Formulation of the claim
Imitative escalation is a mechanism of competition over embodying the prophetic model and appearing closest to it.
Explanation
In this concept, Arkoun describes the shift in competition from mere difference to an attempt to appropriate the highest model in religious reference. Groups do not merely declare affiliation; they seek to show that they are the most worthy of imitating and representing the founding exemplar.
This escalation broadens to include religions and then Islamic schools of thought, where appeal to the model becomes a means of distinction and legitimation at the same time. For this reason, imitation here is not understood as innocent imitation, but as a symbolic competition over who has the right to draw near to the origin.
Its place in the book’s argument
This atom comes within Arkoun’s analysis of how religious discourse is formed through mechanisms of competition and resemblance, not through direct transmission alone. It is close to the passages in which he explains how prophetic reference becomes a field of struggle among multiple readings, each claiming the most faithful connection to the model.
Limits of the claim
This concept should not be loaded with a moral judgment on all forms of emulation, nor reduced to mere superficial imitation. What is meant by it is the identification of a competitive mechanism in the construction of symbolic legitimacy within religious fields.