Constructing Muslims in France
Discourse, Public Identity, and the Politics of Citizenship
Jennifer Fredette (Author)
9781439910283
Hardback, published 17 February 2014
228 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.666 kg
"With xenophobia and anti-immigrant narratives gaining currency is Europe and elsewhere, Fredette's study is extremely pertinent in its unraveling of the bleak underbellies of republicanism, democracy and the modern nation state in itself. Rightly locating the anti-Muslim discourse as a narrative and affirmative ideology in France, what earmarks Fredette's study is her intersectional positionality – addressing simultaneously race, gender and ethnic locations of immigrants. Breaking through the homogeneity of official claims on Muslim religiosity, Fredette has moved beyond – with the interviewees at times appropriating or even negating their hybrid identities."--
Anthropology Book Forum
The standing of French Muslims is undercut by a predominant and persistent elite public discourse that frames Muslims as failed and incomplete French citizens. This situation fosters the very separations, exclusions, and hierarchies it claims to deplore as Muslims face discrimination in education, housing, and employment.
In Constructing Muslims in France, Jennifer Fredette provides a deft empirical analysis to show the political diversity and complicated identity politics of this relatively new population. She examines the public identity of French Muslims and evaluates images in popular media to show how stereotyped notions of racial and religious differences pervade French public discourse. While rights may be a sine qua non for fighting legal and political inequality, Fredette shows that additional tools such as media access are needed to combat social inequality, particularly when it comes in the form of unfavorable discursive frames and public disrespect.
Presenting the conflicting views of French national identity, Fredette shows how Muslims strive to gain recognition of their diverse views and backgrounds and find full equality as French citizens.
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1 Introduction: Why Do We Ask Whether Muslims Can Be French?
2 Elusive Citizenship: The Consequences of an Undesirable Public Identity
3 Claiming Membership: French Muslim Identities, Political Goals, and Repertoires of Contention
4 Education: The (Undelivered?) Promise of Republican Equality
5 Employment: The Muslim Experience in (and out of) the Workplace
6 Housing: The Banlieues as a Geographic and Socially Constructed Place
7 The Contentious Concept of Frenchness: French Muslims Embracing, Reimagining, but Not Rejecting the Republican Triad
Appendix: Sample Questionnaire
Notes
References
Index
