'New generations of Muslims are deepening their attachment to their religion, but this trend is also seen in Catholicism and Judaism'

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he IFOP survey on "the relationship of Muslims in France to Islam and Islamism", published on November 18, sparked, as is often the case when such surveys are released, a wave of reactions lamenting a perceived trend toward radicalization and Islamization among Muslims living in France, and the sense of a collapse of republican values.

Within this population that identifies as Muslim, representing 7% of people living in mainland France, young people have been the focus of concern, as they appear to be strongly influenced by religious rigorism and cultural and political separatism.

Yet interpreting the data from the survey is not straightforward, and there is a real risk of overgeneralization. When it comes to ideological proximity with Islamists, the question was: "What is your opinion of Islamists? Would you say that you (1) approve of most of their positions, (2) only approve of some of their positions, or (3) disapprove of all of their positions?"

In the slide presenting the results, the 38% of Muslims – 42% among 15- to 24-year-olds – who selected answers 1 and 2 are grouped under the broad category "approve at least some positions of Islamists," without it being explicitly mentioned that 34% chose the second, more restrictive answer, and 8% chose the first, more extensive one. The fact that 62% of respondents disapproved of all Islamist positions, and 92% disapproved of at least some Islamist positions, went unmentioned.