Cédric Baylocq
Born in 1980 in France, Cédric Baylocq is a project officer at the French Institute of Islamology (IFI), lecturer at the Catholic Institute of Paris (ICP), and associate researcher at the Institute of Science and Theology of Religions (ISTR, Theologicum). Since 2020, he has been teaching “Socio-history of Islam in France” at ICP (Theologicum, L3 Humanities and DU FASSED).
He holds a PhD in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Bordeaux, completing his thesis in 2012 on religious authority and Islamic norms in a secular context. His initial education includes a Master’s 2 in Ethnology (2005-2006), a Master’s 1 in Ethnology (2004-2005), a semester at UC Berkeley (2004), a Bachelor’s in Ethnology (2002-2003), and a DEUG in Psychology (2000-2002), all from the University of Bordeaux.
After a post-doctorate at the Centre Jacques Berque in Rabat (2011-2013), he taught in higher education in Morocco (2013-2015). From 2015 to 2019, he was a research project officer at the Central Bureau of Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Interior, implementing a research support program on Islam. He then joined the North Africa Middle East directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2019-2021). From June 2022 to March 2023, he held the position of Research Engineering and Development Officer at the Research Department of CY Cergy Paris University.
His research primarily focuses on Islam in France, Islam in Morocco, Islamic studies, imams, reformism, the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafism, jihadism, and state-religion relations. He is also interested in questions of secularism and secularization.
At the French Institute of Islamology since 2023, Cédric Baylocq is responsible for the dissemination and promotion of research in Islamic studies. He notably leads the National and International Observatory of Islamic Studies.
Co-director of two collective works – “Muslim Theologies of Religious Pluralism” with Emmanuel Pisani (Cerf-Patrimoines, 2024) and “Morocco: Religious Issues in a Transitioning Society” (forthcoming 2025) – he has authored numerous recent academic articles, including “Epistemological Paths to Reconciliation between Anthropology and Islamic Studies” (2023), “Orientations and Lessons from a Quarter Century of University Training Attempts for Muslim Religious Ministers in France” (2024), and “French Muslim Reformists’ Responses to Bellicose Uses of Fiqh, Hadith, and Sira” (2024).
Resources of this researcher
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publication
Revival and Dynamics of Islamic Studies in Europe
- Michel Younès
- Emmanuel Pisani
- Cédric Baylocq
- Zohra Aziadé Zemirli
- Michele Brignone
- Haoues Seniguer
“In a troubled international context where Islam is sometimes defined as an ideological marker of many conflicts, academic research drawing on history, sociology, and political science has mu...
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publication
Muslim Theologies of Religious Pluralism. Proceedings of the Colloquium Held on November 20 and 21, 2021
- Emmanuel Pisani
- Cédric Baylocq
- Anne-Sophie Vivier-Muresan
- Zohra Aziadé Zemirli
- Charbel Attallah
- Haoues Seniguer
- Youssouf Sangare
The laboratory of the Institute of Science and Theology of Religions of Paris (Theologicum, ICP) presents here the outcome of four years of research on the theme of religious pluralism in Islam. Wh...
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- Guillaume Chatagny
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- Antonio Angelucci
Edited by Antonio Angelucci, Flavia Cortelezzi and Alessandro Cupri (Ledizioni, 2025), this volume offers a theoretical and methodological framework for religious tourism, a continuously expanding ...
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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 Power of Place, the Mediation of the Text: Anthropological Remarks on the Pious Visit to Karbalā”, by Sepideh Parsapajouh
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