From conservative Islam to the ‘Theology of acculturation’

This chapter sheds light on a well-regarded French imam of Moroccan origins and his growing leadership in society, not only at the local but also at the national level. It locates Tareq Oubrou’s unique trajectory and discourse within the field of contemporary Muslim leadership, and examines his key contributions to the institutionalization of Islam in France – if not his founding role in the birth of ‘French Islam’. The chapter outlines Oubrou’s progressive shift from a conservative understanding of Islam in his early twenties to playing a leading role in the theological ‘acculturation’ and ‘secularization’ of Islam in France, a process he considers necessary and even urgent in light of the growing tensions in French society.