B. V. DOLGOV

Candidate of Historical Sciences

Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Keywords: Muslim community, integration, secular democracy, Islamic identity

The peculiarity of historical ties between France and the Maghreb countries (North Africa)* The Arab-Muslim community in France is the largest among the countries of the European Union (EU). According to various sources, 5 - 7 million people live in France. Muslims (France had a population of 64.5 million in 2008), of which about 82% are from the Maghreb countries.

Most of the Muslim community in France continues to maintain its Islamic identity. This is largely due to the French secular democracy, which provides everyone with a real right to freedom of conscience. However, Muslim migrants and their subsequent generations, who were born in France and received French citizenship, did not fully integrate into society.

The exact number of Muslims in France is rather difficult to name, since, as noted by the prominent French Islamic scholar and political scientist Gilles Kepel, " the question of religious affiliation in the census and social research contradicts the basic principle of the French constitution, namely, secularism, according to which religious affiliation is a private matter of the citizen."¹. Of the above-mentioned Muslims, 43% are Algerians, 28% are Moroccans, 11% are Tunisians, 9.3% are Black Africans, and 8.6% are Turks. Most of the migrants live in the vicinity and within large cities, such as Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Montpellier, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, and Lille.

The formation of the Muslim diaspora took place over a rather long period. The first wave of migrants dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. This is especially true in the First World War (1914-1918), when a large number of Maghrebins in the French colonies of North Africa, primarily Algerians, were drafted into the French army and participated in combat operations. Then many of them, who were awarded French military awards and received certain privileges, remained in France**.

In the 1920s, labor migration continued, driven by the need for post-war reconstruction and the emerging industrial boom. The second significant wave of migrants arrives in France in the 1960s. It is connected, on the one hand, with the end of the colonial war waged by France in Algeria (1954-1962), and, on the other hand, with the new economic recovery in France, which required a large number of labor.

In the following years, emigration also proceeded at a fairly high rate, including due to the laws on family reunification adopted in France and providing significant benefits to Maghreb migrants.

France is now home to the third and fourth generations of Muslim migrants, many of whom were born in France and have French citizenship. Some French Muslims have adapted to European culture and lifestyle and integrated into French society. However, many Muslims are committed to the traditions of their religion and culture. They perceive Islam as the basis of their civilizational identification. The Muslim community in France has a number of professional, humanitarian, educational, political and religious organizations. At the same time, the Muslim community exists in a secular French society.

SECULAR SOCIETY IN FRANCE

In France, along with historically established traditions

* Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco became targets of French colonial expansion. In 1830, Algeria was conquered by French troops and turned into a French colony. In 1883 and 1912, respectively. The French protectorate regime was imposed on Tunisia and Morocco. After gaining independence (Tunisia and Morocco-in 1956, Algeria-in 1962), these countries and France signed a number of agreements on cooperation in various fields, including the issue of emigration. The Maghreb countries, like most of the former French colonies, have entered the Francophone zone and enjoy certain benefits (in the field of economic cooperation, trade exchange, humanitarian relations) in relations with France (author's note).

** The role of Muslim soldiers who fought in the French army during the First and Second World Wars was highlighted by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 26.01.2010 during his visit to the Notre Dame de Lorette memorial complex in the Pas de Calais area. 40 thousand French soldiers are buried here, including about 600 graves of Muslim soldiers (author's note).

Catholicism, which is professed by the majority of French believers, has opposite traditions of secular freedom of thought and skepticism towards religion. These traditions go back to the time of the French Revolution of 1789, inspired by the French enlighteners - the greatest writers, philosophers and public figures of that era.

Until now, relations between the state and religion are regulated in the country by the 1905 law. According to it, freedom of religion of all faiths is guaranteed, while the State refuses to finance any of them. Religion is defined as a private matter of a citizen, and church institutions and priests must be maintained at the expense of believers.

According to Chapter 1 of the Constitution, France "is an indivisible, secular, democratic and social republic"². At the same time, in accordance with Law No. 2003 - 2 of 18.03.2003, this chapter was amended to state that "the French Republic respects all beliefs".

France is the only country in the European Union (EU) that proclaims secularism as an official ideology. Explaining the phenomenon of secularism, Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France from 2007 to 2012, noted that " secularism guarantees the right of every citizen to profess his religion, as well as the right to be an atheist. Secularism is not an enemy of religions. On the contrary, secularism is a guarantee of freedom of conscience for every citizen. " ³

In this regard, his position coincides with the opinion of French President Francois Hollande, who was elected in 2012, who, during a visit to Tunisia in July 2013, confirmed that " Islam does not contradict democratic values, which is confirmed by the French experience." Speaking about the secular nature of the French Republic and its possible contradiction with the practice of Islam, Professor Ivaz, senior lecturer and theologian at the Muslim Institute of the Grand Mosque of Paris (BPM)* , in a conversation with the author of these lines, emphasized that "secularism grants all religions the right to profess their faith, and this is its task" ⁴.

