CONFERENCE–DEBATE

The CEFREPA hosted on November 27, 2024 a rich and captivating conference/Debate entitled: «Islam in Europe: complex conversations with secularization and institutions» with Dr. Michael Privot in presence of the Ambassador of France in Kuwait Mr. Olivier Gauvin.

The increasing presence in Europe, specifically in North-West Europe, over the last 60 years have brought up many challenging questions for both Muslim communities and their leaders as well as for institutions, from the local to the European levels, on how to apprehend this complex, multilayered and decentralized phenomenon. Whereas Muslims have repeatedly expressed strong concerns about the negative impacts of modernity and secularization on Islam, the very growth of Islam, its profusion of trends and varieties, its “liquidity” in adapting to 27 different national contexts is specifically linked to the high level compatibility of its DNA with secularization/secularism. The conference discussed how to bring interesting insights in this complexity through the eyes of one committed participant to this adventure.
Dr. Michaël Privot is a trained scholar in the field of Islamic Studies, from the University of Liège (Belgium), where he serves as scientific collaborator at the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Migration (CEDEM). His doctoral researches were articulating the fields of philology, codicology, Islamic classical philosophy and tasawwuf. He later explored issues linked to identities of European Muslims, liberal theology and radicalization. He is recognized as a voice that matters in Belgium and European Islam. He has authored a number of books and papers, including on Imamate in Europe. He currently serves as Board Member of the Muslim Council of Belgium, the official representative body of the Muslim cult in Belgium. In his daily life, Michael is a consultant in D&I as well as public diplomacy.