“Folk Islam” and Magical Practices in the Folk Culture of Modern Tunisia

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the generalization and analysis of author’s field material and literary sources about “Folk Islam” and magical practices in Modern Tunisia. The results of the research reveal that the new lifestyle does not destroy tradition but changes it. Magic still plays a significant part of ordinary life, and in the consciousness of the Modern Tunisians the new notions coexist peacefully with those that their ancestors had many centuries ago. The relevance of this work is an innovative approach to the study of the issue in terms of the comparison of two the most prominent tendencies of modern society: modernization and tradition. The scientific literature of the recent years, in the Russian, European and Arabic languages, as well as videos in Tunisian Arabic and the materials of the author’s field research were used in the process of writing this article. Refs 16.