STRUCTURES OF MODERATE ISLAM

The peculiarity of the French Muslim community is that in the process of socio-cultural development, several directions of perception and practice of Islam have emerged in it. Among them is traditional moderate Islam. It is preached by official Muslim organizations, in particular imams and theologians of the Grand Mosque of Paris, who emphasize that French Muslims are mostly adherents of classical Islam. As for contemporary phenomena in Islam, in particular such a phenomenon as political Islam, for example, Muslim leaders of the BPM believe that the Prophet Muhammad also used political methods in his actions, because in Islam there is no division between civil and religious power. There is no principle: "To God is God's, to Caesar is Caesar's." Islam presupposes the unity of religion and state since the time of the Prophet Muhammad. This is its difference from Christianity.

Referring to the statements of the prominent Muslim figure Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyah (1263-1328), often quoted by radical Islamists, and some suras of the Koran, namely Al-Ma'ida (Meal), which confirm the possibility and duty of a Muslim to fight against "tyrant rulers who do not fulfill what has been revealed by Allah", the professor- theologian Ivaz from the BPM emphasized that " sacred texts should not be placed in any hands. The Qur'an is a divine revelation, and not everyone has the right to interpret it."

BPM is one of the most well-known and respected Muslim organizations, where solemn services are held, as well as various religious events during Muslim holidays. French leaders repeatedly visited the BPM, where they read out their appeals to French Muslims on various occasions. The BPM, whose imam and rector is the well - known Muslim figure Dalil Boubaker, has quite close ties with representatives of the Algerian diaspora, with the Algerian Embassy and with the Algerian authorities.

Along with the BPM, the representative of moderate and traditional Islam is the French Council of Muslim Worship (FSMC), the creation of which was initiated by Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenemand and implemented in 2003 by Nicolas Sarkozy, who succeeded him in this position. The FSMC is headed by its president, Mohamed Moussaoui, who replaced BPM Imam Delilah Boubaker. A number of French researchers believe that the establishment of the FSMK was an attempt by the French authorities to create a structure that would represent a large part of the French Muslim community, and thus it would be possible to better coordinate interaction with it.

At the same time, Muslim leaders of the BPM claim that the FSMK "mainly performs a technical function." In their opinion, the FSMK directs the organization of religious activities of Muslims, but in no way directs Muslim thought, since no structure can express opinions and act on behalf of all Muslims. Nevertheless, the FSMK also strives to be unique

* The Grand Mosque of Paris was founded in 1922 with the assistance of the French authorities. Thus, France wanted to express its gratitude to the Muslims who fought in the French army during the First World War and took part in the bloodiest battles, namely, the Battle of Verdun in 1916. A memorial complex in memory of the fallen Muslim soldiers, in particular, was opened on the territory of the mosque by President Jean-Claude Juncker. In 2006, the mosque was built on a 1-hectare plot of land, also provided by the Paris Mayor's Office, and is crowned with a 34-meter-high minaret. There is a Muslim Institute attached to the mosque, where students can study theological subjects and Arabic in two faculties. See: Institut musulman de la mosque de Paris. P., 2008.

a forum where French Muslims can discuss both theological issues and their own immediate problems. Officially, the FSMK sets itself the following tasks: construction of mosques; arrangement of Muslim cemeteries; organization of Muslim holidays; appointment of imams-confessors to lyceums, colleges, hospitals and prisons; training of imams. The governing bodies of the FSMK are the Executive Council* and the Administrative Council, which consists of 43 members.

Another organization that reflects the ideology of traditional Islam is the National Federation of Muslims of France (NFMF). It was established in 1985 and has strong ties to the Moroccan and Turkish communities. At the same time, the NFMF is a kind of opponent of the BPM, and it had some support from the authorities before the creation of the FSMK. The NFMF is headed by its president, a well - known Muslim figure in France, Mohammed Beshari, and its vice-president, Abdallah Boussouf, imam of a mosque in Strasbourg. The NFMF oversees several mosques in the suburbs of Paris and in the east of France. The leadership of the NFMF opposes the recently intensified manifestations of Islamophobia in France. So, in his statement, " No "to the Islamization of" violence!"

