Muslim-led Riots, France in Flames with Florence Bergeaud-Blackler

Description

The streets of cities across France are currently aflame following the police shooting and killing of Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old Muslim with a long criminal history. Islamist groups have emerged to lead the insurrection; for example, they reportedly burned down the main library in Marseilles while chanting “Allahu Akbar.” How have Islamists exploited the violence? Where are the anti-Islamist Muslims? What are the long-term implications of this episode?

Florence Bergeaud-Blackler specializes in the study of Islamic norms in a secular context. She is the author of Le Frérisme et ses réseaux: L'Enquête (Brotherhoodism and its Networks: An Investigation) (Odile Jacob, 2023) which scholars received favorably but which prompted death threats from Islamists. She is a researcher at the Sociétés Religions Lucite Group at Paris Sciences et Lettres University. She holds a PhD from Bordeaux University and a habilitation to direct research from the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris.