions, there are many laws such as the prohibition of public consumption of food during Ramadan that show a distinct pressure to follow Muslim norms at the very least. As a result the participation of the citizenry places less emphasis on politics and more so how you can contribute to your local community. Civil societies, unlike Tunisia are not very common and those that exist are philanthropic by nature, engaging with the community by doing clothing drives or assisting in small scale infrastructure projects. While the government is not representative of them, the government is based in Islam and the adherence of the public generally to Islam prevent them from much criticism. Most choose simply to disengage and focus on making the community around them as good as possible. Rather than the being united under a national identity as Moroccan citizens it is much closer to a religious identity as a part of the Moroccan umma or community of believers. While this is not exactly a one-to-one there is evidence to suggest that how close a government ties itself to Islam has a noticeable impact on the way they participate as citizens.
Mausoleum of King Mohammed V
I think this is interesting to look at in the context of Islamism. Both Morocco and Tunisia are government by Islamist parties but the way this is lived in practice is completely different. Islamism is centered around unifying religion and government, believing the values of Islam are the values that should govern the country. However in the Moroccan context this is imposed from the top down, whereas in Tunisia this is chosen through the will of the people. As such the priorities of the Islamic government cause it to take different shapes even though they are under the same political identity. It is a nuance that I think the global community, specifically the US, should make a conscious effort to learn more about and I think doing so would aid in policy approaches to the region.
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