…. another significant percentage would love to see the Islamists jailed, like Egypt.

Tunisia fell victim to dictatorial consequences stemming from economic strain as a result of mass migration.   Like Egypt, the Tunisian Islamists (Muslim Brotherhood) promised great prosperity under Sharia.  However, unlike Egypt, the Brotherhood still holds power. 

TUNISIA – “Ben Ali, they fooled us! Come back soon!” is a slogan one could hear on Tuesday, January 7, in the streets of Tunis, Ariana, Mahdia, Sfax and other cities in Tunisia, as the country prepared to mark the three-year anniversary of the uprising that sent former dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali packing.

The protesters were in the street to voice their anger at tax hikes affecting public and agricultural transportation vehicles, but many expressed a nostalgia for the Ben Ali days that seems to be increasingly common.

In the capital, “Vive Ben Ali” can be seen scrawled on walls of buildings, and a Facebook page entitled “Forgive us, Mr. President” has been flooded with messages of affection and tribute.

Indeed, according to a survey carried out by the polling agency 3C Etudes and published on January 6, a significant portion of the Tunisian population, roughly 35 percent, regret Ben Ali’s departure.

But do they really miss Ben Ali, or does their nostalgia stem more from a rejection of Ennahda, the “moderate” Islamist party that has dominated the Tunisian political scene in the post-Ben Ali era?

FRANCE 24 spoke to Vincent Geisser, a specialist in Islam and the Arab world at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), for further insight.  (continue reading)