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Assignment: Tunisia’s Harlem Shake

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Tunisia’s Harlem Shake

21/03/2013

BBC World Service - Assignment, Tunisia’s Harlem Shake

The Harlem Shake has become more than a bit of fun in the birthplace of the Arab Spring.

How an internet dance craze has become a sometimes violent battleground between conservatives and liberals in Tunisia. Neal Razzell reporting.

The Harlem Shake is an internet dance craze which has been performed around the world. But in Tunisia, dancers have been attacked by religious conservatives known as Salafists. As Neal Razzell reports, it’s the latest example of growing polarisation in the birthplace of the Arab Spring. He meets young conservative women who complain that students are being allowed to dance half naked at school, while they’re banned from attending class in the veil, or niqab. 

Meanwhile, liberal protesters see reaction against the dance is further evidence of the slow Islamisation of society. This debate is happening against a backdrop of political crisis following the assassination of a secular opposition leader and general fears about rising levels of violence.

(Image of Tunisian students performing the Internet craze, the 'Harlem Shake' outside their school. Credit: FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

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