The Politics of Family Laws in Egypt and Tunisia: A Comparative Study of State-Religion Relations
Abstract
Egypt and Tunisia share many historical, cultural and political commonalities, yet their state-religion arrangements differ markedly, particularly regarding the scope of religious reference in family laws. The existing literature is shaped by two dominant paradigms: secularization theory, which stresses the differences (reformist policies in Tunisia versus conservative tendencies in Egypt), and Talal Asad’s postcolonial critique (2003), which instead emphasises the structural similarities, as the modern secular state intervenes in and controls the religious field.
The article moves beyond both frameworks by proposing a “Contextual Political Analysis”: it shows that historical settlements, elite interests, legal and institutional change and power balances are the decisive variables shaping state-religion relations.
This study by Mohamed Gamal Ali appeared in Contemporary Arab Affairs (vol. 18, no. 3, Brill, 2025).
Résumé
L’Égypte et la Tunisie partagent de nombreux points communs historiques, culturels et politiques. Pourtant, les arrangements entre l’État et le religieux y diffèrent sensiblement, en particulier quant à la place de la référence religieuse dans le droit de la famille. La littérature est dominée par deux paradigmes : la théorie de la sécularisation, qui insiste sur les différences (politiques réformistes en Tunisie contre tendances conservatrices en Égypte), et la critique postcoloniale de Talal Asad (2003), qui souligne au contraire les similitudes structurelles, l’État séculier moderne intervenant partout dans le champ religieux pour le contrôler.
L’article dépasse ces deux cadres en proposant une « analyse politique contextuelle » : il montre que les règlements historiques, les intérêts des élites, les transformations juridiques et institutionnelles et les rapports de force sont les variables décisives qui façonnent les relations entre l’État et la religion.
Cette étude de Mohamed Gamal Ali est parue dans la revue Contemporary Arab Affairs (vol. 18, n° 3, Brill, 2025).
ملخّص
تشترك مصر وتونس في كثير من القواسم التاريخية والثقافية والسياسية، غير أنّ ترتيبات العلاقة بين الدولة والدين تختلف بينهما اختلافًا بيّنًا، لا سيّما في مكانة المرجعية الدينية داخل قوانين الأسرة. وقد هيمن على الأدبيات نموذجان: نظرية العلمنة التي تُبرز الفوارق (سياسات إصلاحية في تونس مقابل نزعات محافِظة في مصر)، والنقد ما بعد الكولونيالي عند طلال أسد (2003) الذي يشدّد على أوجه التشابه البنيوية، إذ تتدخّل الدولة العلمانية الحديثة في الحقل الديني لضبطه.
تتجاوز هذه الدراسة النموذجين معًا، فتقترح «تحليلًا سياسيًا سياقيًا» يبيّن أنّ التسويات التاريخية ومصالح النخب والتحوّلات القانونية والمؤسسية وموازين القوى هي المتغيّرات الحاسمة في تشكيل العلاقة بين الدولة والدين.
صدرت هذه الدراسة للباحث محمد جمال علي في مجلة Contemporary Arab Affairs (المجلّد 18، العدد 3، Brill، 2025).
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