Good question. I think maybe it was because a good deal of academics from the Islamic world were educated in France already due to the colonies they did have. Algerians, Tunisians, Syrians, Moroccans, Lebanese... Not an expert so could totally be wrong here, but maybe France put in more effort to incorporate local elites into their own bureaucratic elite system? I imagine there were probably more Muslims in the grande ecoles in France in the 50-60s than in the English elite schools (or US ones for that matter).
Also, I know France practiced (and probably still practices) a good deal of academic "cultural outreach", promoting their culture and especially their language abroad.
It says so right in the title so I may have misunderstood your question.