Draft:Sadeq Salam

Sadeq Salam
Name	Sadeq Salam
Personal Details

Sadeq Salam is a historian of Islamic history from France.

Most Important Activities

"Sadeq Salam" in the introduction he wrote for the book: "Islam and Muslims in France", states: The work he has done is the result of long experience and research that has been able to offer various products that raise essential questions away from pre-prepared images.

He intended in his new book (France and Muslims) to shed light on the real grounds of conflict that fuel negative perceptions towards Islam. He also stated regarding secularism: that its essence is the separation between religion and state and encouraging freedom of expression and human rights; but in France in interaction with Muslims and their religion, it is not so, and Islam and Muslims are treated in a way that contradicts the mission of secularism which France boasts of — as a brilliant human and civilizational achievement. Such behavior towards Muslims and Islam in France is astonishing.

Purpose of the Book Title "France and Muslims"

He says this about choosing the title of his book: I have studied a specific aspect of contemporary Islamic history and France together. Unlike some researchers who have accustomed themselves to politicizing Islamic studies over the past quarter-century regarding what happens in Afghanistan, Egypt, Chechnya, etc., I have addressed [the actual situation]. Some of them have published several volumes of books and named it an examination of the situation of Muslims in France; but they have only addressed fundamentalist and extremist movements; however, I have tried to answer this question: How has France behaved towards Muslims who have no tendency towards the Muslim Brotherhood movement, nor the Wahhabi trend, nor the Salafi movement, and only wish to enjoy civil rights and the implementation of the principle of equality for followers of the Islamic religion?

History of Islam in France

What is published regarding the subject of Islam in France focuses on extremist and terrorist movements. These options are scientifically criticizable. The best way to compensate for this deficiency is to examine the subject from a historical perspective. This is quite possible given the long history of direct relations between the French and Muslims dating back to the time of the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte to Egypt. Besides this, tens of thousands of Muslims, after being expelled from Spain, from 1609 CE onwards, settled in France.

Personality of General Jacques Abdullah Menou

The invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte to Egypt marked the beginning of a new period in Islamic history; because many Muslims from this period began to study how to accept aspects of European modernity; simultaneously, the number of French people who became interested in studying Islam increased. In some of these individuals, this interest moved from the intellectual and historical sphere to the spiritual and belief sphere, and as a result, from this time; meaning the time of the invasion of Napoleon to Egypt, a large number of French people turned to Islam and became Muslims. The most famous of these French converts is General Jacques Abdullah Menou who after converting to Islam, instead of "Kléber", took command of the French army in Egypt. Abdullah Menou married a Muslim woman named Lala Zubayda and had a child from her whom he named Ali. Napoleon Bonaparte paid special attention to the wife and child of General Abdullah Menou after his death, who had settled in Italy with him after his return from Egypt. Lala Zubayda lived in Paris for many years, and after death was buried in Père Lachaise cemetery. She always maintained her Islamic cover (hijab black color), and this means that politics does not govern the inner tendencies of individuals.

Islam Magazine and its Role in France

«Islam Magazine» began operations in 1895 CE. At that time, the Caston Doujaric Institute felt the importance of Islamic issues in securing France's supreme interests. He encouraged directing Islamic studies to improve relations between France and its Muslims, and this magazine encouraged French officials to establish an Islamic residential complex in Paris so that France would be among the countries helping new Muslims in Europe. Doujaric criticized Orientalists who exaggerated terror in describing political or military Islamic movements. They had financial motives behind these descriptions and images; but Doujaric called them to improve their relations with Muslims, help their social and scientific growth, and grant them full citizenship rights. He predicted that if his advice was not followed, anti-colonial movements would emerge.

A Platform for Thinkers

This magazine opened its columns to Muslim thinkers; thinkers such as Said Halim from the Ottoman Empire, Qasim Amin from Egypt, Mustafa Kemal Ibn Khoja from Algeria. These Muslim scholars wrote articles in Islam Magazine. This magazine was active for ten years in the field of Islamic studies and specifically in determining the policy line of France in interaction with Islam, in a manner different from the policy of the colonial era; because this magazine encouraged dialogue between cultures, religions, and civilizations, which remains a worthy subject of attention today. Nowadays, crises similar to those that forced Doujaric and his colleagues such as Lamiras to study Islam and Muslims are raised.

Ernest Renan's Theory on Islam

Ernest Renan had a negative and extremely spiteful stance towards Islam; because he had based his analysis of Islam on the unfortunate conditions of Muslims. He mixed these conditions with the teachings of the Islamic religion and influenced several generations of French intellectuals and educated individuals with this incorrect view, the effects and sediments of which still remain. However, the positivist flow and followers of Auguste Comte disagreed with Ernest Renan regarding the type of view he had on Islam; although he was happy about leaving the field of theology and criticizing the Church, just as Loisy also left the field of theology. Charles de Mesmer strongly responded with several philosophical and historical arguments to the accusations that Ernest Renan made against Islam in 1883 CE, during the dispute with Sayyid Jamal al-Din in Paris. Mesmer believed and had faith in the renaissance of Islam and the ability of Muslims in the field of new sciences.

