Islamophobia: How French elites fabricate the “Muslim problem”, by Abdellali Hajjat and Marwan Mohammed

Contrary to the legend peddled in the mainstream media, the term "Islamophobia" was not invented by the Iranian mullahs: it appeared in France at the beginning of the 20th century, in the midst of the colonial period, at a time when violent anti-Muslim discourse... While hostility against Muslims is expressed almost daily by stigmatizing discourse, discriminatory practices or physical attacks, Abdellali Hajjat and Marwan Mohammed are doing salutary work here: they explain how Islam has gradually been constructed as a "problem" and how Islamophobia has become the favorite weapon of a racism that does not say its name.

This book thus presents to the general public, for the first time, a critical assessment of the research carried out, in France and abroad, on this phenomenon. Taking stock of the debates around the concept of Islamophobia, it offers a rigorous description of Islamophobic speeches and acts , by placing them in the long history of colonial racism and in their articulation with anti-Semitism. By insisting on the importance of the strategies of the actors, the authors dissect the process of othering of the “Muslims” who, explaining the social reality by the religious factor, is diffused in the media and elsewhere. Finally, they analyze the reception of Islamophobic discourse by Muslims and the forms of contestation of Islamophobia through collective action and the mobilization of anti-discrimination law.

About the Authors: Abdellali Hajjat, Marwan Mohammed

Abdellali Hajjat , sociologist, is a lecturer in political science at the University of Paris-Ouest Nanterre. He is notably the author of The March for Equality and Against Rascism ( Amesterdam , 2013) and "The Frontiers of National Identity".

Marwan Mohammed , sociologist, is a CNRS researcher, CMH-ERIS . He is notably the author of La Formation des bande de jeunes ( PUF , 2011) and co-director (with Laurent Mucchielli ) of Les Bandes de jeunes. From "black jackets" to the present day ( La Découverte, 2007) .
Since 2011, they have led the "Islamophobia" seminar at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Paris)