On Europe 1, Yadh Ben Achour, Tunisian lawyer and academic, evokes secularism "à la française", often criticized internationally.
"I claim that secularism, contrary to what people say, not only is not directed against Islam but on the contrary promotes true faith," he says.
INTERVIEW
Ten years after the Arab Spring movement, Yadh Ben Achour, Tunisian jurist and scholar, publishes
Islam and democracy, an interior revolution.
With hindsight, he observes the situation in France and the tensions sometimes engendered by his vision of particular secularism.
A concept criticized by the Turkish head of state, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for example, who regularly denounces a tool against Muslims.
Unlike the latter, Yadh Ben Achour thinks that "secularism in general is the regime or the choice which best protects religion".
"Fosters True Faith"
"It is this regime which respects the freedom of beliefs, which above all guarantees freedom of conscience and which, consequently, allows believers to live their belief fully, without obstacles from the State", continues the academic on Europe 1.
"I claim that secularism, contrary to what they say, not only is not directed against Islam but on the contrary promotes true faith and allows it to coexist with other religions, with other beliefs, ”he adds.
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Cultural policies rather than law against separatism
In France, the presidential majority has initiated numerous reforms aimed at combating separatism and the rise of "political Islamism". According to Yadh Ben Achour, the problem does not lie in a legislative vacuum but rather in a cultural one. "What is needed are cultural and educational policies, policies of living together. Where we must act is: how to reach the Muslim populations to help them redesign their ideas and above all to abandon this fundamental concept at home. them of the civil religion? ", he assures. He pleads for the establishment of courses, institutes aiming for example to better know Islam and to interpret the sacred text in a modern perspective.
"The problem with the Islamists is that they live a little in ignorance, in dogmatism. As long as we adopt attitudes that are intangible in advance, we cannot validly reflect on all these questions. And we remain. prisoners of our prejudices ", explains the Tunisian academic and jurist. "Consequently, we must fight against prejudices, against the tension around certain dogmas, and plead for relativity in cultural matters. This without denying 'the rights of God'".