Leading a quieter revolution

Cultural freedom has been an area of concern ever since the government controlled by the Islamic renaissance movement came to power in Tunisia after the 2010-11 revolution. Assuaging the fears of the country’s secularists is Mahdi Mabrouk, a professor in sociology and human rights, activist and political thinker, who has been handed the reins of the Ministry of Culture.

He is optimistic about the future of culture in Tunisia, which he says has no longer a repressive regime that censors publications and consequently hinders cultural development. He claims intellectuals have the freedom to express their opinions without fear of being persecuted and assures them the ministry’s support in their endeavour to protect the artists and cultural institutions from all forms of repression. The law is above all, he says, and will promote culture and foster relationships with the public.

Correcting perceptions, he describes himself as a member of the government who does not take orders from the government. After all, he is a veteran of the ministry, where he has spent the past 15 years. There is much more to him as one discovers from the following interview with Weekend Review, in which he also lays out his plans for reviving cash-strapped cultural institutions.

As the first minister of culture after the revolution, what do you think is the role of your ministry? Furthermore, is there also a need for a legislative revolution?

To give adequate authority to the Ministry of Culture to ensure it carries out its duties fully after the revolution, it is necessary to review all legislations pertaining to infrastructure. It is our aim to achieve this legislative revolution during the term of the present government. It is envisioned that this revolution will have three dimensions: first, to support the freedom of creativity and revise the former crippling legislation; second, to issue laws regulating the work of the institutions of the Ministry of Culture; and third, to develop the law on the fund for cultural development, what I call the fund for “dignity”, as it deals with social care and helps prevent intellectuals from sliding into destitution and poverty.

Does this mean that support for culture existed in Tunisia’s system pre-revolution?

Yes. There is no denying that the state before the revolution did support Tunisian culture, as I was an employee of the institution for 15 years. However, the difference now is that there is greater transparency in regard to how money is being spent on cultural endeavours. The change that took place after the revolution aims to increase the budget allocated to culture by 4 per cent. This is part of the duty of the revolution to culture. The special support of the Ministry of Culture comes from public money. This is primarily a moral responsibility.

Do you think it is an achievement that the revolution did not cause the Tunisian state and its infrastructure to collapse, like in some countries involved in the Arab Spring?

It is. Unlike the outcome of other revolutions, the Tunisian state continued to function, even electricity was not interrupted, nor was there a case of revenge sought by a victim on his persecutor. Furthermore, there was little chaos even at the peak of the revolution. There were a few side events but in the overall picture they are of little significance.

Is the ministry more closely linked to the Tunisian state and its policies? Do you receive specific orders from chief of the government?

It is natural that the ministry belongs to the government but at the same time it retains its own identity. I am a member of the government, but that does not mean that as the minister of culture I take orders from the government. Having been the minister for the past five months after the revolution I have not yet received any specific commands to develop a cultural policy. I don’t want the ministry to come under political pressure and become partisan; I am putting all my efforts to ensure that the ministry is at a distance from the direct influence of any party. However, at the same time, culture cannot be separated from political influences. The aim is to simply neutralise the fields of culture so that they become a platform to communicate direct political messages. This is not easy, but essential, as we seek to get the intellectuals to commit themselves to political neutrality.

Some artists say they are the victims of difficult circumstances because of imposed unemployment in the absence of festivals, performances and concerts?

This is one aspect of the reality. But this statement needs to be reconsidered, as support to all art forms is not curtailed. The Committee of Acquisition in the Fine Arts continues its work, along with committees supporting films. There was a slowdown with theatre but this was due to administrative obstacles and differences in perceptions of the committees and their functions. It is a subject of controversy among professionals in this sector. We have to think about the formula and take over the society and institutions that run artists. There is chaos with regard to theatre, because of inflation and the huge number of theatre companies — the number exceeds 200 — waiting for the state to take over.

What are the limits on censorship in the cultural sector in this new situation?

I think that the mechanism of control on creativity is not to limit the conscience of the creative and the artistic. Consequently we have not practised any form of censorship thus far.

Some say that freedom of creativity, especially in the fields of cinema, theatre and painting, cannot be complete in reality because of the strong religious parties. What is your opinion?

We strive to ensure there is freedom of artistic creativity, without any restrictions imposed by the government, which is controlled by the Islamic renaissance movement. We have tried to ensure that the neutral culture remains out of the conflict between the Islamists and secularists in the country. It is understood that there are real fears of secular and religious extremism, some real, but others exaggerated, especially among artists. The ministry will not remain silent on violations of freedom of creativity in its various forms and will not impose any administrative control on films, plays and creative institutions. Incidents that occur here and there are isolated and have little impact on the movement of creativity.

How much financial support does culture receive from the Tunisian state?

The budget allocated to culture is 86 per cent, which is unfortunately not equal to the percentage allocated by Unesco for culture, which amounts to 1 per cent of the overall budget. We seek to increase the proportion of the general budget set apart for culture, although this seems tough at present. However, indication of a recovering tourism sector and other business sectors keeps us optimistic. We aim to revive important festivals and have invited some famous singers such as Kadem Al Saher, Marcel Khalifa and Nasser Shamma to perform. I acknowledge that it appears that there is little support given to creativity. However, we should not be negative towards the ministry. There are budgets for culture: 7 billion dinars (Dh16.2 billion) to cinema, 6 billion dinars to theatre, 5 billion dinars to books, 1 billion dinars to fine arts and half-billion dinars to music. The ministry provides support through grants, acquisitions and participation in the organisation of festivals. However, these efforts appear so insignificant that regional councils withdraw cultural support. So we have to look for other sources of funding for these civil-society institutions. Otherwise, the crisis will remain in place.

To what extent do you think that the Tunisian revolution has achieved its objectives?

We have to allow sufficient time for the democratic transition to take place and achieve its goals. The success or failure of the Tunisian revolution cannot be measured in such a short period of time. A revolution, as you know, is a passage in history; it is not marked by a significant event at a particular time. There are numerous examples that can be given of revolutions, which have taken more than a hundred years to yield an outcome. The most important aftereffect of the revolution is that the people of Tunisia have finally been liberated and no longer live in fear. Furthermore, they do not have to worry about being in an unfair system again.

Finally, can you tell us what you have been reading?

I like to read Arabic novels. In my university days, I read novels such as “The Thief and the Dogs” by Naguib Mahfouz, “Season of Migration to the North” by Al Tayyeb Saleh, “Life is Beautiful My Friend” by Nazim Hikmat and “Al Nabaty” by Yousuf Zidane. I continue to read similar literary works along with various articles and research papers.

Shakir Noori is a Dubai-based journalist and author.