Tunisia: Ennahda’s New Course

This article calls attention to the declaration by Tunisia’s Ennahda (Renaissance) party that it would abandon the traditional connection between religion and politics in Muslim contexts and instead engage in new approaches to politics based on a separation of activism from predication. The significance of this decision is discussed against a backdrop of the political history of Muslims and the thinking that has prevailed among most Muslims in the name of their religion. The article further aims to identify some of the serious challenges that arise when secularism is supported by civil society rather than imposed by the army or a militant movement.