Violence against Muslims: Conquered, Not Fully Colonized, in the Making of the Muslim "Other" in the Central African Republic

Muslims in the Central African Republic have experienced extreme violence for more than a decade. Through ethnographic fieldwork and archival research, this article shows how the foundations for contemporary violence were created through colonial and postcolonial state-making. The civilizing mission of republican colonialism set Muslims apart. Lifestyle and mobility were never fully colonized; escape depicted difference. Nationalist liberation mythologies render Muslim citizenship as foreign, precarious, and subject to ongoing contestation. Pentecostalism, a lateral liberation philosophy presented as patriotism, provides power to anti-Muslim discourse. Violence against Muslims is situated in an accumulated "pastness" of state-making and struggle in Central African historiography. Les musulmans en R & eacute;publique Centrafricaine ont connu une violence extr & ecirc;me pendant plus d'une d & eacute;cennie. & Agrave; travers un travail ethnographique sur le terrain et des recherches archivistiques, cet article montre comment les fondements de la violence contemporaine ont & eacute;t & eacute; cr & eacute;& eacute;s & agrave; travers la colonisation et la cr & eacute;ation d'& Eacute;tats post-coloniaux. La mission civilisatrice du colonialisme r & eacute;publicain a mis les musulmans & agrave; part. Le mode de vie et la mobilit & eacute; n'ont jamais & eacute;t & eacute; enti & egrave;rement colonis & eacute;s; la fuite d & eacute;peignait la diff & eacute;rence. Les mythologies nationalistes de lib & eacute;ration rendent la citoyennet & eacute; musulmane & eacute;trang & egrave;re, pr & eacute;caire et sujette & agrave; une contestation constante. Le pentec & ocirc;tisme, une philosophie lat & eacute;rale de lib & eacute;ration pr & eacute;sent & eacute;e comme du patriotisme, donne du pouvoir au discours anti-musulman. La violence contre les musulmans est situ & eacute;e dans un pass & eacute; accumul & eacute; de cr & eacute;ation d'& Eacute;tat et de lutte dans l'histoire de l'Afrique centrale. Na Rep & uacute;blica Centro-Africana, os mu & ccedil;ulmanos t & ecirc;m vivido sob viol & ecirc;ncia extrema ao longo de mais de uma d & eacute;cada. Com base em trabalho de campo etnogr & aacute;fico e em investiga & ccedil;& atilde;o arquiv & iacute;stica, este artigo explica o modo como foram montados, atrav & eacute;s da constru & ccedil;& atilde;o do Estado colonial e p & oacute;s-colonial, os alicerces da viol & ecirc;ncia contempor & acirc;nea. A miss & atilde;o colonizadora do colonialismo republicano colocou os mu & ccedil;ulmanos de parte. Os estilos de vida e a mobilidade nunca foram plenamente colonizados; a fuga representava a diferen & ccedil;a. As mitologias nacionalistas de liberta & ccedil;& atilde;o tornam a cidadania mu & ccedil;ulmana estranha, prec & aacute;ria e sujeita a permanente contesta & ccedil;& atilde;o. O pentecostalismo, uma filosofia lateral de liberta & ccedil;& atilde;o apresentada como patriotismo, confere poder ao discurso antimu & ccedil;ulmano. A viol & ecirc;ncia contra os mu & ccedil;ulmanos situa-se num "conjunto acumulado de passados" de constru & ccedil;& atilde;o do Estado e de luta na historiografia centro-africana.