Similarly, the Muslim-majority country of Tunisia also set in motion a number of reforms that were aligned with the Western model of progress, particularly secularization. The objectivestandard to which Tunisian society was compared was Western society: in order to align Tunisian society with Western society, legislation was written that was secular in nature, removing the influence of religion over the state. President Bourguiba appeared on television during the holy month of Ramadan (the month in which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset), drinking orange juice and saying: “A modern nation cannot afford to stop for a month every year.” In order for the nation to progress economically, it is unwise to fast during Ramadan, he implied. Like Turkish women, Tunisian women also suffer from the ban on the hijab; Bourgiba appeared on national television physically removing women’s headscarves to symbolize female “emancipation.”13 Tunisia is yet another example of a Muslim country embracing the model for modernity and progress set forth by Western theorists.

Spring-2008 On page 13 Sunday, December 15, 2013 @ 5:18am