“Kicking the Anthill”: The Destabilization of the Extremist Base in France

Abstract

France, more than other Western nations, has politicized Islam with a view to regulating its expression. For this reason, France sponsors a “French” Islam (Islam de France), as distinct from the faith one practices at home (Islam en France). The assimilationist strategy employed includes both an institutional and a security-oriented approach. These include, first: elaboration of a Muslim Council conceived to establish a single Muslim voice; and, second: a security regime that allows for the greatest flexibility in matters of detection, repression, and prosecution of “refractory” Muslims. An understanding of the dual nature of this approach is necessary to appreciate the manner in which the state is able, contrary to the Law of Separation, to construct a Council in its own image, but for the backdoor approach to assimilation this represents. This is made simple by the fact that the Interior Ministry is charged to administer both the worship and security services of the nation. Indeed, one discovers that when obstacles to the smooth functioning of the Muslim Council arise, the state is well within rights to harass and expel troublemakers.