Wael Saleh: “Recognising Without Confining, to Better ‘De-other’ the Public Debate”
In an op-ed published on 20 July 2026 by Le Devoir, Wael Saleh, a member of the scientific committee of Pluriel, puts forward a new concept for contemporary democratic debate: “de-othering” (in French, désaltérisation). Between a universalism blind to wounds and an identity-based reading that sees nothing else, he defends a third way, one that recognises injustices (racism, religious discrimination, indigenous marginalisation) without reducing those who suffer them to their group belonging.
The case of the Muslim citizen illustrates the paradox. From the outside, fear and securitarian suspicion assimilate the individual to rigorist currents and hold him accountable for discourses he does not share. From the inside, Islamism “transforms his religion into a closed political identity” and claims to define what an authentic Muslim should think. Both operations, the author underlines, deny the believer “his right not to coincide with the identity that has been assigned to him”.
The op-ed thus proposes an ethics of citizenship that “protects belongings without ever confining anyone within them”. It calls for distinguishing recognition, which restores to the subject his capacity to define himself, from assignation, which fixes him in the very identity by which he was wounded. “A democracy does not liberate the individual by requiring him to assume the identity that has been imposed on him. It liberates him by protecting his right to interpret and to transform it.”
Wael Saleh will also address these issues at the “Diversity and Citizenship: Perspectives Around the Mediterranean” study day, held at the Catholic University of Lyon (UCLy) on Wednesday 2 December 2026, as part of the panel devoted to the Middle East.
Dans une tribune publiée le 20 juillet 2026 par Le Devoir, Wael Saleh, membre du comité scientifique de Pluriel, propose une notion neuve pour le débat démocratique contemporain : la « désaltérisation ». Entre un universalisme aveugle aux blessures et une lecture identitaire qui n’en voit plus qu’elles, il défend une troisième voie qui reconnaît les injustices (racisme, discriminations religieuses, marginalisation autochtone) sans transformer les personnes qui les subissent en pures fonctions de leur appartenance.
Le cas du citoyen musulman illustre le paradoxe. De l’extérieur, la peur et le soupçon sécuritaire l’assimilent aux courants rigoristes et le rendent comptable de discours qu’il ne partage pas. De l’intérieur, l’islamisme « transforme sa religion en identité politique fermée » et prétend définir ce qu’un musulman authentique devrait penser. Les deux opérations, souligne l’auteur, refusent au croyant « son droit de ne pas coïncider avec l’identité attribuée ».
La tribune propose ainsi une éthique de la citoyenneté qui « protège les appartenances sans jamais y enfermer personne ». Elle appelle à distinguer la reconnaissance, qui restitue au sujet sa capacité de se définir, de l’assignation, qui le fixe dans l’identité par laquelle il a été blessé. « Une démocratie ne libère pas l’individu en lui demandant d’assumer l’identité imposée. Elle le libère en protégeant son droit de l’interpréter et de la transformer. »
Wael Saleh interviendra également sur ces enjeux à la journée d’étude « Diversité et citoyenneté : regards croisés autour de la Méditerranée » organisée à l’Université catholique de Lyon (UCLy) le mercredi 2 décembre 2026, au sein du panel consacré au Moyen-Orient.
في مقالة رأي نُشرت يوم 20 تمّوز/يوليو 2026 على صفحات صحيفة Le Devoir الكنديّة، يقترح الباحث وائل صالح، عضو اللجنة العلميّة لـالمنصّة الجامعيّة للدراسات حول الإسلام (Pluriel)، مفهوماً جديداً للنقاش الديمقراطي المعاصر: مفهوم «إزالة التغريب» (بالفرنسيّة: désaltérisation). فبين كونيّةٍ عمياء لا تُبصر الجروح، وقراءةٍ هوياتيّة لا تُبصر سواها، يدافع صالح عن طريقٍ ثالث؛ طريقٍ يعترف بالمظالم من عنصريّةٍ وتمييزٍ دينيّ وتهميشٍ للسكّان الأصليّين، دون أن يختزل من يُقاسون منها إلى مجرّد وظائف مطبوعةٍ بأثر انتمائهم.
وتتجلّى هذه المفارقة بأوضح صورةٍ في وضع المواطن المسلم. فمن الخارج، يُشبّه الخوفُ والشكّ الأمنيّ الفردَ بالتيّارات المتشدّدة، ويُحمّلانه مسؤوليّة خطاباتٍ لا يُشاركها. ومن الداخل، «تُحوّل الإسلاموية دينَه إلى هويّةٍ سياسيّة مُغلقة»، وتزعم تحديد ما ينبغي للمسلم الحقّ أن يفكّر فيه. وكلتا العمليّتين، كما يُبرز المؤلّف، تُنكران على المؤمن «حقَّه في ألاّ يتطابق مع الهويّة المُسنَدة إليه».
وتطرح المقالة أخلاقيّاتٍ للمواطنة «تحمي الانتماءات دون أن تحبس فيها أحداً»؛ وتدعو إلى التمييز بين الاعتراف الذي يُعيد للذات قدرتها على تعريف نفسها، وبين الإسناد الذي يُثبّتها في الهويّة التي أُصيبت من خلالها. «إنّ الديمقراطيّة لا تُحرّر الفردَ بمطالبته بتبنّي الهويّة المفروضة، وإنّما تُحرّره بضمان حقِّه في تأويلها وتحويلها».
سيتناول وائل صالح هذه الإشكاليّات أيضاً في يومٍ دراسيّ بعنوان «التنوّع والمواطنة: نظرات متقاطعة حول المتوسّط» الذي تنظّمه الجامعة الكاثوليكيّة في ليون (UCLy) يوم الأربعاء 2 ديسمبر 2026، ضمن الجلسة المخصّصة للشرق الأوسط.
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