The construction of religion as a ‘public problem’: The emergence of Islam in the public space during Tunisia’s transition to democracy (2011–14)

Abstract

The object of the present study is to analyze how, over the transition period of 2011–14, Islam became a ‘public problem’, to understand how it came to pervade the public space. I will investigate the place of religion in the public space both before and after the 2011 elections, and to do so will start with a few ‘affairs’ and controversies surrounding Islam and its place in the new Constitution as well as in the broader framework of Tunisian society.