ABSTRACT
Compared with the Islamist movements in the eastern part of the Arab world, the Tunisian Islamist movement began relatively late. The movement's beginnings go to the late 1960s, and it was during the 1970s that it started to gather momentum and acquire its distinctive features. Though the Islamists were antagonistic to Habib Bourguiba's secularism, the initial phase of their organizational evolution was characterized by the bitter animosity they showed against the Marxist Left. After independence Tunisia witnessed a vigorous drive to implement a program of social transformation that would bring about a clear break with traditional structures and values. As regards the mixing of the sexes, Rashid al-Ghannushi views complete segregation as foreign to Islam. He draws a sharp distinction between two conditions of gender mixing. The participation of women in the production process, particularly in urban centers, and the spread of education among them released in Muslim countries vigorous dynamics that undermined their suppression.
