Support for Muslim Political Participation in Germany

In most western societies, the proportion of Muslims in the population is increasing. Among the non-Muslim majority population, there seems, however, to be a broad consensus that “Muslim attitudes” or “Muslim culture” do not fit, or perhaps even contradict, norms, values and culture that are prevalent in these western societies. This may give rise to intolerant reactions when it comes to the question to what extent Muslim immigrants should be allowed to participate, and exert an influence, in the political domain in their countries of settlement. This paper contributes to this debate by examining under what conditions political behaviour (here: participating in demonstrations) by Muslims is supported by the non-Muslim majority population in Germany. In an online experimental survey (N = 800) with a 2x2 between-subjects-design using scenarios, participants were asked to indicate their willingness to support a Muslim person (vs. a non-Muslim person) who intended to participate in a demonstration against appointing homosexuals in social care facilities (considered to represent a value conflict) or in a demonstration for better payment for employees of social care facilities (considered to be a neutral goal). Results showed that there was less support for political behaviour of Muslims when this represented a possible value conflict. The study furthermore discusses the role of perceptions of symbolic threat (to one’s values) and power threat (to one’s political status) as potential mediators or moderators of the scenario’s effect on support for Muslim political participation.