Episode 24: On Immigration, Islam and Identity vs Security

I met today’s guest 3 years ago at a café. He was conducting research on French Islam, I was writing my book on Paris. That café was a source of comfort for both of us after the Nov 13th attacks which killed and injured hundreds. These attacks, carried out by French or other European nationals affiliated with or inspired by the Islamic State, raised serious questions about France’s security, treatment of Muslims in the country, and policies toward integration and deradicalization. Andrew Aguilar, then a visiting scholar at Science Po, had his own views on the issue. Today, Andrew is a PhD candidate in political science at Science Po and continues his research about what’s really at play when we speak about French Islam. On this episode, I speak to Andrew about immigration, Macron’s new quest to restructure Islam in France and how the country’s Muslims feel about their place in French society. Mentioned in this episode: Andrew’s Letter to the Opinion Editor in the Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/macrons-plan-is-the-latest-attempt-at-religious-integration-in-france/2018/04/23/9e33c2be-44ce-11e8-b2dc-b0a403e4720a_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.915d0837c3da France attempts to “reform” identity https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/struggling-to-prevent-terrorist-attacks-france-wants-to-reform-islam/2018/04/16/b81a20c6-1d67-11e8-98f5-ceecfa8741b6_story.html?utm_term=.79e1e7580a5d&tid=a_inl_manual A French variant of Islam: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/03/islam-france-macron/556604/ La France Insoumise https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_France_Insoumise