Virtually all Tunisian Arab are Muslim. However, in France, the mosque has lost its recognition as the mot important building among the Tunisian Arab. Most of them now use the communal facilities of their apartment buildings or housing estates as their places of worship. Religious communities in France are allowed to operate their own schools with public funding covering most of their costs. As of 1990, however, no Muslim schools have been established in this system.
Muslim children tend to be sent to state schools rather than religious schools.
This is partly due to the cost of the schools, and because religious schools are less common in the urban areas where Muslims are concentrated. This means that they have little access to religious education. However, most primary schools with a large number of North African students often provide some Arabic instruction as part of their general curriculum. By the end of the 1980's, most mosques were providing some form of instruction for the growing number of Muslim children. The Muslims who have grown up in France have experienced its secular system of education.