Navigating Islamophobia and Repression: The Islamic Civil Society Organisations’ Relations with the French State Amid 2021’s Law Against Separatism

This dissertation examines relations between the French State and Islamic Civil Society Organisations (ICSOs) – an original concept elaborated in the thesis – in a context of securitisation, restrictive legislation, and contested citizenship. After the Loi confortant le respect des principes de la République (LCRPR, 2021), or “law against separatism,” the study explores how Muslim associations perceived, negotiated, and resisted the new regulatory environment. It pursues four aims: to introduce ICSOs as a concept for future research; to uncover mechanisms of administrative and financial repression; to analyse strategies of framing, adaptation, and resistance; and to assess the law’s impact on alliances. The investigation addresses four questions: What role do ICSOs play in representing French Muslims? How do they interpret their situation and possibilities for action in crises? How do they navigate repression and cultural constraints? With which non-Muslim actors do they build alliances? The theoretical framework draws on Social Movement studies, particularly Political Opportunity Structure (POS). The thesis refines this paradigm by incorporating discursive opportunities and soft repression, showing how stigmatization and administrative tools reshape civic space. Methodologically, it applies qualitative Grounded Theory, based on 25 interviews with ICSO leaders and activists, combined with event ethnography, participant observation, and secondary sources. A chapter on positionality reflects on the researcher’s role between academia and activism, framed as research-activism and presented as a contribution in itself. Findings show a dual dynamic: ICSOs face dissolutions, funding restrictions, and new bureaucratic requirements – notably the contrat d’engagement républicain – while the associative field becomes fragmented, with weakened alliances and growing isolation. Contemporary crises, including the LCRPR and the Gaza war, further shape framing processes and responses to political threats. The thesis contributes by introducing ICSOs as an analytical concept, providing empirical evidence of their transformation, refining POS with insights on repression and infrapolitics, and advancing reflexive discussion of positionality. It concludes that ICSOs, far from passive, mobilize creative strategies and transnational linkages that open new spaces of opportunity and contestation.