Salafism, the State and National Identity in Post-Revolutionary Egypt and Tunisia

Abstract

For Salafi groups, the 2010-2011 Arab uprisings prompted a radical transformation of praxis. While Salafis in Egypt and Tunisia had previously predominantly focused on grassroots proselytising, the newly open political field offered a plethora of new opportunities to pursue this project. The result was a series of contestations over the post-revolutionary state. In both Egypt and Tunisia, Islamists and proponents of a civil state contested issues such as the constitution-drafting process and the role of the state in regulating the public sphere. In this paper, I explore the frames put forward by Salafi political actors in post-revolutionary Egypt and Tunisia arguing on this issue. How was national identity articulated or reimagined within these frames? Why did culture and democratic procedures become contentious in different instances? This topic holds broader implications for the challenges of polarisation and identity contestation in new democracies, where particular identities have been historically divided or securitised.