Expert: Islam, Not Social Factors, Driving Radicalisation in France

http://bit.ly/2GLxufE | Sociologist Olivier Galland has slammed many of his fellow academics for having a myopic view of radicalisation in France, saying that the effect of Islam is more important than social factors like poverty.

After the Bataclan attacks in 2015, Galland launched a survey of high school pupils on the subject of radicalism and found that Muslim students, in particular, were the most tolerant of violence committed in the name of religion.

The results of the study, which were published earlier this week, showed that Muslim pupils were often much more illiberal than their non-Muslim counterparts and Galland has claimed that it is the effect of the religion of Islam, rather than simply social factors that drive radicalisation among them.

"We find a divergence and the existence of a cultural divide between young Muslims and their comrades. For them, religion dominates the secular world: this is what we have called 'religious absolutism'," Galland said.

"This conception of religion is linked to cultural anti-liberalism, which we measured with several questions, including one on homosexuality: more young Muslims than others do not see it as a normal way of living one's sexuality," he added, but stressed: "This does not mean, of course, that all are ultra-radical or that they are potential terrorists."

According to Galland, the migrant-heavy suburbs of Paris contained the largest amounts of radicalism.

"In some institutions, the proportion of 'absolutists' rises to more than 40 per cent. There is also a 'segregation' effect: when the rate of Muslim students is very high in a high school, they are more radical than elsewhere. But everywhere, Muslim students are more religiously radical than others," he said.