Ideological and Theological Foundations of Muslim Radicalism in France
Ideological and Theological Foundations of Muslim Radicalism in France

Author(s): Samir Amghar
Subject(s): Security and defense, Studies in violence and power, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: CEPS Centre for European Policy Studies
Keywords: Ideology; Theological foundations; Radicalism; France;
Summary/Abstract: The forms of radicalism among the Muslim populations in France are multiple and varied. To overplay the religious variable would prevent us from seeing the great plasticity of the phenomena of radicalisation. Political violence can take its source from religious justifications, or religious references can impede radicalisation, or Islam is absent altogether, even though the radicalism is practised by Muslims. Beyond this, it is necessary to recognise that all these different forms of radicalism are the product of experiences of injustice and exclusion, which can be directly linked to realities on the ground or to the political trauma of young persons having known delinquency and homelessness, personal failure, long-term unemployment and so on. Yet, the link between Muslim populations and radicalism cannot be reduced to an economic equation in which poverty is the common denominator. It seems more likely to be the inadequacies of social and political regulation that is a problem, along with the lack of recognition, contempt and “the great wall” – in the words of Khaled Kelkal22 (one of the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks in 1995) – separating the estates where most of France’s Muslims live and the rest of the towns.

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