The NFMF rejects "any link between Islam and violence and terrorism" and calls for "dialogue among religious communities in order to promote an atmosphere of tolerance and mutual respect among believers of all faiths" ^.5

Individual Islam, which Farhad Khosrokhovar, a professor at the French Higher School of Social Research (HSSR), considers "a significant social phenomenon", is beginning to gain a certain influence in France. Individual Islam is practiced mainly by Muslim intellectuals and part of the younger generation of Muslims. They believe that the practice of religion, namely the Muslim religion, is a private matter for the individual, and in this respect their position coincides with the generally accepted attitude towards religion in French society.

Naufel Brahim, a leading researcher at the Higher School of Economics and an expert on individual Islam, in an interview with the author of these lines, defined individual Islam as "the product of an individual's individual ego, his own subjective perception of the Islam that he professes"⁶. According to N. Brahim, the spread of individual Islam is promoted by the historical traditions of France, starting from the Enlightenment and the French Revolution of 1789, as well as by modern institutions (schools, mass media, society as a whole) that preach individualism.

At the same time, the number of followers of individual Islam is small. Muslim leaders of the Grand Mosque of Paris oppose it and believe that such a trend "cannot exist in Islam."

Since 2003, Muslim organizations have been established in France, whose adherents claim to adhere to Republican and democratic principles. This is the Movement of Secular Maghrebins( DSM), which includes the French Council of Secular Muslims (FSSM) and the Council of Muslim Democrats of France (SMDF). The founder of the FSSM is Amo Ferhati, who also served as an adviser to the Secretary of State for Long-term development in the French Government.

SMDF President Abderrahman Dahman was the head of the initiative group in support of President Zh. Chirac. The DSM leadership includes such well-known public and political figures as teacher and journalist Aziz Sahiri, writer Malek Shebel, member of the leadership of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party Rashid Kasi and former member of the European Parliament Djida Tazde. The secular Maghreb movement opposes Islamic fundamentalism and positions itself not only as a secular movement, but also, according to one of its leaders, Ziyad Gujil, as "the heir to the ideas of the French Revolution" ⁷.

DSM activists appealed to all Muslim citizens of France to stand up for an enlightened Islam that " fully complies with the democratic and Republican principles of France." Among the 450 people who signed this appeal were prominent figures such as the Mufti of Marseille, Suheib Bensheikh, the well-known sociologist Leila Babes, and the Algerian journalist Mohamed Sifaoui.

Mufti Suheib Bensheikh emphasized that secularism is a guarantee of free religious expression. Therefore, the defense of the dogma of secularism should become the slogan of the followers of the Secular Muslim Movement. "As devout Muslims," Bensheikh said, " we need spirituality, which gives meaning to our existence." Supporters of the JSM oppose the wearing of veils by Muslim women and oppose radical Islamism. For example, Fadel Amara (the daughter of an Algerian immigrant)**, a prominent activist of the Secular Muslim Movement, stated that "wearing the veil means the oppression of women" and that "it is necessary to fight radical Islamism, which completely distorts Muslim teaching"⁸.

* The Executive Council, headed by its President, consists of two Vice-Presidents-representatives of the Union of Islamic Organizations of France and the National Federation of Muslims of France, respectively; the Secretary General-representative of the Coordination Committee of Turkish Muslims of France; the General delegate-representative of the Grand Mosque of Paris; and the Treasurer-representative of the Union of Islamic Organizations of France. author's note).

* Fadela Amara was born in 1964 in Clermont-Ferrand to a poor family of Algerian Kabyle immigrants with 5 daughters and 6 sons. She received a financial education (accountant), has French citizenship. The drama that Amara experienced in her youth had a strong influence on the formation of her civic position. Before her eyes, a drunk driver (a Frenchman) hit her 5-year-old brother on the road (he died on the spot). The police officer who was present tried in every possible way to remove responsibility from the driver. F. Amara joined the movement for women's rights and social justice from the age of 16. She becomes an active member of the human rights organization SOS-Racism. In 2002.

Fadel Amara is a well-known figure in the social and political life of France. In 2001. She was elected Municipal councillor on the Socialist Party list in Clermont-Ferrand. Since 2004, Fadel Amara has been a member of the Advisory Commission on Human Rights. In 2007, Amara was appointed State Secretary for Urban Development under the Ministry of Labor, Social Relations and Family, where she presented her plan for the development of urban suburbs inhabited mainly by Muslim immigrants. In an interview with the British Financial Times, Fadel Amara confirmed that " the majority of French Muslim women are opposed to wearing the veil. So do all those who fight for women's equality, particularly in Algeria. They are well aware of the project of obscurantism and the destruction of all freedoms proposed by Islamic fundamentalists." However, it should be noted that the Movement of secular Muslims is not a mass movement and reflects the sentiments of the minority of the Muslim diaspora.

