CEPEL Seminar – Session 3 – Islam and the City

The next session of the CEPEL (UMR 5112) seminar will take place on Friday, March 29, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. inRoom006 (Building 2) at the Faculty of Law and Political Science in Montpellier (Rue Cardinal de Cabrières, 34000 Montpellier).

We are pleased to welcome Julien Talpin and Julien O’Miel, who will present the anthology they co-edited with Franck Frégosi: *Islam and the City: Muslim Engagement in Working-Class Neighborhoods*, published by Presses Universitaires du Septentrion in 2017.

The presentation will be discussedby Arthur Groz, Manon Ratel,andRoman Vareilles,doctoral students at CEPEL.

Abstract: Islam is currently a contentious issue in French politics. It is often portrayed as a force driving insularity or as a tool for political manipulation. Yet, moving beyond the sweeping generalizations found in public discourse and the media, this book aims to demonstrate that this religion can serve as a resource for mobilizing individuals who might otherwise be prone to apathy, in a context where secularism restricts forms of engagement rooted in religious experience. It specifically aims to challenge analyses that portray the “Muslim community” as a single, homogeneous social group. By closely following these actors in various working-class neighborhoods, this book highlights the significant constraints weighing on the collective action of minority groups. Contrary to a reading that would see only “communitarian” demands, this book demonstrates that commitments inspired by Islam seek, above all else, 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 civic engagement and participation in working-class neighborhoods. His publications include *Community Organizing. From Riots to the Alliance of the Working Classes in the United States, Raisons d’agir, 2016.

Julien O’Miel is an associate professor of political science at the University of Lille and a member of CERAPS (UMR 8026). His research focuses on the transnational circulation of participatory democracy mechanisms and on the mapping of poverty. He is the author of “Model or Mirage? Circulation and Reappropriation of Tuscan Participatory Regional Politics,” Participations, 1/2016 (No. 14).

Brochure: CEPEL Seminar – Islam and the City