Indeed, what happens in Tunisia is very mysterious and confusing! It is a well-organized and constant relentless war on the Hijab (veil) of Muslim women. Tunisia embraced Islam since the early days of Islam. A distinguished Muslim country, Tunisia was the first country in north Africa to embrace Islam to later constitute a jumping-off point from which armies, Du'ah (callers to Allah, sing. Da'iyah) and scholars headed for different African countries. Moreover, it contains the city of  Qayrawan, a great center of Islamic civilization. It also had Al-Zaytunah University, the great Islamic beacon, which had a great impact on spreading the Islamic call and safekeeping the fundamentals of religion not only in Tunisia but also all over the Muslim world.

We are speaking of Tunisia, the country that once constituted a base for conquering Andalusia and then Sicily.

It is Tunisia, whose Muslim population love Islam fondly and instinctively and constitute the vast majority of the total population; Muslims constitute about 98% of the ten million population of dear Tunisia. In view of the aforementioned facts, we view that war on hijab in Tunisia is a complicated mystery. The last scene of this war was the last week decisions taken by Tunisian universities to the effect of having female students who join a university sign a document obliging them to enter the campus bare-headed!! Banned is thus not only hijab but also hats, handkerchief or any head cover whatsoever!! According to the document, a student who will not sign the document will be expelled and, if needed, will be criminally charged. Moreover, the document also stipulated that male students must enter the campus clean shaved, as the beard is a serious danger to Tunisian universities!!

 Good Heavens! What is happening in dear Tunisia?!

It is a serious violation of the dignity of Muslim women. In fact, non-Muslim countries, even those known for their bitter enmity for Islam, do not commit such a heinous violation. Is war on Islam in Tunisia more fierce than war on Islam launched by non-Muslims?! In order to solve such a complicated mystery, we have to go back to the roots and explore the origins of the story, a very painful story indeed!

 The roots of the story of hijab in Tunisia

 For centuries, Tunisia has safeguarded Islam, its values and principles. Along the previous eras of the Tunisian history, Islamic fundamentals has never been played with. It was not until 1881 when Tunisia was occupied by France, which had the effect of changing many things in sister Tunisia.

Actually, the French occupation is a special kind of occupation with a distinguished characteristics known for researchers. Two prominent characteristics of which are worthy of attention:

 First, which is more dangerous: It pays much attention to changing the culture of the society France occupies through introducing thereto French-oriented principles, fundamentals and values.  This applies to the fields of language, morals, education methodologies, information and such other aspects as may define the identity of a country. To do so, they so wickedly do not attack religion fundamentals themselves; rather, they elect some eminent political, religious and intellectual figures to encourage their fellow people to abandon their fundamentals and advance  fully energetically toward the French culture.

France is keen to pursue such a cultural change even after withdrawal from occupied countries. In this regard, it spares no effort to make available permanent communication means with the occupied countries and with universities, cultural centers and French forums. Actually, this is done with the aim of guaranteeing a continuous expansion of the French culture in a given country even after the withdrawal of French troops. Thus, very heinous actions such as the current Tunisian war on hijab, are the product of such a policy, bearing in mind that French troops withdrew from Tunisia 53 years ago!

 Second: Another characteristic of the French occupation is fierce oppression and exaggerated violent against those who do not conform to the French plan. It is thus no wonder that tens or even hundreds of thousands  were martyred in countries occupied by France. Actually, the number of martyrs exceeded one million in dear Algeria. Such a deep-rooted French approach is transmitted to France's successors in occupied countries, who use the iron hand strategy in ruling their countries after these are librated from France.

 This was a brief description of the French occupation; secularism that hates Islam and seeks to destroy its fundamentals and a fierce violence that breaks the bones of those who resist it.

Holding such principles, the French occupation broke into Tunisia to be fiercely resisted by the deep-rooted Tunisian people which caused many of them to fall as martyrs. However, France started to gradually use its cunning policy through tempting Tunisian figures who will themselves undertake the mission of destroying Islamic fundamentals. France knew for sure that it is essential to spoil Muslim Tunisian women if it is to destroy the society, as spoiling women will have the effect of destroying family, spreading licentiousness among the youth and distracting youths from performing their roles toward their country, nation and religion.

 It seemed as if the French are more aware of the Prophet's Hadith that warn against the Fitnah (trial) of women more than Muslims themselves and as if they have a clearer vision of the subject than many Muslims. Al-Tirmidhi related Abdullah bin Mas'ud, in a Hadith judged by Al-Tirmidhi to be Hassan (reliable), to have reported the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying, " The women is 'awrah (a source of attraction). When she goes outside (the house), the devil welcomes her."

In the same regard, Muslim related Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri to have reported the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying, "Beware of women, for the first fitnah (temptation, trial) that befell the Children of Israel was concerning women."

Accordingly, it is the first fitnah, subsequent to which other fitnahs follow.

Furthermore, Muslim related that Abu Hurairah reported the Prophet (peace be upon him) to have said, "There are two types of people who will enter the Hell-fire, whom I have not (as yet) seen: People having whips similar to ox-tails with which they will beat people, and (secondly) women who will be dressed yet appear to be naked. They will seduce men and be inclined towards them. Their heads will be like the swaying humps of bacterial camels. They will neither enter paradise, nor smell its fragrance, even though its fragrance can be smelt from such and such distance." Actually, such a severe punishment is not imposed because of an individual guilt they commit. Rather, it is caused by a guilt they commit that leads to the corruption of the whole society in which they live. In other words, a woman who uncovers her hair or body bears as much sins as the number of people who stare at her, which overburdens her causing her to be thrown into Hellfire and thus cannot smell the fragrance of Paradise. Al-Tirimidhi related on the authority of Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Every eye is lustful and when a woman applies perfume and then goes about in an assembly, she is like such and such, i.e. an adulteress." According to the narration of Al-Nasa'i, the Prophet (peace be upon him) explicitly described her as adulteress. The narration reads, "If a woman uses perfume and passes the people so that they may get its odor, she is an adulteress." This is because she motivates those people to leer her and thus commit the adultery of eyes which might later motivates actual adultery.

 It is very serious then!

 No doubt, France has very cunningly comprehended such meanings and directions and, consequently, knew that any attempt to spoil the Muslim society is dependent on spoiling women. Therefore, it did its best to have the Tunisian Muslim woman forsake her hijab, chastity and decency. It also sought to bring into existence a generation of secularist intellectuals and corrupt politicians who should undertake the dirty mission and advocate it more than the French themselves.

 Secularist Tunisians and hijab

 The beginning was at the early 1920s AD (after 40 years of the French occupation), when the French instigated their inferiors to discuss the issue of women's hijab. Those people declared that woman's face cover is unfair and a stumbling block in the way of her social progress. Al-Zaytunah scholars strongly opposed those corrupters and a fierce controversy between both parties arose. Reverend scholars considered attacking hijab tantamount to attacking Islam itself and thus joined forces to disclose wicked French plans.

A specific development took place in the war on hijab when Al-Taraqqi, a cultural secularist French-oriented society, held a symposium titled "Pro or against feminist movement" on January 15th, 1924 AD. To the surprise of all attendants, Manwibiyah Al-Wartani, a French-cultured woman, entered the hall and ascended the society's platform with her face unveiled. She started to call Tunisian women to "liberate" themselves from hijab. Actually, it is the same scenario plotted few years before in Egypt by Huda Sha'rawi and Safiyyah Zaghlul. (Have they handed down (the saying) as an heirloom one unto another? Nay, but they are froward folk.) [Al-Dhariyat: 53].

Tunisia then began to simmer with dispute and controversy over the issue was heated in newspapers and magazines. Circulated in the Tunisian street, it was denied by most of the people, but it was just a start.

Within five year later, no Tunisian woman dared repeat the attempt of Manwibiyah Al-Wartani. On January 8th 1929, however, the same society (Al-Taraqqi) held a symposium giving it the same title "Pro or against feminist movement". Habibah Al-Minshari delivered a speech to the attendants with her face unveiled. She spoke about the misery of the Tunisian girl who covers her whole body with hijab, while the French women live freely and unrestricted.

 Tahir Al-Haddad and liberation from hijab

 In 1930, another specific development took place when another deviated secularist, called Tahir Al-Haddad, published a book titled "The Status of Women in Islamic Law and Society". In the book, the author vehemently attacked some religion fundamentals and called women to discard hijab and to liberate themselves wherefrom. He also called to deprive men of the right to divorce and entitle judiciary thereto and called to the denial of polygamy. Moreover, he called women to take part in all walks of life, including the sports field in order to compete European women in different games. Furthermore, he attacked Islam claiming it to have imposed so many restrains on women as may stand in the way of their social progress.

 Although Tunisia was under French occupation at that time, the book resulted in a counter revolutions staged by scholars, mass media and even the public, bearing in mind that the society had a clear vision of the religion fundamental in spite of occupation.

In this regard, many books were composed to refute the claims of this misleading book. Among such books are "Al-Hidad 'ala Imra'at Al-Haddad" (Miserable is the Woman Following Haddad) by Sheikh Muhammad Al-Salih bin Murad and "Saif Al-Haqq 'ala man la Yara Al-Haq" (The Sword of Truth Raised against Those Who do not Believe in Truth) by Sheik 'Umar Al-Birri Al-Madani. Moreover, a number of newspapers such as "Al-Zahrah", "Al-Nahdah" and "Al-Wazir" launched a fierce campaign against Tahir Al-Haddad. The situation aggravated to the extent that the great scholar Al-Tahir bin 'Ashur issued a fatwa judging Al-Haddad to be disbeliever and demanding the confiscation of the book.

