Controversial French author, Michel Houellebecq has refuted allegations that his new novel is an Islamophobic scare story.
“Submission”, which is published today (January 7) tells of the 2022 French presidential election which is won by a Muslim and is followed by an erosion of personal and religious freedoms and the wearing of the veil.
The award-winning author plays on fears that western societies are being inundated by the influence of Islam, a worry that this month drew thousands in anti-Islamist protests in Germany. In the novel, Houellebecq has the imaginary “Muslim Fraternity” party, led by the fictional Mohammed Ben Abbes, winning a presidential election in France against the nationalist, anti-immigration Front National, led by its current leader Marine Le Pen.
Ben Abbes goes on to ban women in the workplace, advocates polygamy, pushes Islamic schools on the masses and imposes a conservative and religious vision of society. The French widely accept the new environment, as suggested by the book’s title.
Critics say the book is fuel for Le Pen’s party’s far-right policies and is a Christmas gift for her. Houellebecq responds, “She does not need that. (…) Everything is going relatively well for her at the moment. I do not think that the book will change her destiny. I do not see any examples where [fiction] novels have changed history. Other things change history, like essays or the Manifesto of the Communist Party, things like that, but not novels.”
Houellebecq calls his book “a realistic vision for a possible future”, but its release comes less than three months before French regional elections, which have already been dominated by debates over immigration.
