Le nom du Prophète Muḥammad (pbAsl) dans la presse française: de la déformation linguistique au doute sur l’authenticité historique

Document Type : Original Article

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Department of Islamic Studies in French, Faculty of Languages and Translation, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

This research addresses the issue of the distortion of the name of the Prophet Muḥammad (pbuh) in contemporary French journalistic discourse through two interconnected phenomena: the persistent use of the form "Mahomet," which deviates from the correct Arabic pronunciation, and the emergence of media narratives questioning the authenticity of the name "Muḥammad," proposing alternatives such as "Qutham." Employing a critical analytical approach, the research examines a selection of press articles and situates them within broader linguistic, historical, and orientalist frameworks that have contributed to the entrenchment of this symbolic distortion. The research demonstrates that the continued use of "Mahomet" is not a neutral linguistic choice, but rather a reflection of deep-rooted ideological and cultural legacies shaped by stereotypical representations of Islam in the Western imagination. Furthermore, the hypothesis challenging the Prophet’s name often relies on late, unreliable sources, mobilized within an orientalist agenda aiming to undermine the credibility of Islamic traditions.

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