Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Alcock, Frank

Keywords

Islam, France, Religious Expression

Area of Concentration

International and Area Studies

Abstract

Since the Algerian Revolution in the 1960s, the French Republic has cultivated a rather abrasive relationship with its Muslim immigrant population. Scholars like Jonathan Laurence (2006) and Bronwyn Winter (2008) espouse this problematic relationship to three Franco-Muslim controversies: a lack of Muslim interest group representation in the public sphere, a disproportionate representation of Islamic prayer spaces, and a twenty-year legal battle on religious head garments. Divided into three sections, this project attempts to analyze each controversy and its effect on the French-Muslim population. The first section, entitled �French Muslim Associations and Federations,� focuses primarily on the issues surrounding religious associations and the recent emergence of Muslim councils. Section two, �At Last, A Mosque in Marseille,� attempts to analyze the recent construction of a 7,500 person mega Mosque in Marseille. Finally, section three, �Islamic Head Coverings in France,� presents discussion of the Headscarf controversy. Together, each section unveils three common themes: the French government�s attempts to defend its Revolutionary ideals, the contemporary relevance of the Republic�s colonial history in Algeria, and the emergence of a uniquely �French� interpretation of Islam.

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