Abstract:
This paper describes the circulation and impact of the fatwa that was
never issued. During 1933 and 1934, tens of thousands of Tunisian Muslims
participated in a movement protesting a fatwa allegedly pronounced by sharia
court, in which the court was supposed to declare that Muslims who became
naturalized French citizens could be buried in Muslim cemeteries. This position
contradicts the growing notion among nationalists that naturalization is an act of
apostasy and therefore hinders Muslim burial ceremonies. In fact, no fatwa has
been officially enacted, due to disagreements between the sheikhs who represent
Tunisia's two Sunni factions - the Maliki majority and the Hanafi minority. But
rumors need to be a powerful driver of political transformation. This article
concludes that there has been a politicization of the fatwa on dual citizenship in
Tunisia, and there is no evidence that those who have dual citizenship experience
divided loyalties in their country.
