Islamic Schools in France: Minority Integration and Separatism in Western Society

Product Description This book, the first on the growing phenomenon of private full-time K-12 Muslim schools in France, investigates whether these schools participate in the communautarisme (or ethnic/cultural separatism) that Muslims are often accused of or if their founding is a sign of integration, given that most of private education in France is subsidized by the government. Is Islam compatible with the West? This study proposes an answer to this question through the lens of Muslim education in France, adding to our understanding of the so-called resurgence of religion following the demise of the secularization theory and shedding new light on religion’s place in the West and of Islam in diasporic contexts. From the Back Cover This book, the first on the growing phenomenon of private full-time K-12 Muslim schools in France, investigates whether these schools participate in the communautarisme (or ethnic/cultural separatism) that Muslims are often accused of or if their founding is a sign of integration, given that most of private education in France is subsidized by the government. Is Islam compatible with the West? This study proposes an answer to this question through the lens of Muslim education in France, adding to our understanding of the so-called resurgence of religion following the demise of the secularization theory and shedding new light on religion’s place in the West and of Islam in diasporic contexts. About the Author Carine Bourget is Professor of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Arizona, USA. She is the author of Coran et tradition islamique dans la littérature maghrébine and The Star, the Cross, and the Crescent: Religions and Conflicts in Francophone Literature from the Arab World (Choice 2010 Outstanding Academic Title).