RAMADAN IN TUNISIA: OBSERVANCE AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TUNIS 05278

E.O. 12356: DECL: OADR
TAGS: PGOV TS
SUBJECT: RAMADAN IN TUNISIA: OBSERVANCE AND
TOLERANCE


1. C O N F I D E N T I A L -- ENTIRE TEXT.

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SUMMARY
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2. IN ITS FIRST RAMADAN SINCE COMING TO POWER LAST
FALL, THE NEW GOVERNMENT HAS BROKEN WITH THE
SECULARISM OF THE PREVIOUS REGIME AND ACTIVELY
PROMOTED RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES. IN DOING SO, HOWEVER,
IT HAS ENCOURAGED TOLERANCE OF NON-FASTING MOSLEMS
AND TOURISTS. GOT'S MEASURES CREATED AN
UNPRECEDENTED ESPRIT DE CORPS AMONG TUNISIANS WHO
OBSERVED THE HOLY MONTH. THE PROMOTION OF SUCH
RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES REFLECTS NOT ONLY PIETY, BUT
ALSO A DESIRE TO STEAL THE THUNDER FROM ISLAMIC
FUNDAMENTALISTS. END SUMMARY.

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GOT PROMOTES RAMADAN
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3. PRESIDENT ZINE EL ABIDINE BEN ALI AND HIS
GOVERNMENT HAVE BROKEN WITH THE PREVIOUS REGIME'S
SECULAR APPROACH TO RAMADAN. UNDER BOURGUIBA, GOT'S
OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE HOLY MONTH WAS AT BEST
NEUTRAL. ONCE, WHEN THE FORMER PRESIDENT APPEARED ON
NATIONAL TV DRINKING A GLASS OF ORANGE JUICE AND
DISPARAGING RAMADAN AS AN IMPEDIMENT TO DEVELOPMENT,
IT WAS OPENLY HOSTILE. THIS DISTANCING FROM RAMADAN
OBSERVANCE WAS ALWAYS OUT OF STEP WITH THE FOLKWAYS
OF THE COUNTRY. TUNISIANS, HOWEVER, HAD SUCH RESPECT
FOR THE FORMER PRESIDENT THAT HIS SECULARISM DID NOT
POSE A MAJOR POLITICAL PROBLEM UNTIL LATE IN HIS RULE.


4. BY CONTRAST, THIS YEAR THE GOT HAS ACTIVELY
REVIVED TUNISIA'S CUSTOMS AND FOLKWAYS REGARDING
RAMADAN. EARLY ON THE GOT DROPPED THE CALENDAR
METHOD (BASED ON SCIENTIFIC CALCULATIONS) USED BY THE
PREVIOUS REGIME TO DETERMINE THE ONSET AND END OF THE
MONTH AND OPTED FOR THE SIGHTING METHOD (BASED ON
ACTUAL HUMAN SIGHTING OF THE NEW MOON) WHICH IS
CONSIDERED MORE TRADITIONAL. (ISLAMIC
FUNDAMENTALISTS HAD LONG CHAMPIONED THE SIGHTING
METHOD). GOT ALSO RETURNED TO THE TUNISIAN CUSTOM OF
USING CANON BLASTS TO ANNOUNCE THE BEGINNING AND
BREAKING OF THE DAILY FASTS. FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE
FRENCH LANGUAGE TELEVISION STATION CARRIED A LARGE
NUMBER OF RELIGIOUS PROGRAMS. FURTHER, GOT ORDERED
THE REHABILITATION OF 190 MOSQUES AND SPONSORED
CONCERTS AND OTHER CULTURAL ACTIVITIES AT NIGHT IN
THE TUNIS MEDINA DURING THE ENTIRE MONTH. THE
PRESIDENT AND OTHER SENIOR OFFICIALS PROMINENTLY
ATTENDED LOCAL CEREMONIES.


