a popular uprising has taken place, and from what I could see on TV (saturation coverage on French media even now, largely because there are enough francophones in the country to ensure availability of French vox pops) the people in the streets are wearing jeans and T-shirts, and quite a lot of them are women - no beards and "Islamic" clothing, and the various Islamic groupings, which do exist in the country, are not much in evidence and are not making statements. Good, whatever their ambitions are, because when a new government is formed the Islamists will not be in the driving seat. So, Mr and Mrs Dif from Hammamet, your daughter can carry on going to school. The French cultural weekly "Telerama" has this quote from an unnamed young man in Tunis about the new situation: "Celui qui veut prier, il prie. Celui qui veut prendre l'apero, il prend l'apero." ("If someone wants to pray, they pray. If someone wants to have a drink they have a drink".)
Shouldn't every country be like that? Discuss.
1 comment:
When I visited Tunisia in 2007 it was NOT a beard feste - or a women coverall! Whatever you WANTED to do was ok! So I saw a covered woman bathing in the sea, next to her friend in a bikini.
AND I saw families of Tunisians looking totally Western - no beards in sight.
It was no way like Morocco - more like Malaysia in its tolerant attitude. I wouldn't have enjoyed the place so much otherwise. No way.
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