Dynamics of Concealment in French/Muslim Neo-Colonial Encounters: An Exploration of Colonial Discourses in Contemporary France

by Koons, Casey Joseph

This paper investigates the neo-colonial situation occurring within contemporary France, surrounding the tensions that have emerged concomitantly with increasing numbers of Muslim immigrants in the country. Proposing the application of methods from the history of religions, the thesis traces the concealing function of colonial discourses in French colonial Algeria, suggesting a connection between them and French immigration policy in the 20th century. It further investigates the roles that these discourses play in the formation of the religious identities of the liminal sons and daughters of Muslim immigrants to France with several case studies, including a look at the hijab debate in France and the novel Le Gone du Chaâba by Azouz Begag. Using these examples, the thesis concludes by exploring the way that colonial dynamics of concealment may be subverted.