Abstract
Egypt and Tunisia share many cultural, historical, religious, and political commonalities, yet, they have been widely considered different in the state-religion patterns of relations adopted in both countries. Tunisia is usually seen as more secular or progressive than Egypt usually considered more conservative or religious. This argument might have strong evidence in terms of gender equality, family laws, and the public role of religious institutions. However, the same argument can’t easily be applied the the religious freedoms in both countries. Although both countries differ in their religious demography, both face a lot of criticisms related to the conditions of religious freedom and discrimination against religious minorities. There are also some differences between both countries regarding the civil rights of non-recognized minorities, religious education, and the wearing of religious symbols in the public sphere. differences between both countries are complicated and don’t go in certain directions. It can’t be simply argued that Tunisia is more secular and progressive than Egypt or vice versa. Therefore, the question raised by this study is: How do Egypt and Tunisia approach the issues of individual and collective religious freedoms and practices in the public sphere? And why do both countries overlap in some points and look different in others? My theoretical framework builds on a couple of recent contributions by Nathan Brown and Jonathan Fox. It focuses on the political developments, institutional and legal changes, and interactions between effective elites in both countries that result in the states’ policies of religious freedom.
Presenters
Mohamed Gamal AliResearch Officer, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, The American University in Cairo, Egypt
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Religious, Freedoms, Minorities, Expression, Blasphemy
