Lille : the Role of Preachers
Here, the ideological re-Islamisation turns Islam into a support of a communitarian strategy seeking to develop a balance of power within French society in order to have shari‘a law adopted in France. This requires reform of Islamic law, but mostly involves a redefinition of fundamental values of democratic and secular citizenship in France.
Entering this perspective, as the young re-Islamised people say, requires being accompanied by mentors: The role of preachers mobilised by the tendencies of re- Islamisation proves to be crucial. The references quoted by the young people generally show their preferences for one of the tendencies of re-Islamisation. However, in some cases, one of the young people quotes, on the one hand, Sheikh Yunis, a famous preacher of the Tabligh and on the other hand, Tariq Ramadan and Hassan Iquioussen, lecturers of the UOIF.
The discourses of these preachers challenge in various forms the young Muslims as actors of a re-Islamisation. The young people interviewed who are involved in this process appreciate, in fact, the “personal search” as proof of access to another Islam, an Islam different from that of their parents’ which is assimilated in traditions. As they point out, their individuality is involved in this process, but this individuality is far from being autonomous. Instead, it is seen as incomplete and in need of being under the guidance of Islam through intermediary mentors, which breaks with the value of autonomy of the so- called Western model. This value is also presented by Islamism as the cause of the breakdown of the relations of the community and the source of moral confusion and social ills. Communitarian Islamism thus reasserts the young people through the upgrading of a Muslim community based on respect of standards and laws of redemption in a world filled with crisis and uncertainty.
“Youth and Islamist Radicalisation”
Lille, France
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