CEPEL Seminar - 3rd session - Islam and the city

The next CEPEL seminar (UMR 5112) will take place on Friday, March 29, 2019 at 10am in room 006 (building 2) at the Montpellier Faculty of Law and Political Science (Rue Cardinal de Cabrières, 34000 Montpellier).

We will be pleased to welcome Julien Talpin and Julien O'Miel, who will present the collective work co-edited with Franck Frégosi:L'islam et la cité. Engagements musulmans dans les quartiers populaires,published by Presses Universitaires du Septentrion in 2017.

The talk will be discussed byArthurGroz, Manon Ratel and Roman Vareilles, doctoral students at CEPEL.

Abstract:Islam is a contentious issue in French politics today. It is said to be a vector of inward-looking attitudes and political instrumentalization. However, at a distance from the globalizing discourses present in the public arena and the media, this book aims to demonstrate that this religion can be a resource for mobilizing actors who were previously predisposed to apathy, in a context where secularism constrains forms of commitment based on religious experience. In particular, it aims to undo analyses that would have the "Muslim community" act as a single, homogeneous social group. By following the actors up close in various working-class neighborhoods, this book reveals the very strong constraints weighing on the collective action of minority groups. Contrary to a reading that sees them as nothing more than "communitarian" demands, this book demonstrates that Islamic-inspired commitments are first and foremost about equality.

Julien Talpin is a research fellow in political science at the CNRS, a member of CERAPS (UMR 8026) and co-editor-in-chief of the journal Participations. His work focuses on engagement and participation in working-class neighborhoods. His publications include Community Organizing. De l'émeute à l'alliance des classes populaires aux États-Unis,Raisons d'agir, 2016.

Julien O'Miel is a lecturer in political science at the University of Lille and a member of CERAPS (UMR 8026). His work focuses on the transnational circulation of participatory democracy and the mapping of poverty. He is notably the author of "Modèle ou mirage? Circulation et réappropriation de la politique régionale participative toscane", Participations, 1/2016 (n° 14).

Brochure: CEPEL Seminar - Islam and the city