US embassy cable - 88TUNIS5278

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TUNIS 05278 
 
E.O. 12356:  DECL:  OADR 
TAGS:  PGOV, TS 
SUBJECT:  RAMADAN IN TUNISIA:  OBSERVANCE AND 
          TOLERANCE 
 
1. C O N F I D E N T I A L -- ENTIRE TEXT. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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2.  IN ITS FIRST RAMADAN SINCE COMING TO POWER LAST 
FALL, THE NEW GOVERNMENT HAS BROKEN WITH THE 
SECULARISM OF THE PREVIOUS REGIME AND ACTIVELY 
PROMOTED RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES.  IN DOING SO, HOWEVER, 
IT HAS ENCOURAGED TOLERANCE OF NON-FASTING MOSLEMS 
AND TOURISTS.  GOT'S MEASURES CREATED AN 
UNPRECEDENTED ESPRIT DE CORPS AMONG TUNISIANS WHO 
OBSERVED THE HOLY MONTH.  THE PROMOTION OF SUCH 
RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES REFLECTS NOT ONLY PIETY, BUT 
ALSO A DESIRE TO STEAL THE THUNDER FROM ISLAMIC 
FUNDAMENTALISTS.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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GOT PROMOTES RAMADAN 
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3. PRESIDENT ZINE EL ABIDINE BEN ALI AND HIS 
GOVERNMENT HAVE BROKEN WITH THE PREVIOUS REGIME'S 
SECULAR APPROACH TO RAMADAN.  UNDER BOURGUIBA, GOT'S 
OFFICIAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE HOLY MONTH WAS AT BEST 
NEUTRAL.  ONCE, WHEN THE FORMER PRESIDENT APPEARED ON 
NATIONAL TV DRINKING A GLASS OF ORANGE JUICE AND 
DISPARAGING RAMADAN AS AN IMPEDIMENT TO DEVELOPMENT, 
IT WAS OPENLY HOSTILE.  THIS DISTANCING FROM RAMADAN 
OBSERVANCE WAS ALWAYS OUT OF STEP WITH THE FOLKWAYS 
OF THE COUNTRY.  TUNISIANS, HOWEVER, HAD SUCH RESPECT 
FOR THE FORMER PRESIDENT THAT HIS SECULARISM DID NOT 
POSE A MAJOR POLITICAL PROBLEM UNTIL LATE IN HIS RULE. 
 
4. BY CONTRAST, THIS YEAR THE GOT HAS ACTIVELY 
REVIVED TUNISIA'S CUSTOMS AND FOLKWAYS REGARDING 
RAMADAN.  EARLY ON THE GOT DROPPED THE CALENDAR 
METHOD (BASED ON SCIENTIFIC CALCULATIONS) USED BY THE 
PREVIOUS REGIME TO DETERMINE THE ONSET AND END OF THE 
MONTH AND OPTED FOR THE SIGHTING METHOD (BASED ON 
ACTUAL HUMAN SIGHTING OF THE NEW MOON) WHICH IS 
CONSIDERED MORE TRADITIONAL.  (ISLAMIC 
FUNDAMENTALISTS HAD LONG CHAMPIONED THE SIGHTING 
METHOD).  GOT ALSO RETURNED TO THE TUNISIAN CUSTOM OF 
USING CANON BLASTS TO ANNOUNCE THE BEGINNING AND 
BREAKING OF THE DAILY FASTS.  FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE 
FRENCH LANGUAGE TELEVISION STATION CARRIED A LARGE 
NUMBER OF RELIGIOUS PROGRAMS.  FURTHER, GOT ORDERED 
THE REHABILITATION OF 190 MOSQUES AND SPONSORED 
CONCERTS AND OTHER CULTURAL ACTIVITIES AT NIGHT IN 
THE TUNIS MEDINA DURING THE ENTIRE MONTH.  THE 
PRESIDENT AND OTHER SENIOR OFFICIALS PROMINENTLY 
ATTENDED LOCAL CEREMONIES. 
 
