Trois acteurs extérieurs pèsent sur l’organisation de l’islam français : les États du Sud, qui s’efforcent de prolonger en France leur politique interne d’organisation du religieux ; l’Arabie Saoudite, qui voit depuis plusieurs décennies sa projection religieuse comme une ressource politique capitale ; les firmes multinationales du religieux, enfin. Sous ces influences croisées, les musulmans de France tentent de se réapproprier un islam à la mesure de l’Hexagone.
With roughly five million Muslims on its national territory, France has become a focal point for a certain number of international players who believe that exercising control over this population is a sure way to increase their power. This article attempts to construct a typology of the various international players vying for dominance over Islam in France. First, there are those countries from which most of the Muslims in France originate (Algeria, Morocco and Turkey). These States are making use of Islam in France as a way of controlling their expatriate populations. They also deploy their religion as a bastion against the rhetoric of Islamists who come from these same countries. Second, Saudi Arabia, via the intermediary of para-State structures such as the World Islamic League, or through its Islamic universities, is developing networks and agents in order to turn itself into an Islamic religious superpower. Finally, transnational Islamic movements such as the Union of Islamic Organizations in France, close to the Muslim Brotherhoods, are building a transnational network with the aim of becoming indispensable players in the re-islamization of France.
