Kirsten Wesselhoeft, Associate Professor of Religion, is the author of Fraternal Critique: The Politics of Muslim Community in France, appearing in March 2025 with The University of Chicago Press. In her book, Kirsten offers a fresh ethnography of French Muslim activism and close readings of recent French laws on religion in order to develop wide-ranging arguments about social ethics and moral critique.

Conversation about Islam in France is often framed by the presumption that unitary Muslim communities pose a threat to secularism, French identity or fraternité as a form of national solidarity. However, Kristen finds that young Muslim activists in fact cultivate rich internal debates about the values that anchor community life. She argues that such disagreements, far from dividing communities, actually constitute a form of belonging and kinship.

Some activists call this ethic “fraternal critique,” and Kristen finds in it profound insights about the place for dissent in civic life. The French state has particularly targeted Muslim spaces and values of community, but Kristen argues that unity need not come at the expense of dissent. Instead, fraternal critique can teach us how to build communities that are worth fighting over and worth fighting for.

The Africana Studies Program and the Religion Department will host a book launch for Fraternal Critique on Wednesday, April 23 at 5 p.m. in the Class of 1951 Reading Room.