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Violence in Tunisia Increases As Ennahda Stands By

Islamist extremists in Tunisia are increasingly resorting to violence to implement their ideology, while the Ennahda government is accused of fence-sitting, writes Kaci Racelma.
People from the Salafist faction celebrate the second anniversary of the Tunisian Revolution at Avenue Habib Bourguiba in Tunis January 14, 2013. Thousands of Tunisians protested against the Islamist-led government on Monday, exactly two years after the overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in a popular revolt that inspired others across the Arab world. In the same street, about 2,000 supporters of the Islamic-led government gathered to celebrate the second anniversary of the revolution but there w

A new chapter is opening in Tunisia’s modern history, but not without its share of friction and tension.

These periods of change are inevitably accompanied by pain and upheaval. After the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali following massive popular demonstrations, a new vision characterized by religiosity darkened the skies above this North African nation and imposed itself on a people still trying to find its bearings. That new vision is Salafism, and it is ever more apparent that post-revolutionary Tunisia is sinking into Islamism, despite the best efforts of political forces to stop it.

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