Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Islamic operatives have formed a police force in Tunisia.

The so-called Salafists have established what was termed a religious
police force. The force, called “Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and
the Prevention of Vice,” was meant to be modeled after the religious police
force in Saudi Arabia.

“This is not official, but it’s being tolerated by the government,” a
Western diplomat said.

The religious force appeared soon after the Islamic victory in Tunisia’s
parliamentary elections in November. The Salafists have already said
they would seek to enforce Islamic law in public life, including a dress
code for women, Middle East Newsline reported.

“Is this the fate of Tunisia?” Tunisia’s Kapitalis news portal asked in
an editorial. “Is this post-revolutionary Tunisia?”

The religious police force has not been authorized or approved by the
Interior Ministry. A ministry spokesman said such a force would be illegal.

Still, members of the Salafist force have been seen on university
campuses as well as in mosques. In November, Salafists raided a government
facility to stop the appointment of a woman reformer, Ikal Gharbi, to head a
religious radio station.

  Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Ikal Gharbi, Islamists, Kapitalis, Religious police appears in Tunisia following Islamic victory at polls