The Opening of the Muslim World League Office in Paris in 1977. Based on Materials from the Archives of the French Foreign Ministry

Abstract

The article, based on materials from the archives of the French Foreign Ministry, most of which had not been introduced into scientific circulation before, restores the history of the opening of the office of the Muslim World League in Paris in 1977, which became an important event and led to a noticeable increase in the influence of Saudi Arabia on the Muslim community of France. The archival materials show that the French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Robert Richard played a significant role in the opening of the office, regularly rushing the leadership of the French Foreign Ministry to make a decision. The tactics chosen by the leadership of the League turned out to be correct: negotiating with the French side not through Islamic organizations and centers, but through the French embassy in Saudi Arabia, thus making this issue an aspect of bilateral relations and linking it with the visit of Valerie Giscard d'Estaing to Saudi Arabia. The problem of the spread of Salafism to the Muslim diaspora in France was not actually taken into account.