Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-tj2md Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T10:40:03.167Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Political Tolerance among Muslim Minorities in Western Europe: The Role of Denomination and Religious and Host National Identification

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2014

Maykel Verkuyten ,
Mieke Maliepaard ,
Borja Martinovic  and
Yassine Khoudja
Maykel Verkuyten*
Affiliation:
Utrecht University
Mieke Maliepaard
Affiliation:
Utrecht University
Borja Martinovic
Affiliation:
Utrecht University
Yassine Khoudja
Affiliation:
Utrecht University
*
Address for correspondence and reprint requests to: Maykel Verkuyten, Ercomer, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, the Netherlands. E-mail m.verkuyten@uu.nl
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Islam has emerged as the focus of immigration and diversity debates in Europe, especially in relation to the incorporation of Islam within political democracy. Using the least-liked group approach, the present study investigates political tolerance among Sunni and Alevi Muslims of Turkish origin living in Germany and the Netherlands. A relatively low level of political tolerance was found with higher intolerance of Alevis compared to Sunnis which was due to Alevis' strong rejection of religious fundamentalists. For both Muslim subgroups and in both countries, stronger religious group identification was associated with higher tolerance. Political tolerance was also found to be lower in Germany than in the Netherlands and in the latter country tolerance was positively associated with host national identification. The findings show that Islamic belief, Muslim group identification and the host national context are important for political tolerance.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , June 2014 , pp. 265 - 286
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Alba, R., and Nee, V. 2003. Remaking the American Mainstream: Assimilation and Contemporary Immigration. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Armstrong, K. 1994. A History of God: The 4,000-year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. New York, NY: Ballantine Books.Google Scholar
Bloom, P.B-N., and Arikan, G.. 2012. “A Two-Edged Sword: The Differential Effect of Religious Belief and Religious Social Context on Attitudes Towards Democracy.” Political Behaviour 34:249–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloom, P.B-N., and Arikan, G.. 2013a. “Priming Religious Belief And Religious Social Behavior Affects Support For Democracy.” International Journal of Public Opinion Research 25:368–382.Google Scholar
Bloom, P.B-N., and Arikan, G.. 2013b. “Religion and Support for Democracy: A Cross-National Test of the Mediating Mechanisms.” British Journal of Political Science 43:375–397.Google Scholar
Brambilla, M., Manzi, C., Regalia, C., and Verkuyten, M.. 2013. “Religiosity and Prejudice: Different Patterns for Two Types of Religious Internalization.” Journal of Social Psychology 153:486–498.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bruce, S. 2011. Secularization: In defence of An Unfashionable Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Buijs, F., and Rath, J.. 2002. Muslims in Europe: The State of Research. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Burge, R. 2013. “Using Matching to Investigate the Relationship between Religion and Tolerance.” Politics and Religion 6:264–281.Google Scholar
Citrin, J., Johnston, R., and Wright, M.. 2012. “Do patriotism and Multiculturalism Collide? Competing Perspectives from Canada and the United States.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 45:531–552.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dagevos, J., Euwals, R., Gijsberts, M., and Roodenburg, H.. 2006. Turken in Nederland en Duitsland. De arbeidsmarktpositie vergeleken (author add English translation here). Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.Google Scholar
Djupe, P.A., and Calfano, B.R.. 2012. “American Muslim Investment in Civil Society: Political Discussion, Disagreement, and Tolerance.” Political Research Quarterly 65:516–528.Google Scholar
Eisenstein, M. 2006. “Rethinking the Relationship between Religion and Political Tolerance in the US.” Political Behavior 28:327–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Esposito, J.L., and Mogahed, D.. 2007. Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think. New York, NY: Gallup Press.Google Scholar
Esser, H. 2004. “Does the New Immigration Require a New Theory of Intergenerational Integration?” International Migration Review 38:1126–1159.Google Scholar
Fetzer, J.S., and Soper, J.C.. 2005. Muslims and State in Britain, France, and Germany. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Fleischmann, F., and Phalet, K.. 2012. “Integration and Religiosity among the Yurkish Second Generation in Europe: A Comparative Analysis Across Four Capital Cities.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 35:320–341.Google Scholar