5. TOWARDS NON-FASTING MOSLEMS AND TOURISTS, HOWEVER, 
THE GOT FOLLOWED THE TOLERANT POLICY OF THE PREVIOUS 
GOVERNMENT.  THIS RAMADAN (17 APRIL - 15 MAY) 
CORRESPONDED WITH THE START OF THE TOURIST SEASON, 
AND THE HOTELS AND OTHER FACILITIES THAT CATER TO 
TOURISTS OPERATED NORMALLY.  AS UNDER BOURGUIBA, 
DRINKING AND SMOKING OUTSIDE CAFES WERE EFFECTIVELY 
DISCOURAGED, BUT THE LARGER CAFES WERE PACKED INSIDE 
WITH NON-FASTING TUNISIANS.  PUBLIC BARS STOPPED 
SERVING ALCOHOL, AND ONE MAJOR BAR DOWNTOWN WAS 
VEILED TO HIDE CLIENTS SMOKING CIGARETTES AND 
DRINKING SOFT DRINKS.  SOME OF THE SMALLER 
RESTAURANTS AND CAFES CLOSED BY PERSONAL CHOICE.  AS 
BEST WE CAN DETERMINE, THERE WAS ONLY ONE MAJOR 
EXCEPTION.  ISLAMISTS AT THE UNIVERSITY HARASSED 
STUDENTS WHO DID NOT OBSERVE THE FAST, BUT SUCH 
HARASSMENT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN RESTRICTED TO THE 
CAMPUSES. 
 
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FOR THE PUBLIC, A "LIGHT" RAMADAN 
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6. SEVERAL AVERAGE TUNISIANS HAVE DESCRIBED THIS 
YEAR'S RAMADAN TO US AS "LIGHT" (KHFIF), IE, AN EASY 
ONE.  THE MILD WEATHER OVER THE PAST MONTH 
CONTRIBUTED SOMEWHAT.  THE GOT'S MEASURES, HOWEVER, 
CREATED AN ESPRIT DE CORPS AMONG THOSE WHO BORE THE 
INCONVENIENCE OF THE FAST THAT DID NOT EXIST UNDER 
BOURGUIBA.  EXPLAINING THIS ESPRIT DE CORPS, 
TUNISIANS MENTION THE SIGHTING METHOD WHICH ENABLED 
EVERYONE TO START AND END RAMADAN AT THE SAME TIME, 
THUS AVOIDING THE SOCIAL AWKWARDNESS OF SOME FASTING 
AND OTHERS NOT.  THEY ALSO SAY THAT GOT'S REVIVAL OF 
LOCAL TRADITIONS, WITH THE NOSTALGIA AND AWARENESS OF 
A SHARED CULTURAL HERITAGE THE TRADITIONS EVOKED, 
FOSTERED A SENSE OF TOGETHERNESS.  PARENTS HAVE 
REMARKED, FOR EXAMPLE, THEIR SATISFACTION IN TAKING 
CHILDREN OUT TO LOOK FOR THE NEW MOON AND EXPLAINING 
ITS SIGNIFICANCE.  BEN ALI'S APPEARANCE AT RELIGIOUS 
CEREMONIES AND THE UNPRECEDENTED MEDIA COVERAGE 
SHOWED THAT THEY WERE NOT ALONE IN FASTING.  AT 
EMBASSY FUNCTIONS, WESTERNIZED TUNISIANS OF THE ELITE 
WHO ORDINARILY DRINK ALCOHOL ABSTAINED AND REMARKED 
THAT MORE OF THEIR FRIENDS WERE OBSERVING RAMADAN 
THAN BEFORE. 
 
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COMMENT: GOT GETS IN SYNC WITH POPULAR RELIGION 
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7. GOT'S APPROACH TO RAMADAN IS THE LATEST INDICATION 
THAT IT WANTS TO GET IN SYNC WITH POPULAR RELIGIOUS 
SENTIMENT.  EARLIER EXAMPLES INCLUDED BEN ALI'S 
NUMEROUS GESTURES TO ISLAM AND AND THE HEAVY COVERAGE 
OF THE RELIGIOUS RITES HE PERFORMED WHILE ON A FORMAL 
VISIT TO SAUDI ARABIA. 
 
8. PART OF THIS APPROACH MAY STEM FROM PERSONAL 
PIETY, BUT PART ALSO STEMS FROM A DESIRE TO PREVENT 
ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS FROM BECOMING A GREATER 
POLITICAL FORCE.  GOT HAS ADOPTED THOSE ITEMS OF THE 
ISLAMIC AGENDA THAT MESH WITH TUNISIA'S TOLERANT 
FOLKWAYS (EG, ISLAMIC INCANTATIONS, VIP ATTENDANCE AT 
RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES, PROMOTION OF RAMADAN, ETC.) BUT 
ESCHEWED THOSE PURITANICAL ITEMS (REVISION OF THE 
PERSONAL STATUS CODE, RESTRICITIONS ON TOURISTS) THAT 
WOULD RADICALLY CHANGE TUNISIA. 
 
PELLETREAU