Nouvelles contraintes discursives et réformismes religieux

Abstract

Since September 11, 2001, a new North American intellectual trend, sometimes described as “liberal” or “progressive” has developed among Muslims. It is fragmented and heterogeneous, but its members are generally young and linked to academic networks and/or the media. In general, it is disconnected from mosques and places of ritual. It articulates its positions against political Islam, but simultaneously re-appropriates some of its ideas and vocabulary. These new intellectuals offer a new hermeneutic of religious scriptures that focuses more particularly on questions of authority and liberty. This new intellectual current must be understood in the context of the United States after 9/11. The media and state authorities encourage the trend, which lends it visibility and authority. This explains why it has also become suspicious and why it is not necessarily approved by a large Muslim public in the United States and abroad.