Muslims for integration, Germans for a high fence
The independent, politically neutral Bertelsmann Foundation commissioned sociologists to study the attitude of Germans towards Islam and of Muslims living in Germany towards Germany, against the backdrop of the growing mass protests of the anti-Islamic movement PEGIDA (Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes, 'Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West'). Having started in eastern Germany, in Dresden, where regular PEGIDA marches on Mondays gather tens of thousands of people, actions by citizens dissatisfied with the spread of Islam have also taken place in a number of large cities in western Germany.
Representatives of leading German political forces – with the exception of the Alternative for Germany – prefer to distance themselves from PEGIDA. The Islam-haters were condemned in the New Year's address by Federal Chancellor Merkel, who in many other matters is sensitive to public opinion. Regarding Islam, as the Bertelsmann Foundation survey shows, it is quite clear: 57 percent of respondents consider this religion 'threatening' or 'very threatening.' In 2012, Germans who feared Islam were 53 percent. Even then, this figure was higher than that for Great Britain, where, unlike Germany, Islamist terrorist attacks with fatalities have occurred, and France, which long before Charlie Hebdo saw cars and shops burning in the suburbs of metropolises, mainly populated by unemployed Muslim youth.
61 percent of Germans – nine more than two years ago – answer 'rather no' or 'definitely no' to the question of whether Islam fits the Western world. 40 percent say that due to the abundance of Muslims they feel like strangers in their own country. Almost one in four (24 percent) residents of Germany believe that Muslim immigration to Germany should be banned. So far, only right-wing extremists dare to call Islam a 'foreign aggressive religion' in Europe, but there is undoubtedly fertile ground for agitation by ultra-conservative parties in Germany.
For the four million Muslims living in Germany, such public perception of their religious affiliation promises social isolation. The negative attitude towards Islam, for which extremist organizations like the Islamic Caliphate, Al-Qaeda, or radical Salafis living in Germany (who make up no more than one percent of the Muslim community in our country) are responsible, will be fully felt by the most ordinary Muslims, who are quite inclined to integration, living side by side in peace and harmony with Christians, Jews, and atheists.
The overwhelming majority of Muslims in Germany are extremely far from terrorism and extremism, say sociologists, based on data collected for the Bertelsmann Foundation. Thus, nine out of ten Muslims surveyed stated that they have contacts with representatives of other religions. Every second has more or at least as many contacts with others as with Muslims. Only eight percent of German Muslims maintain contacts exclusively with co-religionists.
90 percent of Sunni respondents said they consider democracy a good form of social organization (however, it is worth noting that only 85 people in this group of believers were surveyed by sociologists). 63 percent of respondents who consider themselves 'fairly religious' or 'strongly religious' reported that they regularly reexamine their religious positions. Thus, 58 percent of representatives of this group have nothing against same-sex marriage. Even 40 percent of Sunnis, who rarely reexamine religious views, are ready to accept same-sex marriage. For comparison: in Turkey, from where most Muslims arrived in Germany, only every third believer reexamines his views and only 12 percent hold moderate views on homosexuality.
So, Germany does not accept Muslims? 85 percent of Germans surveyed claim that they are tolerant of other religions – Islam is obviously not included. Fear of the unfamiliar and incomprehensible, fueled by the mass media, the mixing of Islam with Islamism, especially flourish in rural areas, where the German people are practically unfamiliar with Muslims. Thus, 57 percent of rural residents consider Islam threatening, 48 percent of suburban residents, and in cities, 43 percent of respondents fear it. In North Rhine-Westphalia, where the representation of Muslims is most significant compared to all major federal states, 46 percent of the population considers their religion a threat. In Saxony, where the PEGIDA movement originated and is particularly strong, but where Muslims are hardly to be found – 78 percent.
The same applies to age: the most open towards Muslims are young people. Among Germans aged 16 to 24, 38 percent consider Islam a threat; 25 to 39 – 47 percent; 40 to 54 – 55 percent; 55 to 69 – 60 percent; and only in the age group over 70 does the wary and fearful attitude towards Islam slightly decrease – to 57 percent.
Interestingly, the attitude of Germans towards Islam is hardly influenced by either political views or educational level. Thus, people who consider themselves both moderately right-wing and left-wing see a threat in Islam more than others. Among university graduates, fears are somewhat lower than the average among the entire population. Nevertheless, 46 percent of Germans with higher education also consider Islam threatening, and 40 percent are convinced that this religion does not fit into the picture of the Western world.
Caution, wariness, and hostility towards Islam are not a marginal phenomenon, sociologists conclude: these trends are deeply rooted among the inhabitants of Germany and are gaining strength.
Maxim Smirnov.
«Русская Германия»