Pressure To Include Shariah Law In New Constitution Grows In Tunisia

In the wake of Tunisia's Arab Spring revolution last year, the country's Parliament is in the midst of drafting a new constitution. As CNS News reported earlier this month, pressure is growing to enshrine Shariah law as the principal source of legislation in the new constitution, despite Tunisia's secular history and statements last year by the head of the moderate Islamic Ennahda party that won 40% of the seats in Parliament that the Constitution would not mention Islamic law. (See prior posting.) According to Reuters, last month the Popular List, the party with the third largest block in Parliament, proposed a draft constitution that called for Shariah to be the principal source of Tunisia's legislation. Now, last Friday, thousands of Tunisians rallied outside of parliament demanding that the new constitution specify Islam as the state religion and Shariah as the principal source of legislation.  World Bulletin reports that the demonstration was organized by a coalition of religious organizations known as the Islamic Front. Ennahda did not participate in the demonstration.