Marginalization of Islam in France

Due to the fact that French society considered Islam a foreign element from long ago and over decades, it has remained marginalized. Although statistics obtained in the early 1990s show that the Islamic religion holds the second rank in terms of population in France. Perhaps the mentalities left in memories from the liberation wars of Algeria have forced French officials not to admit this new reality. They prefer to consign the shocks and psychological damages resulting from that war to the abyss of oblivion.

Dual and Discriminatory Behavior

Article 43 of the 1905 CE law, which separates religion and state, stipulates the execution of this principle in Algeria, which was then part of French soil; but colonial forces forced the French Republic not to execute this foundational text of Secularism regarding the Islamic religion; because colonialism feared that Islam independent from the state would continue to grow and flourish; thus it preferred that the dominance of secular power over this religion continue. This dual and discriminatory behavior sent a flood of criticisms from Muslims towards colonial Secularism of France; as if this verse from Basiri was the tongue of their state which says: (I seek forgiveness from God from he who says without action); I seek forgiveness from God for speech without action.

Laws Specific to Muslims

The 1907 CE regulation emphasizes the execution of the 1905 CE law regarding Islam and its followers; but the Interior Administration in the government delayed the execution of this law for ten years. Instead of executing it at the promised time at the end of this transition period, military and political officials formed the association (Habas al-Haramayn al-Sharifayn) in 1917 CE for non-religious purposes. When this association was mandated to establish the Paris Mosque in 1920 CE, the flow of issuing (Algerian Islam) to France and in the heart of Paris started. (Algerian Islam) was the result of the non-execution of Republic laws on the Islamic religion, and this flow led to the decline of the reformist movement friendly to Islam which tried to make the Paris Islamic Institute a symbol of break from coercive and oppressive interactions towards Islam and Muslims.

September 11th Incident

Failure to implement the 1905 CE law regarding Islam and obstructing the Islamic Studies Center project in 1920 CE, along with rejecting the proposals of the great French orientalist Louis Massignon to revive this studies center in 1947 CE, are all negative precedents that interpret the difficulties hindering the normalization of relations between the secular government and Islam. This indicates the existence of opposing forces and obstructions against implementing the principle of equality regarding Islam and Muslims. These forces demonstrated their power when Socialist Prime Minister Guy Mollet in 1957 CE allowed himself to appoint his party colleague Hamza Boubaker to the leadership of the Paris Mosque. The cabinet considered this action an insult to secularism laws and condemned it, but the one who benefited from this illegitimate interference in religious affairs administered the Paris Mosque for twenty-five years. This dangerous incident indicates that the relationship between secularism and Islam is not subject to law, and the negative effects of these actions were fully observable in the political society before the September 11th attacks and even before the Islamic Revolution.

Proper Islamic Studies

The politicization of Islamic studies following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran led political science specialists to monopolize this subject and influence public opinion by employing fear of fundamentalist and terrorist movements; however, studying the subject from a historical perspective dispels many illusions and reminds the government of its secular responsibilities which it has forgotten regarding Islam. It is very difficult for the flow of accusations against the majority of Muslims to continue aiming to forget the mistakes of the secular flow; a flow that has never accepted to face Islam with fairness. One must focus on objective and real facts—as Marxists also say—so that the irrational and illusory dimensions of the crisis of Islamic studies at the end of the colonial era are rooted. Studying Islam necessitates interaction with the customs of the nation and the Muslim masses to understand the developments of Islamic society and link it with the Islamic Civilization movement in the long term. Political science specialists exaggerate in this aspect and forget its scientific dimensions; because they suffice with accompanying security policies adopted against Muslims; but with the arrival of another generation of young Muslim intellectuals in the future, this painful situation will inevitably change. This new generation can emulate great scholars and orientalists, such as Massignon, Corbin, and Jacques Berque, who have left a valuable heritage in Islamic studies in the French language.

Councils and Associations

The French Council of the Muslim Faith strives to gather a group of Muslim speakers and preachers that the French government has selected based on moral and intellectual necessities arising from the Islamic heritage. If the government truly wants to organize a group that truly represents Muslims, it should encourage those who can create a religious power that interacts with the scholars of Al-Azhar, Zitouna, Qarawiyyin, Najaf, and perhaps the University of the Emir in Constantine. Such a council would be obliged to establish its legitimacy by offering solutions to problems, especially financing mosques and opening the doors of ijtihad; naturally, the discussion of exercising ijtihad is not very pleasing to those who have accepted following official (traditional) Islam. These associations have played a positive role in organizing religious life; because Muslims of France await further efforts in intellectual fields. This necessitates the distribution of roles. We know that the Baghdad Caliphate created a distance between the mosque and the school, and the secular government should provide financial aid for free Islamic education, just as it provides such aid to other religions. Muslims must prove that Islam can participate with other currents in solving spiritual crises and not remain confined within the narrow circle of ideology.