Naissance médiatique de l'intellectuel musulman en France (1989-2005)

C) Moslems in policy : religious guarantee or republican equality ?

In 2003, Nicolas Sarkozy notices that «there are 5 to 6 million Moslems in France, from which 2 million is likely to vote^254(*) ». There still, the Minister of Interior Department makes an amalgam by making Moslem adjective an including identity, since all the immigrants resulting from the Moslem world are not Moslem faith^255(*). But this is revealing of a true change of perception and treatment of the problems of integration, including on the most level of the Republic. Whereas one held there is to stick little the favors of a vote bor, it is well now a Moslem community, even arabo-Moslem woman, who is politically courted. Since the Islamic turning of the social question of integration, certain politicians are supposed Moslem, thus being used as guarantee. Indeed, the figures which we have just studied are not simply leaders of ground. Their charisma being politically interesting, a certain number joined the rows of the parties. Concurrently to that, some recently named top-civils servant were introduced like Moslems. We will then question the legitimacy of this qualifier.

1) The political instrumentalisation of the associative leaders

The instrumentalisation of the associative leaders cannot be described strictly speaking as « political recovery » since the majority of these movements are intrinsically of pure political creations (S.O.S Racism always was near to the socialist Party, while France More was created by the line to be used as counterweight). But the political parties benefit in any case from will have acquired by the leaders of these movements. Since 1989, whereas the Islamic turning of the debates on immigration hardly starts, of many French young people of Maghrebian origin engage in policy at the time of the local elections : « for the first time, a significant number of them (more than six hundreds, it seems) had arised on electoral rolls^256(*) ". But from now on, for reasons already evoked, it is more a Moslem vote which a vote bor which is requested. Thus, the FCCM (Forum of the citizens of Moslem culture), created by Hakim El-Ghissassi, is the illustration of the will to create a kind of Moslem lobby^257(*). But what happenhappen does Moslems engaged inside even of parties?

The movement bor of the years 1980 having been primarily supported by the left, the majority of the Maghrebian political figures of this time are on this side of the political chess-board. It is not thus astonishing to find a certain number of laic Moslems within the socialist Party the following decade (Fadela Amara, Loubna Méliane). But like the Islamic turning of the social fights is based on a supposed failure of the policy of integration of the years 1980, the tradition « left-beur » of the Mitterrand years is partly broken at some of these associative leaders reconverted as laic Moslems. Thus, the presence of Rachid Kaci, Abderrahmane Dahmane, Tokya Saïfi, or Amo Ferhati, within UMP testifies to some « ideological droitisation concerning certain French elites of Maghrebian origin disappointed by «great the multicultural project» of the socialist left^258(*) ».

If part of « beurgeoisy » reconverted Moslem thus found itself in the traditional parties of the political chess-board, we can also detect that there exists well at its sides an alliance « red-green » on behalf of certain Moslem charismatic figures. It is the case of Tariq Ramadan, whose relations with the altermondialists mediums start rather early. It had launched as of the years 1980 an association of assistance to the Third World, « Co-operation blow of hand ». What does not prevent the media from presenting its bonds with the extreme left like the fruit of a tactic « new islamo-gauchist "^259(*). Thus, the newspapers seem to be astonished by the logical- presence within sight of its course- of Tariq Ramadan to the European social Forum in 2003 : «Infiltration or strategic alliance ? ^260(*) », wonders then Claude Askolovitch in the New Observer. Hamida Ben Sadia affirms in any case that « these Moslem associations, it is the JOC- Christian working Jeunesse- of tomorrow! The left will have to take into account them^261(*) ». 

Lastly, only Mohammed Latrèche breaks the taboo of the creation of a denominational political party, by melting the Party of the Moslems of France (PMF) in 1997, in order to « to release the Moslems of the influence of the PS », that it qualifies « sionized party^262(*) ». But its speech is so outrageous that there remains very marginal. Even Tariq Ramadan makes figure of moderate at its sides. And it clearly makes a point of being distinguished from this mobility with which it shares certain points of agreements, in particular on the veil :

«One sees radical and sectarian groups today trying to benefit from the dissatisfaction with the Moslems. Moslem associations or parties which did not hesitate to join movements of extreme right-hand side, to support the Saddam Hussein tyrant, to develop radical theses, assert a seizure by capitalizing the wounded emotion of the Moslems. They make a strictly Moslem deal of it and are satisfied to feed the feeling victimaire. It cannot be a question of making common cause with this type of opportunism^263(*).»

