Why There's No Mosque in Port el Kantaoui

With leader of a Tunisian-banned Islamist party, Rached Ghannouchi returning to Tunisia in a couple of weeks, how will this shake up the slant of the opposition.

Tunisia's closest allies have, in recent years, been France and the United States. What the Tunisian Government under Ben-Ali offered to these nations was its heavy-handed treatment of what it saw as Islamic Fundamentalism. This was a point alluded to by David Kirkpatrick in his article for the New York Times on the 12^th January, where he writes of Tunisia: ‎'United States officials gave it high marks for its aggressive persecution of terrorism suspects'.

In Ben Ali's regime it was not encouraged for males to have full beards, for Muslims to pray at 3am prayers or to own what the regime saw as excessive amounts of Islamic literature. A student in Sousse told me how in 2009 one of his colleagues, a devout Muslim, went to 3am prayers and was never seen again. Unconfirmed reports are that the student was seized by undercover police. He is still missing. Under Ben Ali, Muslims were treading on eggshells. With the removal of the President Muslims will enjoy a freedom that they have not had for a quarter of a decade: to go to prayers when they want, wear what they believe right and follow their religion without restriction of practice. The relief that many practising Muslims will feel has brought about speculation that an Islamic party may come to the forefront as a contender for ruling the new Tunisia.

Tunisia has been screaming for freedom: freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom of religious expression. What would an Islamic Government mean for Tunisia?