A new article on the reception of René Guénon in France, or rather the contemporary presentation of his thought at the Paris Grand Mosque, has just been published in the Journal of Sufi Studies. It is “Guénonian Traditionalism at the Grand Mosque of Paris: A Profile of a Sufi Teacher” by Ricarda Stegmann (JSS 13, 2024, no. 22, pp. 211-229, available here).
Stegmann followed the classes of a well-established (and anonymized) teacher at the Grand Mosque of Paris who introduced some of Guénon’s ideas to first-generation immigrants from Algeria. She draws the thought-provoking conclusion that while at first sight Guénonian perspectives on the difference between the traditional Orient and the modern West might seem to reinforce an old-style Orientalist othering of Algerians and act against their integration and acceptance into French society, in fact it may do the opposite: “While Guénon’s worldview was originally meant to suggest an alternative lifestyle for Westerners, it might here offer migrants a positive evaluation of their Muslim identity as well as an explanation for experiences of foreignness and discrimination in France.” Thus, “it rejects integration while carrying it out.” Yes, it probably does. Worth reading.
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