STRUCTURES OF RADICAL ISLAM

Along with these movements, neo-fundamentalists are gaining ground in the French Muslim community. Some of them aim to unite all existing Islamic organizations in France into a single Muslim community under their own leadership. This trend is characterized by a rejection of European values and a refusal to integrate into French society. Representatives of neo-fundamentalism put forward the doctrine of communoterism, which presupposes the creation in areas of compact Muslim residence of peculiar zones-communes (commune-fr. yaz.), where traditions and Sharia laws are observed.

In France, there are also supporters of radical Islamism who are trying to create mosques or houses of worship under the leadership of self-proclaimed imams. This trend, whose number of followers is relatively small, was informally called "Islam of suburbs and garages".

The ideology of the above-mentioned trends of Islam in France is professed to one degree or another by quite a large number of Islamic organizations. The most significant of them are the Union of Islamic Organizations of France (CI-OF) and the Party of Muslims of France (PMF), officially registered and operating legally.

SIOF was established in 1986. Its chairman, Fouad Alawi, also holds the post of Vice-President of the FSMK. Every year, SIOF holds symposiums - "Meetings of Muslims of France" - in the suburbs of Paris, on the territory of the Le Bourget exhibition complex. They discuss issues related to the daily life of the Muslim community, as well as discussions on theological issues, where prominent Muslim figures speak.

Along with the ideologue of European Islam, Tariq Ramadan, the most famous of them are Ahmad Jaballah, who adheres mainly to the classical interpretation of the Koran and Sunnah, and Tariq Oubrou - he has his own concept of the development of Islam in Europe.

Tariq Oubrou (born 1959) is one of the most prominent ideologues of the Muslim circles united in the SIOF. He develops his own rather original and ambitious ideas for interpreting Quranic texts. Tariq Ubruh shares the basic tenets of the Muslim Brotherhood's ideology, which proclaim the canons of the Koran and Muslim values eternal and enduring, acceptable in any place and at any time. However, Tariq Oubrou believes it is important to free Islam from everything that prevents "Muslim thought from becoming a legitimate daughter of the West." ⁹ In particular, it calls for an interpretation of the Qur'an that is based on knowledge of the historical and social context in which certain Suras originated. Muslim theology, according to T. Ubra, needs to be reformed, "without breaking with its fundamental foundations." In his works (the book " The Uniqueness of God. Divine names and attributes.", 2006, and a number of articles) T. Ubrou tries to develop a kind of"minority sharia". On the one hand, he creates the foundations of minimal orthodoxy, on the other, he preaches adherence to ritual and ethical practices. T. Oubrou retains the normative role of Sharia law and, at the same time, tries to present Muslim law (fiqh) in a secular context and incorporate the spirit of French law into the framework of Sharia law.

Unlike T. Oubrou, another well-known preacher of European Islam, Alexandre Cayro, who develops fatwas for the European Council for Fatwas and Islamic Studies (ESFI), suggests legitimizing the personal right of a Muslim based on the recognition of real pluralism.

In 2001, a group of Muslim leaders who separated from the SIOF formed the Union of Muslim Associations (UMA), which was headed by Hassan Farsadou, a former member of the SIOF leadership. The AGR is increasing its influence in the suburbs of Paris, where it has 9 mosques, including the largest mosque in the major suburb of Saint-Denis.

In the early 2000s, the Muslim Party of France (PMF) was established. Its chairman is Mohammed Latresh. The national Office of the PMF is located in Strasbourg, and there is also a regional office in Paris. The PMF was not accidentally registered as a political party in Strasbourg. As mentioned above, the law regulating the state's relations with religious organizations and prohibiting the creation of political parties on a religious basis was adopted in France in 1905.Strasbourg at that time belonged to Germany, and this law did not enter into force here.

F. Amara is elected chairman of the Non-Concubine and Non-Subordinate organization of Algerian Muslim women (Ni putes ni soumises-fr. yaz.), which advocates for equal rights of women in the Muslim family (author's note).

In its program, the PMF stands for the preservation of traditional family values, in particular, for the implementation of state policies aimed at supporting the French family and reducing abortions, the number of which in recent years has reached 250 thousand a year. The PMF demands to provide equal opportunities for everyone, including Muslims, to enter the most prestigious universities so that not only young people from privileged families can study there. The PMF also advocates increasing public funding for school education and State support for poor families, most of whom are Muslim, so that their children can also receive a decent education.

