Call for Papers

Conference Title: Muslim Integration, Political Islam, and State Islamophobia: France in 2025
Date: December 13, 2025
Location: Paris, France
Hosted by: Islamophobia Studies Center, Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project, Islamophobia Studies Journal, Re-Orient Journal

In May 2025, a confidential French government report titled “The Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islam in France”was leaked to Le Figaro, igniting a national firestorm. While framed as a security assessment, the report focused on alleged “entryism” strategies by the Muslim Brotherhood in French institutions. It warned of a long-term, non-violent infiltration of schools, sports associations, mosques, and local governments.

The report’s claims—that Muslim organizations, particularly the Federation of Muslims of France (FMF), posed a subtle but significant threat to laïcité and national cohesion—provoked heated debate. While conservative media and state officials amplified its warnings, critics denounced the findings as alarmist and politically motivated, deepening fears of state-sponsored Islamophobia.

Placed within the broader context of France’s 2024 migration law and its aftermath, including:

• Stricter language and “French values” contracts for immigrants,
• Budget cuts to integration and French language programs,
• The precarious conditions of asylum seekers, particularly women,

…the report raises urgent questions about how “integration” is defined, who is empowered to speak on behalf of Muslim communities, and the role of the state in manufacturing threats to justify exclusionary and surveillance policies.

This conference will bring together scholars, researchers, journalists, and community leaders to critically examine the 2025 Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islam report, its political uses, and its impact on France’s Muslim communities. Beyond critiquing state narratives, the conference seeks to explore the broader conditions of immigrants, French Muslims and Muslims across  Europe, and to situate these debates within global conversations on Islamophobia, securitization, and belonging.

Suggested Themes & Questions

We invite papers, panels, and workshops that engage with (but are not limited to) the following themes:

• The 2025 Report and its Reception
  • How does the leaked report construct the “Muslim Brotherhood threat”?
  • What are the political stakes of framing Muslim participation as “entryism”?
  • How has media discourse amplified or challenged the report’s claims?
• Integration, Assimilation, and Exclusion
  • The impact of the 2024 migration law on integration, language acquisition, and social inclusion.
  • Gendered dimensions of integration: asylum-seeking women and vulnerable communities.
  • Digital divides and the consequences of moving integration programs online.
• Laïcité and Republican Values
  • The historical evolution of laïcité and its deployment in regulating Muslim presence.
  • Is laïcité a neutral principle, or has it become a tool of exclusion?
  • Contesting the narrative of “threats to cohesion.”
• Islamophobia and State Power
  • State-sponsored Islamophobia as a governance strategy.
  • The securitization of Muslim political participation.
  • Comparative perspectives: How do other European states deploy similar narratives?
• Community Voices and Resistance
  • Muslim civic and political engagement in France today.
  • Strategies of resilience, advocacy, and counter-narratives.
  • Transnational solidarities and decolonial critiques.

Submission Guidelines

• Abstracts: 300–400 words
• Deadline for Submission: October 30th, 2025
• Notification of Acceptance: November 10th, 2025

Please include:

• Title of your paper
• Author name(s), affiliation(s), and contact information