However, the book gave other secularists free rein to speak courageously about hijab and, therefore, called Tahir Al-Haddad "the pioneer of Tunisian woman renaissance". Nevertheless, unveiling women face did not widely prevail in the Tunisian society which remained sticking to its Islamic fundamentals in spite of relentless Westernization attempts. Anyway, Tunisia gained independence from France in 1956.

 Bourguiba enacts non-Islamic legislations

 Unfortunately, Tunisia has not yet gained independence from French-oriented secularists, who, although bearing Muslim names and of a Tunisian complexion, have hearts that is full of rancor against Islam more than the French themselves.

Habib Bourguiba assumed authority in Tunisia.

Indeed, how hideous Habib Bourguiba is!

 Only three months after independence, the man issued a magazine which he called "Personal Status Code" in which he enacted new legislations so as to re-form the Tunisian society in accordance with the French vision or even more corruptly!

This way, non-Islamic legislations were enacted soon after Bourguiba's assumption of power. In this regard, a law prohibiting polygamy was enacted. Ridiculously enough, we came to know about the story when the police on receiving information about someone who had a second wife broke into the house of the man to find the other woman with him. However, they left him untouched and apologized once he told them that the woman is his girlfriend! This is because having a girlfriend belongs to personal freedom while having a second wife is a punishable guilt!

Another law was enacted that made access to child custody (adoption). There was also another law prohibiting a husband to re-marry a wife whom he divorced thrice even after she is divorced after another marriage. Another law also stipulated the judge's permission for a man's pronunciation of divorce to be effective. In addition, Bourguiba allowed abortion entitling a woman the right to abort her child even in the absence of husband's permission. Besides, he defined the minimum age of marriage for men at 20 and for girls at 17. More gravely, Tunisia signed the New York Agreement of December 10th, 1962, which provides that a woman has the right to marry any man regardless of religion. Accordingly, a Tunisian woman can marry a non-Muslim!

Such and like laws were issued successively in the "Personal Status Code" and were faced by great waves of opposition in the Tunisian society. However, the fully French-cultured Bourguiba reacted toward such opposition very bloodily and violently. Paying no attention to the Tunisian constitution stating that Islam is the religion of the state, he took no heed of the Tunisian people in a manner never witnessed by Tunisians even during the era of the French occupation. Unfortunately, the Tunisian women fell into the trap of France and Bourguiba and abandoned its hijab and chastity. The Tunisian society, in turn, slipped into an abyss of licentiousness and many Tunisian females mentally and passionately adopted the French trend, which caused a great evil to the country.

 Bourguiba bans hijab in Tunisia

 Dear brothers and sister, it is probable that Islam has ups and downs but it is improbable that it comes to an end. During 1970s, Tunisia, as many other Muslim countries, witnessed a period of Islamic awakening. Sincere male and female Tunisians started to strive to re-direct the Tunisian society toward Allah (the Exalted). But, what was Bourguiba's stance toward the new situation?

Bourguiba frivolously and unexpectedly made a heinous reaction. Dealing with the phenomenon of the spread of hijab, he, in 1981, ratified law no. 108 banning Tunisian women from wearing hijab in state offices.

Accordingly, wearing hijab is a criminal act ipso jure!

The reason behind the enactment of such a law is that, as declared by Bourguiba, hijab is a "garment of foreign origin having a partisan connotation". Please, be keep in mind that Muslims constitute 98% of the total Tunisian population while Christian and Jews constitute 1% each.

Undoubtedly, this law is the heinous crime and the great calamity!

The Tunisian police later actively started to chase veiled women in streets and banned them from working in public jobs. Furthermore, a father or a husband in whose house there is a veiled woman is criminally charged. What is worse is that a veiled woman was not allowed to give birth for a child in public hospitals!

 Actually, it was an open war on chastity and Muslim women; more frankly, it was a war on Islam itself. In fact, Bourguiba's war on Islam was not only limited to hijab but extended to even encouraging the nonobservance of major religious rituals, such as the fast of Ramadan, for fasting, according to him, negatively affects productivity!

As a result of the unprecedented oppression, never practiced even by Tatars or Crusades, you can see hardly any veiled women in Tunisia and the Islamic awakening took many steps backwards as prisons are full of Islamist detainees who resisted such corruption.

 In 1987, after a 31-year reign of Borguiba, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, the Minister of Interior, staged a coup against Bourguiba to assume presidency from then on.

 In your opinion, What are the characteristics of Ben Ali's reign? Did he commit to the laws enacted by Bourguiba? What is the end of the hijab battle in Tunisia? What are the expected impacts of such a fierce war on religion fundamentals? Finally, what role should we play toward the violent attack against hijab and Islam?

 Answer to these important questions will be dealt with at length in the next article, if Allah so wills.

I ask Allah to glorify Islam and Muslims.

Dr. Ragheb ElSergany 

https://en.islamstory.com/en/artical/3407506