Tunisia

Michael Ruse

doi:10.1017/9781108562324.052

51 - Tunisia

from Part VII - Lived Atheism in the Twentieth- and Twenty-First Centuries: Case-Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 September 2021

Edited by

Michael Ruse: Affiliation:
Florida State University
Stephen Bullivant: Affiliation:
St Mary's University, Twickenham, London

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Summary

When I first started thinking about atheism in Tunisia, I carried with me the certainty that atheism does not exist as a possibility in Tunisian society. With the passing years, the term Mulhid (atheist) has become common not merely in intellectual circles, but in rap songs, social media, and even classrooms. However, the existence of atheism as a possibility does not necessarily entail its acceptance. In fact, the identity of the Tunisian citizen, of the one who truly belongs to the nation, rests on a discursive process in which non-Muslims are defined as ‘foreigners’, ‘alienated’, and others. In this national imaginary of belonging, the non-Muslim Tunisian occupies a position that is thought to be improper and dangerous, even a threat to the sense of identity and the social order of the Tunisian nation. This form of abjection is one in which the non-Muslim existence is cast as the antithesis of the Arab-Muslim identity of a Tunisian and its core values.

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge History of Atheism , pp. 952 - 970

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108562324.052 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2021

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51 - Tunisia

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