Mosques in French Cities: Towards the End of a Conflict?

Since the 1990s in France, tensions have decreased and Islam has started to be accepted as a component of religious and cultural French society, particularly at the local level. Discriminatory episodes such as the destruction of prayer halls or explicit resistance to the construction of mosques have tended to disappear, even in the aftermath of 9/11. At present no town councillor would deny the right to have a mosque and nearly everywhere representatives of Muslim organisations have established relations with local authorities. This paper therefore addresses the following question: In these conditions, how do Muslims articulate the requirements of their Islamic faith with the characteristics of their local and national environment? I describe two local cases, Marseilles and Toulouse, where the projects of a mosque are pending.