Ladies and Gentlemen 

Freedom of Conscience, Disbelief, and Identity in the New Constitution

Saturday, January 25, 2014,

  

 

The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) organized a seminar on "the Freedom of Conscience, Disbelief, and Identity in the New Constitution" in the presence of participants from different age groups who listened and interacted in the debate and the dialogue with a number of lecturers:

• Bashir Shamam (member of the National Constituent Assembly in the Al­­Nahdha Movement Bloc at the NCA),
• Abdel Latif Abid (member of the Constituent Assembly and a member of the political bureau of the Attakatol Party),
• Mr. Ali Ashi (Doctor and professor of the Islamic Doctrine)
• Mr. Zouhair Ismail (a researcher specialized in the study of Islamic experiences and a professor at the University of Zaytuna and a member of the World Federation of Muslim Scholars),
• Sheikh Abdel Fattah Mourou (vice president of Al­­Nahdha Movement).

At the beginning of the seminar, Dr. Radwan Masmoudi (CSID president) pointed out that the new Tunisian constitution, that meets most of the aspirations of the Tunisian people, is a foundation stone for the establishment of a new democratic order in the country.

Mr. Bashir Shamam stressed that Islam calls for and focused on freedom of conscience. Islam rejects any control of the people's consciences to think in a specific way. Concerning disbelief, he said that the issue is settled according to the consensus of scholars who mentioned that saying a word or doing an act against the Islamic religion is a blasphemous act, this does not entail that the one who commit it is necessarily a disbeliever. If there is a real problem in this respect, it should be entrusted to the judiciary.

Mr. Abdel Latif Abid's intervention was centered upon Article 38 of the constitution and its transformation from its original version.

Article 38: Original Version:

"Education is compulsory until the age of sixteen. The state guarantees the right to free public education in all stages, and seeks to provide the necessary capabilities to achieve qualitative education and training. The state also works on rooting the youth in the Arabic Islamic identity, anchoring the Arab language, consolidating it, and spreading its usage."

Article 38: Revised Version:

"Education is compulsory until the age of sixteen. The state guarantees the right to free public education in all stages, and seeks to provide the necessary capabilities to achieve qualitative education and training. The state also works on originating the youth in the Arabic Islamic identity and in the national belonging, anchoring the Arab language, consolidating it, spreading its usage, encouraging the youth's openness to foreign languages and civilizations, and spreading a human rights culture." Mr. Abidi criticized this revision considering it as an implicit accusation of the Arabic Islamic identity of being closed.

Mr. Ali Ashi delivered a speech entitled "the Problematic of Disbelief between legitimate regulations and political considerations." He tackled Article 6 in its original and in its approved versions. He criticized some phrases used in this article. He spoke about the issue of disbelief as a precise matter that specialists should deal with. He asserted that Islamic Shari 'a rejects calls for disbelief. According to him, the revised version of Article Six of the constitution is a crucial gain as it achieves peaceful coexistence between Tunisians.

In his intervention entitled "Identity and Division," Mr. Zouhair Ismail called for liberating religion from the state. He also pointed out that there is a wrong approach between identity and non-identity. For him, openness guarantees difference and this constitutes an asset for our identity. He emphasized the joint agreement on the values of Islamism, Arabism, Freedom, and Justice.

Sheikh Abdel Fattah Mourou stated that the Tunisian population should be proud of accomplishing this constitution as a result of their "Popular Struggle." In this respect, he criticized not conducting a national consultation before ratifying the constitution. Sheikh Mourou stressed on the need to organize a real national dialogue, considering this constitution as the precursor to the democratic process.

The symposium was concluded by a general debate between the audience and the participants who agreed collectively upon their satisfaction with the new constitution. They emphasized the importance of dialogue and national consensus to spare the country any possible coming splits.

Watch The Conference