Preaching Muslim Loyalty in France: Rhetoric and Counter-Discourse

Abstract

This paper analyzes online sermons on Muslim loyalty to non-Muslims uttered by Tareq Oubrou, one of the most prominent Muslim religious authorities in France. The aim of this study is twofold. First, Oubrou’s rhetoric will be examined (especially in what pertains to the opening, the hybrid format of preaching, the languages used, citations, digital tools, and the closing). Second, Oubrou’s online sermons will be addressed as a counter-narrative on loyalty intended primarily to neutralize the radical Salafi discourses which forbid any form of loyalty towards non-Muslims. Oubrou utilizes online preaching: (1) to teach wider audiences of ordinary Muslims, outside of the practicing audience who attend mosques regularly, loyalty towards non-Muslims, (2) to compete for space and authoritative discourse on Islam, and (3) to prosecute radical discourses on loyalty particularly present in the virtual space as well as among undersized, albeit active, Salafi communities in France.