The Revolutionary Intersection of French and Islamic Ideals

The fervor of the French Revolution, marked by its intense exploration of political and religious structures, led to a surprising affinity between revolutionary French thinkers and Islamic ideals. This interplay between revolutionary French thought and Islamic principles not only sheds light on the breadth and depth of the revolutionary discourse but also underscores the dynamic nature of cross-cultural intellectual exchanges.

Central to this discourse was the revolutionaries’ understanding and interpretation of Islam. The revolutionary engagements with concepts like Islamic Unitarianism, anti-clericalism, republicanism, and egalitarianism fostered a growing sentiment among revolutionaries that Islam, as a rational religion, was more congruent with their vision for France than Christianity. This perspective emerged from the belief that Islam could offer solutions to entrenched problems posed by the French absolutist Church, monarchy, class system, and priesthood. Many revolutionaries believed that their decade-long confrontation and negotiations with Islamic teachings brought them closer to it than to their Christian roots. There was a perception that Islam was not just a religion but a rational, civic doctrine. This period of “dechristianization” in France, which saw radical transformations in religious and political landscapes, from the establishment of Temples of Reason to the Festival of the Supreme Being, made the country more receptive to Islam’s rational tenets.

However, the revolutionaries’ appreciation for Islamic principles was not without its nuances. While they found congruence in the ideals of both domains, they also recognized that the practices within Muslim communities sometimes diverged from these principles. But an essential takeaway for the revolutionaries was that embracing Islam didn’t necessitate the abandonment of one’s cultural or national identity. Rather, Islam was viewed as a religion compatible with revolutionary principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity. The key argument was that the tenets of Islam did not conflict with these principles; instead, they could challenge the existing power structures within Muslim societies that deviated from these ideals.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a prominent figure of the French Enlightenment, offers an illustrative example of this French-Islamic intellectual fusion. Rousseau’s observations on Muslim societies centered on the fluidity of their social structures, which, he believed, rendered them more humane, hospitable, and humble than their European counterparts. He posed a thought-provoking question: “Why are the Turks generally more humane, more hospitable than we are?” For Rousseau, the answer lay in the inherent social fluidity of Muslim societies. Unlike the fixed hierarchies of French society, where birth and class determined one’s social and economic fate, Muslim societies allowed for more significant upward and downward mobility. In such a context, anyone, irrespective of their current status, could find themselves in another’s shoes. This fluidity starkly contrasted with the rigid French system, where the chances of a noble experiencing a peasant’s life (or vice-versa) were virtually non-existent.

Rousseau’s observations on Muslim society’s fluidity profoundly influenced revolutionary thought. The idea that society should not be static and stratified by birth and rank but dynamic, driven by merit and talent, was foundational to the revolutionary vision of citizenship. While many thinkers of the time still clung to traditional markers like customs, morals, or religion as the basis for governance, Rousseau was pioneering. By placing politics above these established categories, he was pushing for a seismic shift in governance. His understanding of Islam provided the empirical foundation for this radical social critique.

In essence, the French Revolution’s trajectory was, in part, shaped by its deep engagements with Islamic principles. These engagements underscored the universality of key revolutionary principles and highlighted the potential of cross-cultural exchanges to reshape societies. While both domains had their distinct contexts and histories, their convergence during this period illuminates the shared human quest for justice, equality, and rational governance.

Islamic, Socinian, and Unitarian Syncretism in the Foundations of the French Enlightenment and Revolution

The Enlightenment, particularly the French version, is commonly seen as an intellectual movement that championed reason, science, and individual rights. However, its historical tapestry is interwoven with strands from several non-Western sources. In particular, the French Enlightenment bore the imprint of Islamic, Socinian, and Unitarian syncretism and republicanism, inheriting much from the seventeenth-century English Enlightenment figures such as John Locke, Henry Stubbe, John Toland, and Isaac Newton.

This Islamic, Unitarian, and Deistic syncretism played a crucial role in eroding the deep-rooted, supernatural, dogmatic, absolutist, hierarchical, Trinitarian religiopolitical theology of the time. Such a theology was the primary support structure for the divine right of monarchy and the divine right of the church — the two significant authoritarian entities that were targets of the French Enlightenment and the subsequent Revolution.

To understand the backdrop against which the Enlightenment evolved, one must consider the socioeconomic and political contexts. While these factors were significant catalysts, the French Revolution could not have been realized without a long-standing intellectual confrontation against the Trinitarian religiopolitical theology of Roman Christianity. While the French kingdom faced socioeconomic and political challenges consistently over the past three centuries, these issues alone did not destabilize the kingdom. The reason? Medieval Christian religiopolitical theology held its subjects in chains, reinforcing loyalty to the divine right monarchy and the Church in pursuit of eternal salvation.

However, several factors began eroding this seemingly impenetrable theological fortress. Overseas trade brought international exposure and introduced the French to diverse cultural paradigms. Internal sectarian debates, divisions, persecutions, and the rise of radical anti-Trinitarian reformation highlighted and widened cracks within the Christian establishment. Power struggles among the monarchy, Church, and nobility, coupled with widespread corruption and systemic failures, further weakened the traditional religious structures.

This erosion led to an intellectual “dechristianization” of French society. As supernatural superstitions associated with medieval Christianity waned, so did the credibility and power of institutions built on these beliefs. In their place, rational, natural, Unitarian, and Deistic thought patterns began to gain prominence. These ideas were not merely abstract philosophies but had a tangible impact, fundamentally altering societal structures and norms.

Paul Hazard’s observations provide valuable insights into this transformation. He remarked on the growing influence of Unitarianism and Socinianism in France, noting their insidious penetration into societal consciousness. Far from a minor, fringe belief system, Socinianism’s ideas were gradually replacing the previously unchallenged religious perspectives with a rationalistic worldview. The outward decline of this sect did not reflect its profound internal impact on the French thought process.

Richard Simon, the French Catholic Biblicist, made poignant observations regarding the Reformation. In his view, the Socinians saw the Reformation as a half-finished project. Early reformers like Calvin had only initiated the transformation, with the Reformation continually evolving and refining itself, thanks in large part to these Unitarian and Socinian influences.

The ascendancy of Socinian, Unitarian, and Arminian rational discourse marked a pivotal shift in French intellectual life. Gone were the days when thinkers like Descartes, recognizing the radical potential of their ideas, would impose self-restraints. The era of heterodoxy had begun, with a plethora of divergent thinkers and philosophies coming to the fore. This was the age of “malcontents” and rebels who had patiently waited in the shadows during Louis XIV’s reign.

The Shift from Constantinian Christianity to Unitarianism in the French Revolution

The French Revolution, an epochal period in history, was more than just a political upheaval; it marked the transition from the entrenched Constantinian Christianity to the more simplistic, moral, and Unitarian Christian beliefs exemplified by Jesus and his early disciples. This transformation wasn’t just a religious shift; it mirrored the broader sociopolitical changes that were taking place. The Unitarian Christianity that emerged had parallels with the broader Judeo-Islamic worldview, making Guillaume Postel’s sixteenth-century vision of a universal unitarian harmony a realized dream during the Revolution. This reformation of the Catholic religiopolitical theology, though anticipated for long, manifested violently in eighteenth-century France.