Froese, P., Bader, C., and Smith, B.. 2008. “Political Tolerance and God's Wrath in the United States.” Sociology of Religion 69:29–38.Google Scholar
Gay, D., and Ellison, C.G.. 1993. “Religious Subcultures and Political Tolerance: Do Denominations Still Matter?” Review of Religious Research 34:311–332.Google Scholar
Gibson, J.L. 1992. “Alternative Measures of Political Tolerance: Must Tolerance be ‘Least-Liked’?” American Journal of Political Science 36:560–577.Google Scholar
Gibson, J.L. 2006a. “Enigmas of Intolerance: Fifty Years after Stouffer's Communism, Conformity, and Civil Liberties.” Perspectives on Politics 4:21–34.Google Scholar
Gibson, J.L. 2006b. “Do Strong Group Identities Fuel Intolerance? Evidence from the South African Case.” Political Psychology 27:665–705.Google Scholar
Gijsberts, M., Huijnk, W., and Dagevos, J.. 2011. Jaarrapport integratie (Annual integration report) (author add English translation here). The Hague: Netherlands Institute for Social Research.Google Scholar
Grundel, M., and Maliepaard, M.. 2012. Knowing, Understanding and Practising Democratic Citizenship: An Investigation of the Role of Religion Among Muslim, Christian, and Non-Religious Adolescents.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 35:2075–2096.Google Scholar
Golebiowska, E.A. 1999. “Gender Gap in Political Tolerance.” Political Behaviour 21:43–66.Google Scholar
Harris, S. 2004. The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason. London: Norton & Company.Google Scholar
Helbling, M., ed. 2012. Islamophobia in the West: Measuring and Explaining Individual Attitudes. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Herriot, P. 2007. Religious Fundamentalism and Social Identity. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Huijnk, W., and Dagevos, J.. 2012. Dichter bij elkaar? De sociaal-culturele positie van niet-westerse immigranten in Nederland (author add English translation here). The Hague: SCP.Google Scholar
Hunsberger, B., and Jackson, L.M.. 2005. “Religion, Meaning, and Prejudice.” Journal of Social Issues 61:807–826.Google Scholar
Hurwitz, J., and Mondak, J.J.. 2002. “Democratic Principles, Discrimination and Political Intolerance.” British Journal of Political Science 32:93–118.Google Scholar
Karpov, V. 2002. “Religiosity and Tolerance in the United States and Poland.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 41:267–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaya, H. 2006. “Verschillen in Integratie Turken in Nederland.” Demos 22:45–48.Google Scholar
Kogan, I. 2006. “Labor Markets and Economic Incorporation among Recent Immigrants in Europe.” Social Forces 85:697–721.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kosnick, K. 2004. “‘Speaking in One's Own Voice’: Representational Strategies of Alevi Turkish Migrants on Open-Access Television in Berlin.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 30:979–994.Google Scholar
Lechner, F.J. 2008. The Netherlands: Globalization and National Identity. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Lijphart, A. 1975. The Politics of Accommodation: Pluralism and Democracy in the Netherlands. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Martinovic, B., and Verkuyten, M.. 2012. “Host National and Religious Identification among Turkish Muslims in Western Europe: The Role of Ingroup Norms, Perceived Discrimination and Value Incompatibility.” European Journal of Social Psychology 42:893–903.Google Scholar
Maxwell, R. 2010. “Trust in Government among British Muslims: The Importance of Migration Status.” Political Behaviour 32:89–109.Google Scholar
Modood, T., and Ahmad, F.. 2007. “British Muslim Perspectives on Multiculturalism.” Theory, Culture and Society 24:187–213.Google Scholar
Murphy Beatty, K., and Walter, O.. 1984. “Religious Preference and Practice: Reevaluating their Impact on Political Tolerance.” Public Opinion Quarterly 48:318–329.Google Scholar
Nunn, C., Crockett, H., and Williams, J.. 1978. Tolerance for Nonconformity. Holbroken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Penning, J.M. 2009. “Americans' Views of Muslims and Mormons: A Social Identity Theory Approach.” Politics and Religion 2:277–302.Google Scholar
Petersen, M., Slothuus, R., Stubager, R., and Togeby, L.. 2010. “Freedom for All? The Strength and Limits of Political Tolerance.” British Journal of Political Science 41:581–597.Google Scholar
Phalet, K., Fleischmann, F., and Stojčić, S.. 2012. “Ways of ‘being Muslim’: Religious Identities of Second-Generation Turks.” In The European Second Generation Compared: Does the Integration Context Matter? Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 341–373.Google Scholar
