Quelle place pour la diversité en droit tunisien du statut personnel ?

The study of the role of multiculturalism in Tunisian family law reveals a paradox. Before independence, Jews and Muslims had their own courts which applied their own religious law, whereas French and other European citizens went to colonial courts. Right after independence, however, Tunisian family law broke with this pluralistic logic as far as religion was concerned. It also turned its back on traditional Islamic family law and adopted a modern family law that provided practically no room for diversity. Because its family model was unique among Arabic countries, the Tunisian legal system and its courts protected it by rejecting all other family models, especially those that were inspired by the Islamic tradition. Some courts, however, still follow an Islamic interpretation of Tunisian family law. By doing so, they have adopted an Islamic conception of the family which excludes non-Muslim persons. Religious distinctions have thus been brought back into a system which, at first glance, appears not to make such distinctions. Ultimately, religious diversity is becoming a source of discrimination.