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.
3 comments:
It appears that many muslims have a superficial knowledge of Guénon's works as it is the case for the majority of the algerians or other people with immigrated muslim backgrounds in France.
Their level of education is often mediocre for various reason, one being the fact that the family often teach their children to despise the French ( often called the "gaouri" =the pigs), so what's the use to follow a cursus in a french school ?
I may seem cruel but that's the sort of reality I've noticed as a mere French citizen.
In some cases the result of this superficial knowledge is that Guénon is used as a pretext for a refusal to accept French culture and society
That obviously leads to a schizophrenic behaviour, for these immigrated populations tend to criticize or reject French society while they take advantages of its freedom of speach and its wellfare. It is really a specific to muslim originated people : for instance people from Vietnam or other far-East country living in France haven't this sort of psychological problems.
So after all Guénon is just used as a "prestigious" name of a "convert" justifying the claims of the superiority of Islam on each and evrything. Some muslims are fond of real or supposed or false famous westerners "converted" to Islam, from Napoléon to Victor Hugo and even commandant Cousteau or recently...Gérard Depardieu !!! When a religion feels weak and can't stand the challenge of realities, it needs to confort itself with this sort of catalogue of converted celebrities.
Regarding the use of Guénon's name in immigrated muslim people in Europe it is also indeed the eternal misundestanding : to believe that Guénon was a "converted" to Islam ! It only shows that many of these people never ever seriously read any of his book.
Sorry for the gallicisms.
Link seems incorrect (but the fix easy to guess).
Thanks--fixed. Sorry!
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