Tunisian universities went on strike and nearly 3,000 people protested against Islamist influence Thursday after religious hardliners occupied a campus to demand segregation of male and female students.
Tunisia, birthplace of the "Arab Spring" urprisings, has seen mounting tension between Islamists and secularists since its revolution in January paved the way elections won by a moderate Islamist party.
The Islamist Ennahda party, now leading a coalition government, says it has nothing to do with hardline Islam, but secularists accuse the party of creating an atmosphere in which fundamentalism can thrive.
.... Demonstrators outside Tunisia's interim parliament carried banners reading "All disasters come from Ennahda," "University is free" and "Niqab out," a reference to the Islamic full-face veil. [Reuters] Read more
