Mahomet ou la république versus Mahomet et la république: Islam and republicanism in France since 1989

Purbrick-Thompson, Katherine Emily (2019). Mahomet ou la république versus Mahomet et la république: Islam and republicanism in France since 1989. University of Birmingham. M.Res.

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Abstract

This thesis examines two opposing intellectual discourses furthered by the intellectual and political elite on the subject of the integration of Islam into the French narrative and identity. The hypothesis which underpins this dissertation is that, in France, it is the physical practice of Islam which is perceived to represent a threat to the nation. I have named the discourse which demands that Muslims demonstrate the predominance of their loyalty to the Republic over their devotion to their religion through the renouncement of orthopraxy Mahomet ou la Republique. Its development, I argue, is linked to the renewed enthusiasm for Republicanism which emerged in the 1980s. By contrast, the proponents of the counter position, which I have termed Mahomet et la Republique, argue that the full acceptance and integration of orthopractic Muslims is possible and desirable. They do not see a threat to Republican values in the Islam of the majority of French Muslims. The development of these discourses will be discussed considering my own typology of the theorists implicated. I will argue that the Mahomet ou Ia Republique discourse is ultimately based on a biased interpretation of Islam, yet it regularly eclipses the Mahomet et Ia Republique discourse.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Masters by Research > M.Res.)

Award Type:

Masters by Research > M.Res.

Supervisor(s):