Pollack, D. 2010. Germans are Much Less Tolerant of Muslims. Münster: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität.Google Scholar
Reimer, S., and Park, J.Z.. 2001. “Tolerant (in)civility? A longitudinal Analysis of White Conservative Protestants' Willingness to Grant Civil Liberties.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 40:735–745.Google Scholar
Ryan, R.M., Rigby, S., and King, K.. 1993. “Two Types of Religious Internalization and Their Relations to Religious Orientations and Mental Health.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 65:586–596.Google Scholar
Smeekes, A., Verkuyten, M., and Poppe, E.. 2012. “How a Tolerant Past Affects the Present: Historical Tolerance and the Acceptance of Muslim Expressive Rights.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 38:1410–1422.Google Scholar
Sniderman, P., and Hagendoorn, L.. 2007. When Ways of Life Collide: Multiculturalism and its Discontents in the Netherlands. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Sökefeld, M. 2008. Struggling for Recognition: Alevi Movement in Germany and in Transnational Space. New York, NY: Berghahn Books.Google Scholar
Soleto, M.J. 1999. “Gender Differences in Political Tolerance among Adolescents.” Journal of Gender Studies 8:211–217.Google Scholar
Stouffer, S. 1955. Communism, Conformity, and Civil Liberties: A Cross-Section of the Nation Speaks its Mind. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.Google Scholar
Sullivan, J.L., Piereson, J., and Marcus, G.E.. 1979. “An Alternative Conceptualization of Political Tolerance: Illusory Increases 1950s-1970s.” American Political Science Review 73:781–794.Google Scholar
Sullivan, J.L., Piereson, J.E., and Marcus, G.E.. 1982. Political Tolerance and American Democracy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Sullivan, J.L., and Transue, J.E.. 1999. “The Psychological Underpinnings of Democracy: A Selective Review of Research on Political Tolerance, Interpersonal Trust, and Social Capital.” Annual Review of Psychology 50:625–650.Google Scholar
Tajfel, H., and Turner, J.. 1979. “An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict.” In The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole, 33–47.Google Scholar
Turner, J., and Reynolds, K.. 2001. “The Social Identity Perspective in Intergroup Relations: Theories, Themes and Controversies.” In Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology: Intergroup Processes. Oxford: Blackwell, 133–152.Google Scholar
Tutiya, N. 2005. “Fundamentalist Religious Affiliation and Support for Civil Liberties: A Critical Reexamination.” Sociological Inquiry 75:153–176.Google Scholar
Van Bruinessen, M. 1995. “Aslini inkar eden haramzadedir”: The Debate on the Ethnic Identity of the Kurdish Alevis. Paper presented at the conference on Bektashis. Berlin: Free University.Google Scholar
Van der Noll, J. 2013. “Religious Toleration of Muslims in the German Public Sphere.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations XX:XX-XX.Google Scholar
Verkuyten, M. 2010. “Religious Identity and Socio-Political Participation: Muslim Minorities in Western Europe.” In Identity and Participation in Culturally Diverse Societies. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Verkuyten, M. 2013. “Justifying Discrimination of Muslim Immigrants: Outgroup Ideology and the Five-Step Social Identity Model.” British Journal of Social Psychology 52:345–360.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Verkuyten, M., and Slooter, L.. 2008. “Muslim and Non-Muslim Adolescents' Reasoning about Freedom of Speech and Minority Rights.” Child Development 79:514–528.Google Scholar
Verkuyten, M., and Yildiz, A.A.. 2007. “National (dis)identification and Ethnic and Religious Identity: A Study among Turkish-Dutch Muslims.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 33:1448–1462.Google Scholar
Vermeulen, H., and Penninx, R.. 2000. Immigrant Integration: the Dutch Case. Amsterdam: Het Spinhuis.Google Scholar
Wald, K.D., and Smidt, C.E.. 1993. “Measurement Strategies in the Study of Religion and Politics. In Rediscovering the Religious Factor in American Politics. New York, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 26–52.Google Scholar
Weldon, S.A. 2006. “The Institutional Context of Tolerance for Ethnic Minorities: A Comparative, Multilevel Analysis of Western Europe.” American Journal of Political Science 50:331–349.Google Scholar
Wilcox, C., and Jelen, T.. 1990. “Evangelicals and Political Tolerance.” American Politics Quarterly 18:25–46.Google Scholar
Yildiz, A.A., and Verkuyten, M.. 2012. “Inclusive Victimhood: Social Identity and the Politicization of Collective Trauma among Turkey's Alevis in Western Europe.” Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology 17:243–269.Google Scholar
Zolberg, A.R., and Long, L.W.. 1999. “Why Islam is Like Spanish: Cultural Incorporation in Europe and the United States.” Politics and Society 27:5–38.Google Scholar