Tunisian President Kais Saied confirmed on Tuesday that a draft constitution to be put to a referendum on July 25 will not enshrine Islam as the “religion of the state”.

“The next constitution of Tunisia won’t mention a state with Islam as its religion, but of belonging to an umma (community) which has Islam as its religion,” he told journalists. “The umma and the state are two different things.”

Saied took delivery of the draft text on Monday, a key step in his drive to overhaul the Tunisian state after he sacked the government and seized far-reaching powers last July in moves opponents called a coup.

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