Xinhua-OANA reported that this move is in reaction to last week`s demonstration organized by Muslim associations that called for the setting up of a new constitution based on the Sharia or Islamic law.
Organized on the 56th anniversary of Tunisia`s independence from France, the demonstration on Tuesday brought together people of all generations and walks of life. According to the official TAP press agency, at least 30,000 people peacefully rallied on the Avenue Bourguiba in Tunis.
Demonstrators waved Tunisian flags, shouting slogans such as " No to the Sharia" and "People want a secular state. No to the Caliphate."
No incidents were reported, even though a small number of Salafists tried to join the event, calling for the advent of an Islamic state.
Young people, women and the elderly are involved in discussions about the new constitution, with intellectuals, students and prominent political figures earnestly explaining the stakes of drafting a new constitution and the importance of participation in political life.
This event comes as divisions between secularists and ultra- conservative Islamists are rising throughout the country, sowing fears of the erosion of women`s rights and a slow but insistent intrusion of theocratic practices in political life.
(I025)
Editor: Ella Syafputri
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
