The research group seeks to clarify the mechanisms of fundamentalism and its various expressions. Very often, ideological and ritualistic orders are so interwoven that they lead to community identifications.
Born in 1946 in Paris, Bénédicte du Chaffaut is a member of the leadership team at the Theological Center of Meylan-Grenoble, where she heads the “Spirituality, Ecumenism, and Interreligious Relations” department.
Trained in sociology (Master’s degree, 1969) and at Sciences Po Paris (Public Service section, 1972), she completed her education with a Master’s degree in theology specializing in Islamic studies (1992). After her first professional experience at Publicis Conseil (1972-1975), she continued her career as a research officer at the Laboratory for Communication Studies and Research (1975-1992).
Her involvement in Islamic-Christian dialogue materialized from 1992 at the Theological Center of Meylan-Grenoble, which she directed from 1997 to 2003. She actively participates in national interfaith dialogue bodies, particularly within the Service for Relations with Islam (1996-2005), and later the Service for Relations with Muslims of the French Bishops’ Conference (2011-2015). At the European level, she represented France on the Islam Europe Committee (2005-2010).
Her research, conducted notably at the Laboratory of Islamic Studies at the Catholic University of Lyon since 2008, focuses primarily on the status of women in Islam. She has published numerous articles and contributions on feminist movements in Islam, religious authority, and contemporary issues of radicalization. Her expertise is regularly sought at international conferences, particularly at the Jacques Cartier Talks (2019-2023). She also served on the scientific committee of “Islamochristiana,” the journal of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (2011-2021).
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The field of fatwa production in French: a scene of tough competition between Islamic authorities
Conference « Religious Authority in Islam », organised by the Centre for the Study of Cultures and Religions and the Research Unit of the Catholic University of Lyon (UCLy), on 18 and 19 November 2...
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Methodology for analysing radicalisation discourses and counter-discourses
Lecture given on 14 October 2021 at the Catholic University of Lyon during the conference « Radicalisation leading to violence in the name of Islam, Epistemological, methodological and ethical appr...
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Islamic fundamentalism. Deconstructing a logic
Summary Our time is witnessing a rise in religious fundamentalism. In environments in crisis of deep identity, this type of conviction can secure by giving benchmarks considered safe, immutable, tr...
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Authority in Islam. What regulation? Proceedings of the symposium.
“It is often said: “”no clergy in Islam””. In the absence of a hierarchical and universal magisterial authority, what are the instances and figures that serve as regul...
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Geography of a forbidden land, women’s bodies: the image of women in Hanbalite fatwas in French-language works
Original tile : ‘Géographie d’une terre interdite, le corps des femmes : l’image des femmes dans les fatwas hanbalites d’ouvrages francophones’ This work aims to analyse the image of wo...
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Inner Islam, passion and disenchantment
Publisher’s Introduction The contemporary evolution of Islam worries or fascinates. It involves millions of believers, living in societies with a Muslim “tradition” in the midst o...
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Prophetess – Virgin – Mother. Mary in the Koran
Mary - Bridge Figure between Christianity and Islam An entire sura bears her name. She is the only woman the Koran mentions by name - more often than Muhammad or Jesus. Until today, the esteem i...
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Personal Status Laws of Women in Egypt and Palestine
Title of the lecture : 'Institutionalized Islam in Personal Status Laws and Challenged Position of Women as ‘the Other’' In most of the Muslim-majority countries, personal status laws are the main...
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Female figures of holiness, Muslim and Christian, in the MENA region
Actes du colloque du centre d’études et d’interprétation du fait religieux, Université Saint Joseph, 20-21 février 2015. Sommaire Afrique du Nord : Nelly Amri : Entre Orient et Occciden...
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Women, Agency and Religion: Social and Legal Issues in the Mediterranean Public Space
On the two Mediterranean shores, women’s agency is articulated by new social and legal actors who face the religious factor both as an asset and as a hindrance. This book explores how female ...
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The other in Islamic civilization: from the immanence of cultures to divine transcendence
Lecture given at the 3rd International Congress of Pluriel on the theme "Islam and Otherness", on 24 May 2022, at Saint Joseph University in Beirut. Read abstract on the French tab.
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The demystified veil
Publisher Overview “A totally new discourse in the history of Islam has been spreading for some years in France, according to which the veil is a prescription and a religious practice! This i...
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Islam thought by a woman
Today, we can speak of a crisis within Islam. Based on a rigorist vision of the Qur’an and tradition, extremist speeches have been very successful, sometimes with dramatic consequences. Howev...