Moroccan Author Slimani Urges Distinction Between Islamism and Terrorism in French Media

Alongside actor Kad Merad on the television show on February 14, Leïla Slimani lambasted the use that the French media and politicians make of the term "Islamism". Accusing the use as out of the ordinary and inadequate, the Moroccan woman recalled that "an Islamist is not a terrorist". Thus, confusing the two is "very dangerous and very approximate," estimated the winner of the 2016 Goncourt Prize.

"Me, I come from a country that is led by Islamists, by an Islamist party: the Prime Minister of Morocco is Islamist. That doesn’t make him a terrorist. There are many countries in the Arab world that are led by Islamists," she declared, before adding, "these are political parties that you can love or not love," while estimating that if she "doesn’t like their program", nevertheless, "we must not confuse them with terrorists."

And to continue, "this obsession with religion, it makes me very angry and very uncomfortable," subsequently assimilating Islamists to conservatives, and wondering: "what is the problem exactly with Islamism in power? Isn’t it just another political option?" "I hate the integralists, and the integralists of all kinds [...] but I can respect that there are conservatives in all religions. We must not mix everything up," she concluded, stressing that "all religions, for example, have a problem with women [...] and defend a form of patriarchy."

These remarks earned the Moroccan and writer strong criticism on Twitter. Some Internet users accuse her of relativism on Islamism and consider her discourse dangerous.