Farid ABDELKRIM

Why did a well-behaved kid, a bright student, end up losing his way? Did the early death of his father lock him into a spiral of delinquency? Did the tragic death of a young man from his neighbourhood push him toward Islamism? Avoiding shortcuts: that is what Farid Abdelkrim invites us to do by retracing his instructive journey. In this book, this now free man offers an unexpected perspective, fresh and uncompromising, on our society. Through the pages unfolds the reasons that led a teenager seeking meaning and identity to become a relentless zealot. Depicted are some of the phases that drove a child of the Republic to become stateless. And by dissecting the intricacies, but also the structure and modus operandi of the Muslim Brotherhood organisation to which he belonged for over fifteen years, the author tells us why and how he eventually left. An exit toward the light followed by this redemptive cry of hope. "No, I can no longer reasonably believe that God entrusted me with the mission of announcing to the world that I am the best simply because I would be the custodian of his religion. It seems to me rather that his teachings are an invitation to share, provided they are consciously embodied, universal values that breathe encouragement to become better." An unprecedented, essential and gripping book.

Yet France, a secular Republic that has managed well enough with other religious traditions, seems to have the greatest difficulty grasping the newest arrival. This is largely due to the nature of the "debate" whose terms have always been completely inappropriate. A "debate" that establishes that citizens, no doubt too Muslim to be sufficiently French, would need to be represented by their peers, specifically Muslim "representatives" who are not at all French. Although Muslim, citizen voices are rising up to say: "We recognise no one apart from the representatives of the people, nor any community outside the national community!" As for the Islamic faith, it awaits someone who would accept and be capable of serving it to make it audible, intelligible and tangible. Here. And now. Clearly, France has and will have the Islam and, consequently, the Muslims it deserves. This book, because the author wishes his religion to cease being a problem for his country, proposes a simple yet realistic path toward a definitively French Islam.

In this new creation, Farid Abdelkrim, sometimes wildly optimistic, sometimes radically off his rocker, shares one of his craziest obsessions: reconciling the glorification of Allah and the celebration of the Republic. Unless it's the glorification of the Republic and the celebration of Allah... To achieve this, he cobbles together schemes like patching up his two cultures, French and Algerian, supporting the thesis of a Greco-Romano-Arab Europe with a Judeo-Christiano-Islamic tradition, lampooning the Great Replacement theory, and cheerfully sparring with prejudice... A one-man show offering, among other things, a brief foray into history that might just make history; a love letter to France worthy of a lover who cares enough to criticise; a string of winks at Muslims who take a few hits, but not only them... All punctuated by a few offbeat musical interludes... A singular interlude where, to say the least, there reigns an atmosphere of deep resentment that the comedian clearly aspires to transcend. Will he succeed?

Wanting their good means challenging their common sense, tickling their critical thinking, stimulating their passion for debate, encouraging their autonomy in their quest, among other things... Farid Abdelkrim seeks to share some of those questions that no one dares to ask because they make people uncomfortable... Some episodes have been viewed nearly 500,000 times. These video capsules are now used as support material for Farid Abdelkrim's interventions in prisons.