Abstract: This article aims to uncover the literary and ideological foundations which underpin the work of Houellebecq about Islam and Arabs and, consciously or otherwise, inform his texts. Drawing on images of the colonial harem and nineteenth-century Orientalism, we will consider if Houellebecq articulates, as suggested by G. Bridet, “a racism of resentment” or prepares his reader for an inevitable “clash of civilizations” ?
