{"id":530923,"date":"2026-02-10T15:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T14:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/?p=530923"},"modified":"2026-02-14T15:49:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T14:49:37","slug":"omar-youssef-souleimane-the-french-language-has-become-my-homeland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/en\/policy\/france\/omar-youssef-souleimane-the-french-language-has-become-my-homeland\/","title":{"rendered":"Omar Youssef Souleimane: \u00abThe French language has become my homeland\u00bb\u00bb"},"content":{"rendered":"

A defender of universalism, the Syrian writer who has taken refuge in the land of Voltaire and Moli\u00e8re pleads for reason against identity-based excesses. On Thursday in Geneva, he will present his book The accomplices of evil<\/em> documenting the anti-Semitism of France insoumise.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Poet, novelist and essayist Omar Youssef Souleimane fled Syria for France, where he now writes in a language that has become his \u00abhomeland\u00bb. A keen observer of ideological divides, he criticizes the blindness of a large part of the left in the face of Islamism, and defends a liberalism based on equality before the law. Interview a few days before his conference in Geneva*.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le Regard Libre<\/em>You write in the foreword to your book that France is \u00abthe land of freedom of expression\u00bb. What can you say about the current climate of intellectual tolerance in this country?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Omar Youssef Souleimane: You have to distinguish between French law, which allows freedom of expression, and society. I'm not censored by the State, but all those who criticize me on the far left talk about my Syrian origins, not about the substance of what I say. I'm branded a \u2019token Arab\u00ab, even though equality is supposed to be a pillar of the left. I cross-checked evidence of anti-Semitism by infiltrating demonstrations and drew conclusions. Let them oppose my work with arguments instead of attacking me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a context so tense over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is your book really useful? Aren't you preaching to the choir?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

I think I can convince people, although it is indeed difficult. Fear has set in and is on the rise. The people whose rhetoric I criticize are increasingly defending emotions, not ideas. In France today, if you don't defend the extreme left, you're accused of stirring up the extreme right. If you appear on a media outlet like CNEWS or Europe 1, you'll be seen as a useful idiot taken in by an alliance of billionaires and reactionaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also | <\/a>Nora Bussigny: \u00abFeminists celebrated Hamas massacres\u00bb<\/a><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

That said, I've received thousands of messages since the book came out, particularly from young people who are interested in finding out more about the subject. Unfortunately, I think they're in the minority. But that can change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, the Iranian uprising has added a new dimension to the issues you describe. As in Switzerland, was the French public service slow to describe what was happening, i.e. a struggle against Islamist power?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Yes, totally. If, on the first day, the events could be described as a revolt against purchasing power, the very next day everything shifted to a political commitment aimed at overthrowing the powers that be. In fact, this revolution is unique in that it is not against a traditional tyranny, but a religious one. Iran is one of the world's last theocracies, along with Afghanistan and, to a certain extent, Saudi Arabia. This is what has been most unsustainable about this blindness. If the Iranian revolution succeeds, it will signal the start of revolution throughout the region. While the Syrians succeeded in overthrowing Bashar al-Assad, but replaced him with Islamists, the Iranian people are rising up against both dictatorship and Islamism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n