,
20 tweets,
4 min read
Read on Twitter
1/
Thread on Michel Houllebecq's Submission, which tells how a Muslim party wins the 2022 French presidential election
I won't give away any other spoilers (I think most people already know this main plot point)
and will just talk about the politics in the book
Thread on Michel Houllebecq's Submission, which tells how a Muslim party wins the 2022 French presidential election
I won't give away any other spoilers (I think most people already know this main plot point)
and will just talk about the politics in the book
2/
as the election approaches, France is on the verge on civil war
violence has already begun
the narrator lives in paris and can hear occasional gunfire, plumes of spoke etc
but all this is being suppressed by the media
as the election approaches, France is on the verge on civil war
violence has already begun
the narrator lives in paris and can hear occasional gunfire, plumes of spoke etc
but all this is being suppressed by the media
3/
Le pen is leading the polls with 32%
but the new Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and the centre-left (both on 20%) join forces to defeat her
this alliance isn't as difficult to arrange as you might think - the MB basically gives way on almost every issue, except one
Le pen is leading the polls with 32%
but the new Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and the centre-left (both on 20%) join forces to defeat her
this alliance isn't as difficult to arrange as you might think - the MB basically gives way on almost every issue, except one
4/
"the Muslim Brotherhood is an unusual party,
most of the usual political issues simply don;t interest them...
the economy is not their main concern...
what they care about is birth rate and education"
"the Muslim Brotherhood is an unusual party,
most of the usual political issues simply don;t interest them...
the economy is not their main concern...
what they care about is birth rate and education"
5/
"to them its simple -
whichever segment of the population has the highest birth rate,
and does the best job of transmitting its values, wins..."
"to them its simple -
whichever segment of the population has the highest birth rate,
and does the best job of transmitting its values, wins..."
6/
"if you control the children you control the future,
so the one area in which they absolutely insist on having their way is the education of children"
"if you control the children you control the future,
so the one area in which they absolutely insist on having their way is the education of children"
7/
the MB want France's secular education laws to be changed to allow the creation of a parallel system of privately funded Muslim charter schools and universities
with money from the Guf and less spending on state schools, these Muslim schools soon become France's best
the MB want France's secular education laws to be changed to allow the creation of a parallel system of privately funded Muslim charter schools and universities
with money from the Guf and less spending on state schools, these Muslim schools soon become France's best
8/
MB leader in a speech outlines his position
"More and more families - whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim -
want their childrens' education to go beyond the mere transmission of knowledge,
and to include spiritual instruction in their own traditions..."
MB leader in a speech outlines his position
"More and more families - whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim -
want their childrens' education to go beyond the mere transmission of knowledge,
and to include spiritual instruction in their own traditions..."
9/
contd
"This return to religion was deep, it crossed sectarian lines and state education could no longer afford to ignore it."
contd
"This return to religion was deep, it crossed sectarian lines and state education could no longer afford to ignore it."
10/
the centre-right - more natural allies of Le Pen - eventually choose to jointhe MB and the centre-left instead
they are worried about being swallowed up by the Front National and about its plans to leave the EU
the centre-right - more natural allies of Le Pen - eventually choose to jointhe MB and the centre-left instead
they are worried about being swallowed up by the Front National and about its plans to leave the EU
11/
on the other side of the divide are the "nativists"
"they argue a belief in a transcendental being conveys a genetic advantage.
"couples that follow one of the three religions of the book and maintain patrirachal values
have more children than atheists or agnostics..."
on the other side of the divide are the "nativists"
"they argue a belief in a transcendental being conveys a genetic advantage.
"couples that follow one of the three religions of the book and maintain patrirachal values
have more children than atheists or agnostics..."
12/
"in the vast majority of cases people stick with whatever metaphysical system they grow up in
thats why atheist humanism - the basis of any pluralist society - is doomed
monotheism is on the rise, especially in the muslim population, even before you factor for immigration"
"in the vast majority of cases people stick with whatever metaphysical system they grow up in
thats why atheist humanism - the basis of any pluralist society - is doomed
monotheism is on the rise, especially in the muslim population, even before you factor for immigration"
13/
"European nativists start by admitting that sooner or later we'll see a civil war between the Muslims and everybody else.
They conclude that if they want to have a fighting chance that war had better come before 2050, preferably sooner if possible"
"European nativists start by admitting that sooner or later we'll see a civil war between the Muslims and everybody else.
They conclude that if they want to have a fighting chance that war had better come before 2050, preferably sooner if possible"
14/
the nativists in France have two wings - a military wing that wants to start the armed struggle now
and a political wing that first wants to infiltrate the French military
the nativists in France have two wings - a military wing that wants to start the armed struggle now
and a political wing that first wants to infiltrate the French military
15/
"annual recruitment in the French military is 20,000.
so within 15 years we'll see a complete turnover in military personnel.
if young extremists enlist en masse it won't be long befOre they seize ideological control"
"annual recruitment in the French military is 20,000.
so within 15 years we'll see a complete turnover in military personnel.
if young extremists enlist en masse it won't be long befOre they seize ideological control"
16/
the book consists of three different parts, all mixed up
1- politics
2- the narrators personal and professional life
3- the narrators esoteric interest in the 19th century writer JK Huysmans
the book consists of three different parts, all mixed up
1- politics
2- the narrators personal and professional life
3- the narrators esoteric interest in the 19th century writer JK Huysmans
17/
it's full of great quotes
at one point, half jokingly, the narrator says to his girlfriend
"at least patriarchy worked, as a social system it was able to perpetuate itself. There were families with children, whereas now there arent enough children so we're finished"
it's full of great quotes
at one point, half jokingly, the narrator says to his girlfriend
"at least patriarchy worked, as a social system it was able to perpetuate itself. There were families with children, whereas now there arent enough children so we're finished"
18/
perhaps my favourite quote in the book
"Hidden all day in impenetrable black burkas,
rich saudi women transformed themsELves by night into birds of paradise
with their corsets, their see-through bras, their G-strings with multicoloured lace and rhinestones"
perhaps my favourite quote in the book
"Hidden all day in impenetrable black burkas,
rich saudi women transformed themsELves by night into birds of paradise
with their corsets, their see-through bras, their G-strings with multicoloured lace and rhinestones"
19/
"They were exactly the opposite of Western women
who spent their days dressed up and looking sexy to maintain their social status,
then collapsed in exhaustion once they got home,
abandoning all hope of seduction in favour of clothes taht were loose and shapeless"
"They were exactly the opposite of Western women
who spent their days dressed up and looking sexy to maintain their social status,
then collapsed in exhaustion once they got home,
abandoning all hope of seduction in favour of clothes taht were loose and shapeless"
20/
the book is very short (I'm a slow reader and read it i two days but (long passages about Huysmans apart) is very accessible
would defintely recommend
another thread on this book by @17cShyteposter
the book is very short (I'm a slow reader and read it i two days but (long passages about Huysmans apart) is very accessible
would defintely recommend
another thread on this book by @17cShyteposter