Extreme left with the extreme right-hand side, the political chess-board as a whole recovers implicitly during years 1990 the guarantee of these recent figures of Moslem intelligentsia. This new political visibility on behalf of Moslem charismatic figures contributes without any doubt to the birth of the Moslem intellectual. But that part of the politicians are posted or see indicated as Moslem it in agreement with the republican ideals is that all- these policies- claim to defend ?

2) The question of the Moslem high-civils servant

Since the years 1990, one could notice that a certain number of appointed high-civils servant were originating in the Maghreb. One finds there for illustration the prefect Aïssa Dermouche, the vice-chancellor of academy Ali Bencheneb, and even the minister Tokya Saïfi. But with the new religious problems become impossible to circumvent in any treatment of the question of integration, the debate on positive discrimination is him also transformed into a discussion on the religious communautarism.

For Ali Bencheneb, the things are clear. Questioned by the World, it explains : « Me, I am a vice-chancellor ; yes, Moslem, perhaps. Moslem vice-chancellor, certainly not^264(*) ». There would be thus a separation between the public political office-- and the religious conviction of a private nature. But when Nicolas Sarkozy announces on November 20, 2003 out of France 2 the nomination of one « Moslem prefect », it makes steal in glare this fragile balance. The minister was then quickly taken again by a vast majority of the media class like by the Head of the State, which prefers speech of « prefect resulting from immigration^265(*) ».

There are two reasons with such a drift which, although quickly choked, has to re-appear. On the one hand, certain people tend to make Islam an ethnic identity. For Nicolas Sarkozy indeed, « Moslem is not a religious criterion. For me, the term nominates all the persons resulting from Maghrebian, Turkish immigration or of Black Africa, even if they are atheistic. Because one is Moslem as one is Jewish: in the glance of the other^266(*). «In addition, there is a tendency in the local councillors to delegate the questions of law and order, formerly filled by movements laic beurs, with Moslem associations. By instrumentalisant the religion like factor of social peace, one politicizes it and one makes credible an Islamization of the life political French.

Nevertheless, of right-hand side like left, the majority of the intellectuals, associative and elected persons in charge, except some exceptions like Yazid Sabeg^267(*), judge for the moment that the appointment of a high-civil servant according to his religion is incompatible with the republican values of equality between all the citizens. In the current state of the things, Aïssa Dermouche is thus one « prefect » and not one « Moslem prefect ». However the question of positive discrimination is not definitively distinct. And if a design similar to the affirmative action with American triumphs into same as long as the tendency continues to define the qualifier of Moslem like an identity including religion, culture, and ethnic origin, it will not be more completely absurd of speaking about « Moslem top-civils servant ».

There thus was well these last years the creation of a new posture of the politically committed Moslem intellectual. Even if this evolution is condemned and refused by some, others begin politically by posting from now on their Islamite publicly.

* ²⁵⁴ Gilbert Charles & Besma Lahouri, «  Truths figures of Islam in France  », the Express train, 4/12/2003.

* ²⁵⁵ Cf once again study of Sylvain Brouard and Vincent Tiberj, Report/ratio with policy of French resulting from immigration, COp cit., which shows that there exists well, contrary to the generally accepted ideas, a process of «  exit of the religion  » at the French Moslems, phenomenon comparable with that observed in other religious communities of the Hexagon.

* ²⁵⁶ Robert Plate, «  The elected officials beurs blow their first candle  », the World, 21/3/1990.

* ²⁵⁷ Cf Daniel Licht, «  Coran and the voter registration card  », Release, 22/12/2001.

* ²⁵⁸ Vincent Geisser, the Islamophobie News, the Discovery, 2003, p101.

* ²⁵⁹ Cf Claude Askolovitch, «  gauchists. of Al  », the New Observer, 22/10/2004.

* ²⁶⁰ Claude Askolovitch, «  Cumbersome Mr. Ramadan  », the New Observer, 9/10/2003.

* ²⁶¹ Xavier Ternisien, «  The historical alliance of the Islamic scarves with the red flags  », the World, 6/2/2004.

* ²⁶² Ugo Rankl, «  Spokesman of the Moslems  », the Point, 24/5/2002.

* ²⁶³ Tariq Ramadan, «  The trap of the communautarism  », Release, 14/1/2004.

* ²⁶⁴ Luc Bronner, «  A vice-chancellor like the others  », the World, 29/1/2004.

* ²⁶⁵ Josette Combined, «  Pride of the Dermouche prefect  », the New Observer, 22/1/2004.

* ²⁶⁶ Eric Aeschimann, «  Positive discrimination, an alternative  ?  », Release, 4/12/2003.

* ²⁶⁷ Cf Maintenance with Etienne Gernelle and Patrick Bonazza with Yazid Sabeg, the Point, 14/10/2004.