Soheib Bencheikh
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Soheib Bencheikh (; born 20 December 1961,
Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...
,
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
) is an
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic religious leader and author and would-be
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
politician. Bencheikh graduated in
Islamic theology Schools of Islamic theology are various Islamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regarding creed. The main schools of Islamic theology include the extant Mu'tazili, Ash'ari, Maturidi, and Athari schools; the extinct ones ...
at
Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...
,
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
, and at the Free University of Brussels,
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. He holds a doctorate in
Religious Sciences In perennial philosophy, ''scientia sacra'' or sacred science is a form of spiritual knowledge that lies at the heart of both divine revelations and traditional sciences, embodying the very essence of every sacred tradition. It recognizes source ...
from the
École pratique des hautes études The (), abbreviated EPHE, is a French postgraduate top level educational institution, a . EPHE is a constituent college of the Université PSL (together with ENS Ulm, Paris Dauphine or Ecole des Mines). The college is closely linked to É ...
(EPHE),
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. He was nominated as
Grand Mufti A Grand Mufti (also called Chief Mufti, State Mufti and Supreme Mufti) is a title for the leading Faqīh, Islamic jurist of a country, typically Sunni, who may oversee other muftis. Not all countries with large Sunni Muslim populations have Gra ...
of
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
, France, in 1995 by the
Great Mosque of Paris The Grand Mosque of Paris (, ; ), also known as the Great Mosque of Paris or simply the Paris Mosque, located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, is one of the largest mosques in France. It comprises prayer rooms, an outdoor garden, a small lib ...
. He is a member of the Conseil français du culte musulman (Council of French Muslims) since its creation in 2003. Bencheikh is an anti-
fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishin ...
religious leader and an assertive supporter of an Islam eager and capable to adapt itself to the
modern world The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...
. He also is acknowledged as a reformer Muslim theologian committed to interreligious dialogue. He has written two books ''Les Grandes Religions'' and ''Marianne et le Prophète: L'Islam dans la France laïque'', his famous book on the position and opportunities for Muslims in
secular democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
. Among other "modernist" points of view, he stated that education is the best protection of women's honor and well-being (and not the headscarf, which he says is not mandatory). Bencheikh attempted to run for president in the
2007 French presidential election Presidential elections were held in France on 21 and 22 April 2007 to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France (and ''ex officio'' Co-Prince of Andorra) for a five-year term. As no candidate received a majority of the vot ...
but failed to get the 500 endorsements needed in order to become an official candidate. He created the movement “Elan Républicain” specifically for this purpose.


See also

*
Islamic Modernism Islamic modernism is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response to the Western cultural challenge", attempting to reconcile the Islamic faith with values perceived as modern such as democracy, civil rights, rati ...


References

* Soheib Bencheikh, ''Marianne et le Prophète: L'Islam dans la France laïque'', Paris, Grasset, 1998 (). {{DEFAULTSORT:Bencheikh, Soheib 1961 births Living people 21st-century French politicians French Sunni Muslims Algerian emigrants to France Al-Azhar University alumni Université libre de Bruxelles alumni École pratique des hautes études alumni People from Jeddah Algerian expatriates in Egypt Algerian expatriates in Saudi Arabia Algerian expatriates in Belgium