ABSTRACT
The Tunisian Islamic movement's first real base was at the University of Tunis. Although Marxist elements had dominated the Tunisian student movement since the late sixties, they had been unable to gain control of the official General Union of Tunisian Students owing to governmental opposition. The university campus had hitherto been the stage on which the theoretical aspects of Marxism were played out, often in the most extreme manner. In the seventies, when the Islamists formed their first circles, all indicators suggested that Islamism as a social and political factor could not re-emerge to play an important role on the political scene. Therefore, the government did not feel threatened by Ghannouchi and his colleagues, thus giving the Islamic movement the chance to grow and improve its methods of work in relative peace and security. Another important factor that pushed the Islamic movement towards politicisation came in 1978, again in response to the negative effects of economic and social failures.
