Tag: Medina

The Mulhouse visit is not the first time Mr Macron, an economic and social liberal who was swept to power in 2017 as a new politician of “neither left nor right”, has hardened his stance on social matters to court the conservative vote. In September, he outlined tougher immigration policies and said it was time… Continue reading Political Islam Part 28

Islamists also have a strong presence on social media. In what has become known as the “Mila Affair”, a teenage schoolgirl who casually criticised Muslim men and their religion in an Instagram exchange quickly became the target of death threats and insults. Abdallah Zekri of the French Council of the Muslim Faith prompted outrage when… Continue reading Political Islam Part 27

Mr Macron spoke to residents in the Bourtzwiller district of Mulhouse in eastern France on the first of a series of planned walkabouts. He made a point of not visiting a large new mosque in Mulhouse, a city with both a large immigrant population and many white supporters of the far-right. The French president was… Continue reading Political Islam Part 26

Mr Macron announced measures to tighten controls on foreign financing of mosques, to end the nomination by Algeria, Morocco and Turkey of 300 imams a year for France, and withdraw from this year permission for foreign governments to control language courses for 80,000 pupils learning Arabic, Turkish and other languages from their countries of origin… Continue reading Political Islam Part 25

Mr Macron announced measures to tighten controls on foreign financing of mosques, to end the nomination by Algeria, Morocco and Turkey of 300 imams a year for France, and withdraw from this year permission for foreign governments to control language courses for 80,000 pupils learning Arabic, Turkish and other languages from their countries of origin… Continue reading Political Islam Part 25

Mr Macron announced measures to tighten controls on foreign financing of mosques, to end the nomination by Algeria, Morocco and Turkey of 300 imams a year for France, and withdraw from this year permission for foreign governments to control language courses for 80,000 pupils learning Arabic, Turkish and other languages from their countries of origin… Continue reading Political Islam Part 24

President Emmanuel Macron has launched a campaign against political Islam and what he calls Islamist “separatism” in some French cities, seeking to restore order in sometimes violent and impoverished suburbs and to elicit support from rightwing voters ahead of local elections in March. In some of his most explicit comments on Islam and France, Mr… Continue reading Political Islam Part 23

The claim that contemporary Muslim activities are putting Islam to use for political purposes seems, at least in some instances, to be warranted. Political parties such as Hizb al-‘Amal in Egypt or the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in Algeria that base their appeal on their Islamic credentials appear to exemplify this instrumental relation to religion.… Continue reading Political Islam Part 22

Over the last few decades, Islam has become a central point of reference for a wide range of political activities, arguments and opposition movements. The term “political Islam” has been adopted by many scholars in order to identify this seemingly unprecedented irruption of Islamic religion into the secular domain of politics and thus to distinguish… Continue reading Political Islam Part 21

The rapid succession of events of the past four years have challenged conventional wisdom on political Islam. After the democratic openings in 2011, mainstream Islamist groups—affiliates and descendants of the Muslim Brotherhood—rose to newfound prominence after decades in opposition, but grappled with the challenges of governance and political polarization. The subsequent “twin shocks” of the… Continue reading Political Islam Part 20