The PMF program involves the recognition of religious organizations, including Muslim ones, as social partners and the implementation of a communoterism strategy. The PMF sharply criticizes the projects of some, according to the party, "politicians who are trying to impose mandatory assimilation, modernization of their religion and rejection of traditional Muslim values on Muslims as a condition for recognizing them as 'good citizens' "¹⁰.

According to French researchers, 80% of French Muslims are "non-practitioners", and only 20% scrupulously follow all the precepts of the Muslim religion. Of these 20%, approximately 5% belong to orthodox fundamentalists-Salafists and followers of the Tabligh movement*, who reject European values, seek to completely isolate themselves from the "godless society" and live according to Sharia law.

Exclusion from economic and social life and, consequently, the high level of unemployment in this environment, especially among young people, and its partial marginalization contribute to the strengthening of the influence of jihadist ideology. About 1 thousand people in this category throughout France are members of closed and semi-underground Islamist organizations that may pose a potential danger. However, according to John Boven, a professor at the University of Washington and an expert on Islam in France, " their activities are under control, imams deliver sermons in French, and only where parishioners do not know it-in Arabic."¹¹

Most of the problems associated with the Muslim diaspora are socio-economic rather than inter-confessional or inter-civilizational in nature and relate to unemployment, the lack of opportunities to get a good education and, consequently, take a decent place in society, and the lack of infrastructure in areas where Muslims live.

Thus, the areas of Paris where workers of the industrial enterprises located here previously lived and known as the "red belt of Paris", after the withdrawal of many enterprises from here, were populated by migrants, including the unemployed. The increase in the number of unemployed people was facilitated by mass layoffs in the 1990s and 2000s in the automotive industry, where up to 50% of workers were Algerians and Tunisians. The reason for layoffs and, consequently, unemployment, along with the global financial and economic crisis, was the situation in which, according to French experts from the Institute for Political Studies (Sciences Po), the "deindustrialization" of France, i.e. the withdrawal of industrial enterprises from France to countries where labor is much cheaper. So, almost the entire automobile industry was withdrawn from the territory of France. In the area of Paris, which once housed a complex of enterprises that produced the Citroen car, now a park is laid out...

Unemployment and the inability to find a niche in society provoke social protest among the Muslim youth of France - it often takes aggressive forms and is used by radical Islamists. So, for a number of years, clashes with the police, arson of cars and other illegal actions have been periodically taking place in French cities, mainly involving young Maghrebians.

Among the prisoners in French prisons, 40% are people whose father was an immigrant. The problem of drug distribution and use remains urgent, which is also most typical for suburbs with a Muslim population. Moreover, under the current legislation, the detection by the police of a small amount of drugs in someone's possession does not entail any punishment.

It is in the suburbs that semi-underground Islamist organizations professing radical Islamism and jihadism operate.

(The ending follows)

* Tabligh wa Da'awa (Message and Appeal-Arabic) is a fundamentalist Islamist organization that promotes strict adherence to Sharia law. It was founded in the 1920s in what is now Pakistan. Currently, there are quite a lot of such organizations in Western Europe with a center in Britain. In France, their branches are functioning, numbering several thousand followers (approx. author's note).

^{Kepel Jilles.} 1 Identite confessionnelle et identite politique // Zarka Yves Charles. L'islam en France. P., Qaudrige. 2008, p. 137.

² Constitution francaise du 4 octobre 1958. Direction de l'information legale et administrative. La documentation francaise. P., 2011, Article premier, p. 3.

^{Sarkozy Nicolas.} 3 La Republique, les religions, l'esperance. Les editions du Cerf. P., 2004, p. 16.

⁴ Interview with Professor Iwaz. Paris, 13.01.2010. Author's archive.

⁵ http://www.portail-religion.fr.in/ dossier/islam/pratique

⁶ Conversation with Naufel Brahim. Paris, 20.01.2010. Author's archive.

⁷ http://www.uejf.org.in/tohubohu/ archives/numero6/dossier/jeu.html

⁸ http://www.p-m-f.org. in/crbst_33.html

⁹ http://www.lefigaro.fr.in/actualite-france/2009/08/15/0101 -200908

¹⁰ Cit. by: Marechal Brigitte. Les Freres musulmanes en Europe. Racines et discours. P., 2009, p. 137.

¹¹ A conversation with John R. Boven. Paris, 14.06.2013. Author's archive.

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