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Contemporary Islam

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29-04-2021

The journey from france to france: the spiritual moves of muslim youth from marseille

Author: Cécile Evers

Published in: Contemporary Islam | Issue 1/2021

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Abstract

Based on long-term ethnographic research with youth who were born to North, West, and East African families in northern Marseille, this article explores the common experience of alienation that practicing Muslims from Marseille report as they endeavor to live piously in their hometown, together with the mobility-oriented strategies they have devised to achieve belonging. Following these Muslim-Marseillais young adults longitudinally, it emerges that some relied on physical migration away from France (religiously conceived as hijrah) as a means of remaining pious and finding belonging. Others, meanwhile, navigated towards pious personhood and finding home in ways that still involved movement but transpired within France. Significantly, individuals who have chosen to remain in France carve out pious belonging by engaging in domestic movements to particular places in France, by pursuing occupational mobility, and by making advantageous use of prestigious linguistic registers like Standard French and Modern Standard Arabic. As such, the article suggests that hijrah is but one—and the most transnational—among various kinds of movement to which young Muslim-Marseillais turn as they grapple with discrimination, seek to improve themselves, and ascertain how best to belong.

previous article “They have no taste in Morocco.” Home furnishing, belonging, and notions of religious (im)perfection among white Dutch and Flemish converts in Morocco

next article ‘Reaching the land of jihad’ - Dutch Syria volunteers, hijra and counter-conduct

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The research conversations embedded in this article are ones that were (for the most part) held in French, were audio recorded with consent, and are represented here in English translation. When conversations feature Marseille-specific ways of speaking French, or transpired in Arabic, the original version is noted for the reader. I have likewise replaced each of my research participants’ real names with pseudonyms, to protect their identities.

I am deeply indebted to Nadia Fadil and to two anonymous reviewers, without whose insightful comments and encouragement this article would undoubtedly not have gone to press.

“Aix je kiff je ne suis plus apatride sois heureuse stp mdr.”

While the Quraysh were effectively the Prophet’s clansmen or kin, they objected to the monotheistic message that had been imparted to him during years of revelation. Thus, the Quraysh “attacked the Muslims living in their midst, confining them, beating them, allowing them no food or drink, and exposing them to the burning heat of Mecca, so as to seduce them from their religion” (Peters 2014:52).

This English version of Qailah’s French translation comes from Dawood’s (2000:93) translation and exegesis of the Koran. Qailah’s French original reads: “Ceux qui ont fait du tort à eux mêmes, les Anges enlèveront leurs âmes en disant: ‘Où en étiez-vous?’ (à propos de votre religion)—‘Nous étions impuissants sur terre,’ dirent-ils. Alors les Anges diront: ‘La terre d’Allah n’était-elle pas assez vaste pour vous permettre d’émigrer?’ Voilà bien ceux dont le refuge et [sic] l’Enfer. Et quelle mauvaise destination! (Sourate 4 verset 97).”.

French citizens seeking to live and work in Algeria can apply to obtain residence and work permits, which are renewable every two years.

The four arrondissements of northern Marseille represent an area where from 25% to more than 50% of families (depending on the exact location) have revenues below the poverty line, defined by the INSEE (2002) as having a monthly familial revenue of less than 621,38 Euros. The sector is likewise a designated “educational priority area” (zone d’éducation prioritaire), meaning students face precarious conditions and unusual challenges in completing their education.

The school’s director, Anwar, is a mathematician from Tunis and an Imam. His wife and covisionary, Hanan, is from Alsace-Lorraine and works part-time as co-director and part-time as a nurse. Today, the school counts 40 full-time staff and a fully functional school campus. However, when I worked there between 2012 and 2013, the school had not yet been officially accredited by the French Ministry of Education. Its modest funding base at that time was reflected in its fewer staff, resources, and buildings. Following the school’s accreditation in 2015 however, when they were put under contract (“sous contrat”) following a 5-year review, all of the school staff’s salaries and building maintenance became the financial responsibility of the French State.

Afḍal an yatakallam al-nas al-lughah al- ‘arabiyya al-fuṣḥā lākin anā la atakallam al- ‘arabiyya al-fuṣḥā bal al-franciyyah al-fuṣḥā fī l-bayt /أفضل أن يتكلّم الناس اللغة العربيّة الفصحى لكن أنا لا أتكلّم العربيّة الفصحى بل الفرنسيّة الفصحى في البيت.

Note that syllable-final schwa, post-velar nasals, and the realization of Standard French /o/ as [ɔ] are stereotypically associated with the way that working-class people speak in Marseille.

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Title: The journey from france to france: the spiritual moves of muslim youth from marseille
Author: Cécile Evers
Publication date: 29-04-2021
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Published in: Contemporary Islam / Issue 1/2021
Print ISSN: 1872-0218
Electronic ISSN: 1872-0226
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-021-00466-2

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Other articles of this Issue 1/2021

‘Making Hijra’: mobility, religion and the everyday in the lives of women converts to Islam in the Netherlands

“Some kind of family”: Hijra between people and places

Envisioning Hijra: the ethics of leaving and dwelling of European Muslims

‘Reaching the land of jihad’ - Dutch Syria volunteers, hijra and counter-conduct

“They have no taste in Morocco.” Home furnishing, belonging, and notions of religious (im)perfection among white Dutch and Flemish converts in Morocco

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