This report discusses the role played by Islamic law in drafting the new Tunisian Constitution and passing domestic legislation following the Arab Spring civil uprisings. Heated contention characterized debates from February 2012 through early 2013 between Islamic political groups and secular movements over the role of Islamic law in Tunisia's Constitution and domestic legislation, the prohibition of blasphemy in both the Constitution and the Penal Code, and the constitutional and legal rights of women. Ultimately, the Islamic political parties failed in their attempts to implement a stronger role for Islamic law as a result of fierce opposition from secular forces not only in the Constituent Assembly itself, but also in the streets of the country in the form of public protests. |