Religion and violence

The representatives of 'political Islam' claim to possess all the answers to the management of the affairs of contemporary societies. They believe that these societies exist in a state of jahiliyya^[1] identical to that which prevailed in the Arabian Peninsula before the coming of the Prophet of Islam. They therefore call for a new dissemination of Islam, directly or through the seizure of state power. And, for jihadists, this seizure must be by force.

This ideological, 'political' conception of religion and religiosity conveys a global and totalitarian Islamic project. Its promoters claim exclusive legitimacy as opposed to the 'official' religion represented by the authorities in situ. In a majority Muslim context, it is also has as its target so-called 'popular' religion. It is very diverse, according to the setting, the social systems, economic conditions and ways of life. The faithful who follow it emphasise the personification of sacred forces and intermediaries between them and God.; this may, for example, be a saintly person who shared their life, their dramas and their joys, their way of thinking and speaking, who has enabled them to solve certain problems they have and perhaps to triumph over their enemies. At times tension is very great, notably in the north and centre of the African continent, between Muslims tied to 'political' religion on the one side and those who have accommodated themselves to a modus vivendi between 'official' and 'popular' religion on the other.