The shooting attacks in Paris last week claimed the lives of a total of 17 victims and ended with the deaths of the three gunmen. The outrages, perpetrated by Islamic extremists and which began with the massacre at the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine before the separate murders of two police officers and the executions of four hostages in a Jewish supermarket, have opened a vast societal debate in France. There have been comparisons made with the 9/11 attacks in the United States, questions raised about the true significance of the national unity displayed during last Sunday’s huge marches in defiance of terrorism, about the real extent of integration, and stigmatization, of the French Muslim population, and why the jihad increasingly lures some young French citizens. In this interview with Joseph Confavreux, Olivier Roy, a recognised expert in France and abroad on questions of Islam and religious fundamentalism, discusses these and related issues, and highlights the taboos that cloud an effective analysis of the events.
Olivier Roy is a recognised expert in France and abroad on questions of Islam and religious fundamentalism, the author of numerous works, including Globalized Islam, published in English by Chicago University Press. A senior researcher for the French National Centre for Scientific Research, and a former consultant to the UN and visiting Professor at Berkeley University, he is also chair of Mediterranean studies at the European University Institute based in Florence, Italy.
