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Political And Religious Challenges In Contemporary France
Brookings Institution Press
August 2006
On Sale: August 1, 2006
342 pages
ISBN: 0815751516
EAN: 9780815751519
Paperback
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Non-Fiction
France is home to nearly 5 million Muslims, roughly half of
whom are French citizens. While the nation has successfully
integrated waves of immigrants in the past, this new influx
poses a variety of daunting challenges, particularly when
viewed against the backdrop of growing Islamic
fundamentalism worldwide. Because of the size of its Muslim
population and its universalist definition of citizenship,
France provides a good test case for the encounter between
Islam and the West. Peaceful and successful integration of
Muslims into Western societies is more critical than ever
before. In this book, Jonathan Laurence and Justin Vaisse
offer extensive and original insights into how such
integration can be fostered in a diverse, secular democracy. Many in France view the growing role of Muslims in their
society with a jaundiced eye, as do others elsewhere,
suspecting that new Muslim political and religious networks
are a threat to European rule of law and the French way of
life. Not surprisingly, however, the reality of the
situation is far too complicated to be captured by slogans
and slurs. INTEGRATING ISLAM examines the complex reality of
Muslim integration in France-its successes, failures, and
future challenges. Laurence and Vaisse paint a comprehensive and nuanced
portrait of the French Muslim experience, from intermarriage
rates to socioeconomic benchmarks. They pay special
attention to public policies enacted by recent French
governments to encourage integration and discourage
extremism--for example the controversial 2004 banning of
headscarves in public schools and the establishment of the
new French Council of the Muslim Religion. Despite the
serious problems that exist, the authors foresee the
emergence of a religion and a population that feel at home
in, and at peace with, French society--a "French Islam" to
replace "Islam in France."
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