Tunisian Christians Keep Quiet in a Land of Nightclubs, ISIS Fighters 

Tunisia makes for an interesting case study in apparent contrasts: Many would describe it as the most secularized country in the Arab World. Yet it has also been an abundant source of recruits for the Islamic State group (ISIS).  

Christianity arrived in Tunisia only decades after Jesus. But the latter part of the first Christian millennium saw Islamic conquest greatly reduce the region’s Christian community. 

After a long succession of caliphates and dynasties, Tunisia fell under French colonial dominion in 1881. Tunisia achieved independence in 1956 and, for the ensuing three decades, saw a significant degree of religious coexistence. These relatively good conditions began to decline in the late 1980s after a repressive regime took power.  

Tunisia had initially enjoyed a reputation as a success story of the 2011 “Arab Spring” movement and a country that made considerable progress toward legitimate democracy. But the 2020s have seen Tunisia regress toward the authoritarian practices of earlier decades. 

Even with such a trend, this country of about 12.7 million people nestled between Algeria and Libya is usually viewed as less oppressive toward Christians than its neighbors. 

About 99% of people in Tunisia are Sunni Muslim. The remaining 1% consists of Shia Muslims and Christians, along with smaller numbers of Baha’is and a tiny Jewish community that extends back six centuries before the time of Christ. 

Hidden Extremism

Despite the Muslim majority, the country’s population is significantly secularized. As much Tunisians “want to give the impression that they are religious and take their religion seriously, it would only take you one trip here to realize that’s not true,” said “Tarek,” a Tunisian convert to Catholicism. 

Though some locations are more conservative, many of the country’s urban areas have “women wearing revealing clothes all the time” and “bars and nightclubs everywhere,” Tarek said. “Drinking is a real issue here … It’s embedded in our culture,” even though “it’s always condemned.” 

He added that there’s a sense this “watering down of the faith” is for the better. “Because if they didn’t, [Tunisia] would become like Pakistan or Afghanistan or the chaos of the Middle East.” 

There is, however, a segment of the Tunisian population that takes their religion seriously enough to die for or, at least, to kill for. After all, Tunisia has the world’s highest rate of ISIS fighters per capita. 

Though ISIS-linked Tunisians have been more inclined to act out their hostilities abroad, Tunisia itself has seen several jihadist attacks — the most lethal of which took place a decade or more ago.

In recent years, Tarek said, it’s unusual to hear of Christians in Tunisia facing violence for religious reasons.

The number of Tunisian Christians is reportedly growing. But Tarek is skeptical, explaining that people who convert often live in anonymity, so it’s “almost impossible” to know if Christianity is growing in Tunisia.

Most Christians here are foreigners from sub-Saharan Africa, France, or Italy. Tarek estimated that fewer than 5% of Christians are native-born Tunisians.

“It’s for their safety and in their best interest to live the faith in discretion, so even if an actual survey were to happen, you wouldn’t get the real numbers,” he said.  

Growing Restrictions

It’s technically legal to convert to Christianity in Tunisia. That doesn’t mean it’s socially acceptable. Tarek has heard of the police investigating Tunisian Catholics after they attended a particular church. But based on his interactions with Christians in neighboring Algeria, he thinks the surveillance and investigations are less strict in Tunisia.

Another difference between the two countries is that Algeria has been shutting down churches left and right, but this has not been occurring in Tunisia. That said, Tunisia has significant restrictions. For example, the construction of new churches and even the ringing of church bells are prohibited.  

Tarek said that basically the same churches have remained in Tunisia since the former French protectorate gained independence in 1956.  

Almost all of Tunisia’s churches were built during the colonial period, and most of them now exist only as historical sites. The country has about 10 active Catholic churches. Visible Protestant churches are less common, yet almost all native Tunisian Protestants would worship either alone or in house churches that exist in legal ambiguity and are subject to intrusion by authorities.  

Tarek thinks that the majority of Tunisians disdain Christianity, but less than 10% would feel that way to the point of condoning violence.  

From what he can discern, most Tunisians would be opposed to attacks on Christians, if only because such incidents could hurt the country’s tourism industry.  

Tarek seems to feel there’s an implicit understanding between Tunisian Christians and the rest of their country.  

“Worship in silence,” he said, “don’t grow, and you’re good to go.” 

Story by R. Cavanaugh  

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