Faces of Tunisia

Rachid Ghannouchi / Photo Mehdi Chebil/Polaris

Rachid Ghannouchi, the Islamist Who Believes in Inclusion and Compromise

Rachid Ghannouchi is founder of the Tunisian Islamist movement Ennahda and one of the most prominent modernizing Islamist thinkers in Tunisia and the Arab world.

Tunisian Comic Blog Wins Fans Abroad

The blog won the Best Electronic Publication award at the CairoComix festival two years in a row: for Tawahoch in 2016 and Bombyx Mori in 2017. It was …

By Country Files Mohammed Abdullatif Published on January 3, 2021

Beji Caid Essebsi: Democrat by Default or Remnant of Tunisia’s Old Regime?

Despite his failings, Essebsi deserves credit for holding the country together after multiple terrorist attacks. Contrary to his own beliefs, …

By Country Files Mohammed Abdullatif Published on July 11, 2018

Tunisian Singer-songwriter Emel Mathlouthi, ‘the Fairuz of Her Generation’

Despite these setbacks, Mathlouthi continues to thrive professionally and dedicate her art to political causes, as she stated in an interview for Okay …

By Country Files Mohammed Abdullatif Published on February 26, 2020

Power to the Next Generation? The Rise of Tunisia’s Presidential Hopeful Youssef Chahed

Chahed’s political ambitions emerged in the wake of the ouster of long-time leader Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. Chahed, infused with the …

By Country Files Mohammed Abdullatif Published on February 21, 2019

The Unlikely Leader: The Man Who Made No Campaign Promises Becomes Tunisia’s President

Cynics could argue that the boy cannot be disappointed since kais Saied made voters no promises during his ‘explanatory’ campaign. Realistically, …

By Country Files Mohammed Abdullatif Published on December 2, 2019

Olfa Hamdi: A Meteoric Take Off into Tunisian Politics

In less than two months, her short appointment as the head of Tunisair seemed to have generated more ink than any other previous CEO and even most …

By Country Files Mohammed Abdullatif Published on March 1, 2021