Difference between revisions of "Michel Houllebecq"
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| + | [[Image:Houllebecq.jpg |right|thumb|350px|Michel Houllebecq, Source: [http://www.europe1.fr/livres/soumission-houellebecq-defend-sa-vision-du-monde-2336201/ Europe1] ]] | ||
'''Michel Houllebecq''' is a controversial French novelist. According to one source, he frequently criticises 'liberalism, feminism and religion. Particularly religion, and especially Islam'.<ref name="Peng"/> | '''Michel Houllebecq''' is a controversial French novelist. According to one source, he frequently criticises 'liberalism, feminism and religion. Particularly religion, and especially Islam'.<ref name="Peng"/> | ||
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His sixth novel ''Submission'', scheduled to be published in English in September 2015 is set in 2022, and imagines France electing its first Muslim president.<ref name="Peng"/>. As a consequence, in the novel 'immediately all women go veiled in the street, state secondary schools adopt an Islamic curriculum, and [the protagonist] François is informed that he cannot return to his university work unless he converts to Islam.'<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/09/soumission-michel-houellebecq-review-charlie-hebdo Soumission by Michel Houellebecq review – much more than a satire on Islamism], The Guardian, 9 January 2015</ref> Critics argued that this narrative was fear-mongering and accused him of fomenting Islamophobia.<ref name="Dear">Lizzie Dearden, [http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/author-of-book-envisioning-2022-france-under-muslim-rule-says-novel-is-not-islamophobic-9958954.html Michel Houellebecq's Submission: Author says novel imagining Muslim-run France is not Islamophobic scare story], The Independent, 5 January 2015</ref> | His sixth novel ''Submission'', scheduled to be published in English in September 2015 is set in 2022, and imagines France electing its first Muslim president.<ref name="Peng"/>. As a consequence, in the novel 'immediately all women go veiled in the street, state secondary schools adopt an Islamic curriculum, and [the protagonist] François is informed that he cannot return to his university work unless he converts to Islam.'<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/09/soumission-michel-houellebecq-review-charlie-hebdo Soumission by Michel Houellebecq review – much more than a satire on Islamism], The Guardian, 9 January 2015</ref> Critics argued that this narrative was fear-mongering and accused him of fomenting Islamophobia.<ref name="Dear">Lizzie Dearden, [http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/author-of-book-envisioning-2022-france-under-muslim-rule-says-novel-is-not-islamophobic-9958954.html Michel Houellebecq's Submission: Author says novel imagining Muslim-run France is not Islamophobic scare story], The Independent, 5 January 2015</ref> | ||
| − | Likely due to this | + | Likely due to this theme, Houellebecq was featured on the cover of [[Charlie Hebdo]], the French magazine where 12 people were murdered on on 7 January 2015, shortly before the attacks. Houellebecq reportedly 'postponed promotional work and retreated to an unspecified location' following the attacks.<ref name="Peng"/> |
| − | In a previous novel, ''Platform'', two characters are murdered by Muslims, reportedly described in the book as 'clots' in the 'blood vessels' of Europe.<ref name="Dear"/> | + | The storyline bears comparison to [[Bat Ye'or]]'s [[Eurabia]] conspiracy theory which argues that Muslims will become a majority and force non-Muslims to live according to a strict interpretation of Islam. |
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| + | In a previous Houllebecq novel, ''Platform'', two characters are murdered by Muslims, reportedly described in the book as 'clots' in the 'blood vessels' of Europe.<ref name="Dear"/> | ||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
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<references/> | <references/> | ||
| + | [[Category:Eurabia|Houllebecq, Michel]] | ||
[[Category:Islam Critics|Houllebecq, Michel]] | [[Category:Islam Critics|Houllebecq, Michel]] | ||
| + | [[Category:France|Houllebecq, Michel]] | ||
Latest revision as of 17:34, 11 January 2016
Michel Houllebecq is a controversial French novelist. According to one source, he frequently criticises 'liberalism, feminism and religion. Particularly religion, and especially Islam'.[1]
Contents
Views
On Islam
In 2002 Houllebecq was charged with inciting racial or religious hatred after calling Islam 'the most stupid of religions' but was acquitted in court.[1]
Activities
His sixth novel Submission, scheduled to be published in English in September 2015 is set in 2022, and imagines France electing its first Muslim president.[1]. As a consequence, in the novel 'immediately all women go veiled in the street, state secondary schools adopt an Islamic curriculum, and [the protagonist] François is informed that he cannot return to his university work unless he converts to Islam.'[2] Critics argued that this narrative was fear-mongering and accused him of fomenting Islamophobia.[3]
Likely due to this theme, Houellebecq was featured on the cover of Charlie Hebdo, the French magazine where 12 people were murdered on on 7 January 2015, shortly before the attacks. Houellebecq reportedly 'postponed promotional work and retreated to an unspecified location' following the attacks.[1]
The storyline bears comparison to Bat Ye'or's Eurabia conspiracy theory which argues that Muslims will become a majority and force non-Muslims to live according to a strict interpretation of Islam.
In a previous Houllebecq novel, Platform, two characters are murdered by Muslims, reportedly described in the book as 'clots' in the 'blood vessels' of Europe.[3]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Martin Pengelly, Who is Michel Houellebecq, the French novelist on the Charlie Hebdo cover?, The Guardian, 10 January 2015
- ↑ Soumission by Michel Houellebecq review – much more than a satire on Islamism, The Guardian, 9 January 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lizzie Dearden, Michel Houellebecq's Submission: Author says novel imagining Muslim-run France is not Islamophobic scare story, The Independent, 5 January 2015
