Gütersloh – January 8, 2015. Most of the four million Muslims living in
Germany are part of the country’s social fabric. Their attitudes and
viewpoints very much reflect the Federal Republic’s basic values, such
as a belief in democracy and diversity. On the other hand, many of the
country’s non-Muslims have unfavorable views of Islam and its adherents.
Those are just some of the findings from a special study on Muslims in
Germany carried out as part of the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Religion
Monitor project. The study shows that Muslims in Germany have close
ties to the state and society. For example, 90 percent of highly
religious Muslims are very supportive of democracy as a form of
government. Nine out of ten of the study’s respondents, moreover, have
contact with non-Muslims in their free time. One in two even has as at
least as much contact with non-Muslims as with Muslims.
The majority of Muslims in Germany are devout and open-minded at the
same time. The study shows that 63 percent of those adherents of Islam
who consider themselves fairly or very religious say they re-examine
their religious attitudes at regular intervals. Roughly 60 percent of
those respondents say they support same-sex marriage, something that
also applies to 40 percent of highly religious Muslims who say they
rarely look at their religious principles. In Turkey, in contrast, the
country of origin for most of Germany’s Muslims, only one-third of
highly religious Muslims say they regularly re-examine their religious
beliefs. Only 12 percent of highly religious Muslims in Turkey say they
are in favor of same-sex marriage.
The fact that Muslims in Germany feel a connection to the country
and its values is not, however, helping overcome the negative attitudes
others have towards Islam – on the contrary. According to a
representative survey recently carried out on behalf of the Bertelsmann
Stiftung, 57 percent of Germany’s non-Muslims perceive Islam as a
threat. Only 53 percent felt that way 2012. “Muslims now consider
Germany home,” says Yasemin El-Menouar, Islam expert at the Bertelsmann
Stiftung. “However, they find themselves confronted with a negative
image that apparently prevails because of a minority of radical
Islamists.”
Overall, 61 percent of Germans say that Islam is
not compatible with life in the western world. In 2012, 52 percent
expressed that view. In addition, 40 percent say they do not feel at
home in their own country because of the country’s purported
Islamization. One-quarter feel that Germany should no longer permit
Muslims to immigrate.
These attitudes are not limited to the
margins of German society. Neither political orientation, educational
level nor social status has a significant effect on what Germans think
of Islam. The more crucial factors are age and personal contact with
Muslims. Of those respondents over the age of 54, 61 percent
feel threatened by Islam.
Of those younger than 25, only 39 percent
express the same view. Fear is also greatest in those areas where few
Muslims live. In the state of North Rhine–Westphalia, for example, home
to one-third of Germany’s Muslims, 46 percent of the respondents say
they feel threatened. In Thuringia and Saxony, home to relatively few
Muslims, 70 percent feel threatened. Even though the vast majority of
Germans – 85 percent – say they are very tolerant of other religions,
this seems not to be the case when it comes to Islam.
According
to El-Menouar, despite the fact that Germany’s various religious
communities are increasingly living together in harmony, the danger
exists that a large part of the population is becoming more intolerant
of Islam. “Muslims and non-Muslims in Germany have a lot in common,” she
says. “That could serve as the basis for feeling ‘we’re in this
together.’ For that to happen, however, more people will have to
recognize and respect Muslims and their religion.”
About the study:
The
Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Religion Monitor examines how religion
influences social cohesion in religiously and culturally diverse
societies. Its findings are based on representative surveys carried out
at regular intervals in selected countries around the world. On behalf
of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, five researchers analyzed data from the
2013 Religion Monitor to better understand the attitudes of Muslims
living in Germany. The study’s authors are Prof. Dirk Halm and Dr.
Martina Sauer of the Center for Turkish Studies and Integration Research
(ZfTI), Prof. Kai Hafez and Sabrina Schmidt of the University of Erfurt
and Prof. Richard Traunmüller of the University of Frankfurt. In order
to compare the data from 2013 to attitudes today, research institute TNS
Emnid conducted a follow-up survey on behalf of the Bertelsmann
Stiftung at the end of November 2014 to assess how Germans currently
feel about Islam.