Tunisian government bans planned protests by rival groups as religious tensions grow
By Associated Press, Published: June 14
TUNIS, Tunisia — The Tunisian government has banned a series of marches planned for this Friday by hardline Islamists and rival groups citing concerns of possible violence in the country, which is grappling with rising religious tension as it struggles to emerge from years of secular dictatorship.
The announcement Thursday by the Interior Ministry comes as Tunisians are still reeling from clashes earlier this week between police and religious youth in the capital and other cities after protests erupted over an upscale art exhibit that hardline Islamists alleged was blasphemous.
Tunisians overthrew secular dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali last year in a popular uprising that sparked similar pro-democracy movements around the region. The old regime savagely repressed any manifestations of political Islam, and in its absence there has been an upsurge of new religious groups.
The growing tensions in Tunisian society now are not just between the religious-minded and secularists, however, but also between moderate Muslims and ultraconservative Islamists.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/tunisian-government-bans-planned-protests-by-rival-groups-as-religious-tensions-grow/2012/06/14/gJQA3sJacV_story.html