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Religion on the rise in Tunisia
[Maghrebia] Mosques in Tunisia now receive exceptionally large numbers of worshipers, from a host of social classes and affiliations, after all restrictions on freedom of faith were lifted following the ouster of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali."People must be allowed to embrace faith freely without restrictions or supervision," Hadi Meftahi told Magharebia. "It is time we respected the religious legitimacy and implemented rules of Islam that we were deprived of in Tunisia, just as they were ordained in the Qur'an." Al-Fateh mosque in downtown Tunis housed throngs of praying Mohammedans last Friday, (February 11th). The crowds were so large that some had to perform their prayers on the streets leading to the mosque. The multitudes were a bold manifestation of the air of freedom prevailing after the Tunisian revolution. "The previous regime exercised great pressures on religion and Mohammedans, not to mention strict security supervision on mosques," said Taoufik Mzoughi. "He used religious discourse and rostra as propaganda tools for himself, where he is portrayed as the defender of the homeland and Islam." Nonetheless, Mzoughi explained that Tunisians managed to preserve their faith. "What calls for optimism are the swarms of youth who frequent mosques though they were raised during Ben Ali's reign. However, The infamous However... they continue to cling to the basis of true faith as well as their Islamic identity." Mokhtar Hedhli said, "Friday sermons or sermons delivered in religious holidays used to be restricted, stereotypical and dictated by the state. They had nothing to do with the people's lives or youth's concerns, nor with the changes that overcome the country and the outside world. They included supplications for the president, and propaganda for his regime, particularly during the elections." "Over the past three weeks, we sensed that imams breathed in a new spirit in religious discourse, which now corresponds to the changes in our homeland. It promotes the facts of our faith and its true notions," Hedhli added. Posted by: Fred 2011-02-18 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=316327 |