A DIVIDED LOYALTY

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.