Ne se définissant pas uniquement par rapport à l’islam, le terme musulman est aujourd’hui largement polysémique en France. Cette recherche interroge donc l’usage du terme musulman et les modes d’identification sociale en tant que musulman-e-s. En première partie, elle propose une interprétation de l’évolution socio-sémantique historique du terme. Puis, en deuxième et troisième partie, elle analyse les enjeux de l’auto-catégorisation de Soi à partir d’un terrain (entretiens, questionnaires, observations). S’agit-il de se considérer d’origine musulmane et/ou de culture musulmane et/ou de religion musulmane ? Sous-tendus par la tension entre des processus d’ethnicisation, de racisation et de confessionnalisation, deux nouveaux espaces de signification sont ici développés : un nouvel usage politique questionnant la place des classes sociales, du racisme et de l’islamophobie (musulmanité) ; puis, un nouvel usage exclusivement religieux séparant la culture du religieux (muslimité). Ce dernier usage influe sur l’émergence d’une éthique islamique contemporaine et de la recherche d’un « pur religieux ». D’une manière transversale, cette thèse pose la question de ce que veut dire « est musulman-e-s » aujourd’hui en France avec la particularité de considérer à la fois l’histoire et la construction des discours sur Soi. / The word muslim, which not only refers to Islam, is nowaday polysemous to a great extent. This research analyses the uses of the word muslim and the way in which it is used to identify as muslim-s. Firstly, it focuses on the changes of the historical semantics of the term. Then it seeks to identify, from a fieldwork perspective (interviews, observations, questionnaires), what is a stake in the self-categorisation process. Is muslim an ethnicity, a religious or a cultural category ? The ethnicization, racialization and confessionalization religious processes bring about two knew signification new spaces : a new political use which raises questions on class, race and islamophobia (muslimness) and a new confessional use who cleave culture and cult (muslimity). This last use leads to the formation of a contemporary Islamic ethics and to the search of a ”pure religious”. This transversal study asks what being muslim-s means in France today, considering history as well as self-categorisation discourses.

As Muslims increasingly cross ethnic, religious, and social barriers within Western societies, the rate of interfaith marriages continues to rise. As a result, several issues are generated within the Muslim community globally. One of these issues focuses on the subjectivity of Muslim women marrying non-Muslim men since Islamic religious texts may be unclear and indirect regarding the issue. Additionally, Muslims in the West are increasingly exposed to individuals from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, which raises the probability of exogamy. Many Muslims residing in the West do not have issues with exogamy; it is mostly familial and societal expectations that exude stress when individuals intermarry within the Muslim community. Openness to intermarriage among Muslims in the West can be attributable to differences in faith and identity development of second-generation Muslims growing up in Western countries, which can lead to a differentiation of Muslim identity in comparison to their parents and extended family. Regardless of the taboo and stigma that exist with regard to intermarriage in Islam, Muslim interfaith marriages in the West arguably can be seen as microcosmic representations of positive pluralistic relations in contemporary times. Through discussions of data collected for this research, this thesis considers the issues and ideas mentioned above as it considers the experiences of Muslims in interfaith marriages in Western societies by considering notions of gender, globalization, and religious pluralism. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)