5. TOWARDS NON-FASTING MOSLEMS AND TOURISTS, HOWEVER,
THE GOT FOLLOWED THE TOLERANT POLICY OF THE PREVIOUS
GOVERNMENT. THIS RAMADAN (17 APRIL - 15 MAY)
CORRESPONDED WITH THE START OF THE TOURIST SEASON,
AND THE HOTELS AND OTHER FACILITIES THAT CATER TO
TOURISTS OPERATED NORMALLY. AS UNDER BOURGUIBA,
DRINKING AND SMOKING OUTSIDE CAFES WERE EFFECTIVELY
DISCOURAGED, BUT THE LARGER CAFES WERE PACKED INSIDE
WITH NON-FASTING TUNISIANS. PUBLIC BARS STOPPED
SERVING ALCOHOL, AND ONE MAJOR BAR DOWNTOWN WAS
VEILED TO HIDE CLIENTS SMOKING CIGARETTES AND
DRINKING SOFT DRINKS. SOME OF THE SMALLER
RESTAURANTS AND CAFES CLOSED BY PERSONAL CHOICE. AS
BEST WE CAN DETERMINE, THERE WAS ONLY ONE MAJOR
EXCEPTION. ISLAMISTS AT THE UNIVERSITY HARASSED
STUDENTS WHO DID NOT OBSERVE THE FAST, BUT SUCH
HARASSMENT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN RESTRICTED TO THE
CAMPUSES.

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FOR THE PUBLIC, A "LIGHT" RAMADAN
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6. SEVERAL AVERAGE TUNISIANS HAVE DESCRIBED THIS
YEAR'S RAMADAN TO US AS "LIGHT" (KHFIF),IE, AN EASY
ONE. THE MILD WEATHER OVER THE PAST MONTH
CONTRIBUTED SOMEWHAT. THE GOT'S MEASURES, HOWEVER,
CREATED AN ESPRIT DE CORPS AMONG THOSE WHO BORE THE
INCONVENIENCE OF THE FAST THAT DID NOT EXIST UNDER
BOURGUIBA. EXPLAINING THIS ESPRIT DE CORPS,
TUNISIANS MENTION THE SIGHTING METHOD WHICH ENABLED
EVERYONE TO START AND END RAMADAN AT THE SAME TIME,
THUS AVOIDING THE SOCIAL AWKWARDNESS OF SOME FASTING
AND OTHERS NOT. THEY ALSO SAY THAT GOT'S REVIVAL OF
LOCAL TRADITIONS, WITH THE NOSTALGIA AND AWARENESS OF
A SHARED CULTURAL HERITAGE THE TRADITIONS EVOKED,
FOSTERED A SENSE OF TOGETHERNESS. PARENTS HAVE
REMARKED, FOR EXAMPLE, THEIR SATISFACTION IN TAKING
CHILDREN OUT TO LOOK FOR THE NEW MOON AND EXPLAINING
ITS SIGNIFICANCE. BEN ALI'S APPEARANCE AT RELIGIOUS
CEREMONIES AND THE UNPRECEDENTED MEDIA COVERAGE
SHOWED THAT THEY WERE NOT ALONE IN FASTING. AT
EMBASSY FUNCTIONS, WESTERNIZED TUNISIANS OF THE ELITE
WHO ORDINARILY DRINK ALCOHOL ABSTAINED AND REMARKED
THAT MORE OF THEIR FRIENDS WERE OBSERVING RAMADAN
THAN BEFORE.

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COMMENT: GOT GETS IN SYNC WITH POPULAR RELIGION
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7. GOT'S APPROACH TO RAMADAN IS THE LATEST INDICATION
THAT IT WANTS TO GET IN SYNC WITH POPULAR RELIGIOUS
SENTIMENT. EARLIER EXAMPLES INCLUDED BEN ALI'S
NUMEROUS GESTURES TO ISLAM AND AND THE HEAVY COVERAGE
OF THE RELIGIOUS RITES HE PERFORMED WHILE ON A FORMAL
VISIT TO SAUDI ARABIA.


8. PART OF THIS APPROACH MAY STEM FROM PERSONAL
PIETY, BUT PART ALSO STEMS FROM A DESIRE TO PREVENT
ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS FROM BECOMING A GREATER
POLITICAL FORCE. GOT HAS ADOPTED THOSE ITEMS OF THE
ISLAMIC AGENDA THAT MESH WITH TUNISIA'S TOLERANT
FOLKWAYS (EG, ISLAMIC INCANTATIONS, VIP ATTENDANCE AT
RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES, PROMOTION OF RAMADAN, ETC.) BUT
ESCHEWED THOSE PURITANICAL ITEMS (REVISION OF THE
PERSONAL STATUS CODE, RESTRICITIONS ON TOURISTS) THAT
WOULD RADICALLY CHANGE TUNISIA.

PELLETREAU