TUNIS, Tunisia — The March 18 attack on the Bardo National Museum that resulted in the deaths of 24 people, including the two gunmen, highlighted the issue of internal security threats to Tunisia. Even before the attack, however, the prevalence of Tunisian fighters in the ranks of the Islamic State (IS) had drawn attention to the country’s struggle with radicalization following the 2011 revolution.

While the struggle is not new, the government is now emphasizing its efforts to increase security and counter radicalization. So far, security operations against militant cells and the introduction of a new anti-terrorism bill in parliament have been the centerpieces of this effort. In addition, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has been working to bring back under its control those mosques that harbored extremist imams and networks after the revolution. Part of its effort involves reinstating ministry-sanctioned leaders in these mosques. 

While these moves represent initial steps, parliament Speaker Mohamed Ennacuer, during remarks introducing the anti-terrorism bill April 17, called for a national strategy to address the root causes of radicalization in the country. "The organic anti-terrorist law is not enough to eradicate terrorism," he later told journalists. To supplement the steps that have already been taken, the government is planning to establish an anti-terrorism commission and hold a national conference, tentatively scheduled for September, to devise a comprehensive strategy for preventing violent extremism and radicalization.

Abdessatar Badr, chief of staff for the Ministry of Religious Affairs, told Al-Monitor that in the chaotic period immediately following the revolution, more than 1,000 of Tunisia’s approximately 5,300 mosques slipped from the ministry's control. Many of these mosques came under the influence of groups espousing extremist interpretations of Islam. “These people accused non-Muslims of being heretical,” Badr said, noting that Tunisians were included among the alleged heretics. In addition to the unregulated mosques, Badr said, close to 200 new mosques built without a license also became centers of radicalization.