In Tunisia, religious leaders are playing an important role in promoting peace and tolerance. Supported by the Tunisian Government, Hedayah and the US Department of State, 44 leaders representing different religions came together from 24 governorates to tackle radicalization. We show how the religious community in Tunisia is working hard for a better and more peaceful future.
El Ghriba Synagogue is the oldest of its kind in Tunisia and is also a place of pilgrimage. Djerba has the largest Jewish community in the country. The peaceful coexistence in the island was shaken on the 11th of April of 2002, when a truck filled with explosives detonated in front of this Synagogue, killing 19 people. This horrific attack was carried in the name of Al-Qaeda.
Said Gouja, Imam in Djerba, recalls the attack as “a painful day for all the inhabitants of the island”, and describes how the religious community came together determined to promote peace. “After the attack, we spread a positive message in different Mosques and sacred places, to emphasize the importance of coexistence and the tradition of religious pluralism, which has existed for many centuries in Djerba.”
Women religious leaders also play a major part in standing against violent extremism. They supervise and check if moderate discourse is being preached in Mosques. However, their position is sometimes challenged. “At first some people ask: ‘Why is a woman coming to teach us things that we already know, and tells us what to do?’. But many Imams are supportive and encourage me to continue my duties,” says Latifa Gharsalli, an instructor at the Kef Great Mosque of Kairouan.
“There is a real need to appoint female religious instructors because women are also Muslims, and they have religious needs in this country. Often, women aren’t comfortable seeking advice on issues like extremism from a male Imam, they feel more comfortable talking to a female religious instructor,” says Awatef Thabti, a Religious Instructor at the Great Mosque of Kairouan,
Over a quarter of religious leaders who Hedayah supported on this program are women. Religious leaders from multiple faiths were supported with strategic communications training to support their efforts in spreading messages of tolerance. Over the coming months, they will be launching local campaigns to reach young people in their regions with counter violent extremism messaging.