Peter Doerschler, Professor in Political Science Department of Political Science Bloomsburg University Bloomsburg, PA 17815, USA pdoersch@bloomu.edu 110 Forum 21 [Research] Pamela Irving Jackson, Professor in Sociology Director of the Justice Studies Program Department of Sociology Rhode Island College Providence, RI 02908, USA pjackson@ric.edu Do Muslims in Germany Really Fail to Integrate? Muslim Integration and Trust in Public Institutions¹ The Federal Republic of Germany, like many states in Western Europe, has experienced a wave of mass immigration in the post-war era. The majority of these immigrants were citizens of Turkey, Italy, the former Yugoslavia as well as Spain, Portugal and Greece, and arrived under the auspices of a federally sponsored guest worker program designed to fill acute shortages in the domestic labor market. Although Germany’s recruitment program abruptly ended in 1973 in the wake of global economic recession, family unification continued over the next decade, reuniting guest workers with spouses, children and even extended families from the homeland. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s Germany’s liberal asylum laws also attracted a wave of asylum seekers seeking refuge from political turmoil in numerous countries including the former Yugoslavia, Iraq and areas of the former Soviet Union. Data from the 2008 Mikrozensus, a 1% sampling of Germany’s population conducted by the Federal Statistics Office, show that residents with a migrant background, including first-generation migrants and their offspring, now number close to 15.5 million or approximately 19% of Germany’s population. Totalling between 2.5 to 4.3 million, Muslims constitute a sizable percentage of Germany’s migrant population and between 3 to 5 percent of the total population. The social, professional and political integration of recent immigrants and their offspring has become a central challenge facing policymakers in Germany. For decades little distinction was made in the integration of Muslims and non-Muslims. The tragic events of 9/11 and subsequent attacks in Madrid, London and Amsterdam radically altered this view, leading to assertions that Muslims had failed to integrate due to an incompatibility between core tenets of Islam and democracy. Critics argue that Islam lacks many of the core values that underpin modern democracy such as acceptance of the separation of religious and secular authorities, and protection of social pluralism and individual civil liberties. The underlying goal of our research is to ascertain whether the conventional wisdom regarding Muslims’ failed integration is supported by empirical evidence. In this report we examine specifically whether Muslims exhibit the same degree of political trust as non-Muslims. Political trust is a standard indicator used widely in political science to define the relationship between individuals and the political system under which they live. In this context, trust measures individuals’ confidence in the overall quality and efficacy of the political system as well as in specific political institutions (parties, parliament) and elected officials. Confidence in political authority underpins legitimacy in democratic governance since citizens trust government authorities to make decisions in their collective best interest. A breakdown in trust could ultimately affect citizens’ willingness to voluntarily obey the organizational rules and laws that form the basis of government authority. In extreme cases, fractured trust can erode democratic legitimacy and result in widespread disillusionment or anti-democratic sentiment. From this well-established body of research, we distinguish among five dimensions of trust that run from more diffuse, normative attitudes about the community and democratic values to more specific attitudes related to the performance of government institutions and public officials. 111 To test the relationship between Muslim religious identification and political trust, we conduct multivariate analyses using survey data from the 2008 German General Social Survey (ALLBUS). We use fourteen dependent variables to represent different levels of trust. These include three measures related to the community level (connection to the community, connection to the state and its people and connection to the Federal Republic); respondents’ evaluation of democracy as an idea at the more diffuse level of regime principles; a measure of respondents’ satisfaction with democracy as practiced in the FRG, which offers a more output-oriented evaluation of the regime; and nine separate measures corresponding to respondents’ trust in specific political and legal institutions, including the federal government, local government, the parliament (Bundestag), the Supreme Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht), political parties, the judiciary, the police, the education system and the health system. For the sake of brevity, we present in Table 1 partial correlation coefficients for Muslim identity while controlling for respondents’ social capital (interpersonal trust and participation in voluntary organizations) socioeconomic status (education, place of birth, citizenship, income, employment status and gender), postmaterial views, ideological position (left and right extremes), partisan support for parties in power (CDU, SPD), assessment of government performance, interest in politics and amount of television viewing. Starred coefficients indicate a statistically significant relationship between Muslim identification and the particular indicator of political trust with positive coefficients indicating that Muslims are generally more trusting than non-Muslims. Looking first at the community level, Muslims and non-Muslims express the same degree of connection to the wider community, the regional state and its people and to Germany once other factors are considered. Looking further down the table, the analyses indicate that Muslims 112 Forum 21 [Research] express significantly greater satisfaction with German democracy than non-Muslims. This also holds true for Germany’s health care system, the Supreme Court and especially the judiciary. In results not shown here, Muslims’ support for democracy in Germany is not reduced when we control for their level of religiosity. In general, our findings offer no support for the widespread view that Muslims have failed to integrate in German society. Though Muslims may lag behind on some objective indicators such as unemployment rates and income, these inequalities have not appeared to sour their outlook on democracy or various democratic institutions relative to nonMuslims. While it is difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons behind these results, we offer two possible explanations. First, over the past few decades citizenries in many Western European states, including Germany, have experienced declining levels of political trust. This erosion of trust has been more narrowly focused on evaluations of government institutions and officials; commitment to core principles of democracy and democratic regimes has generally remained strong. The erosion of trust is based largely on several perceived shortcomings of democracy, including stagnation brought on by divided government, poor performance, corruption and personal scandals as well as greater economic uncertainty in a more interdependent global economy. While it is likely that many Muslim residents also fit this trend, more recent immigrants may not carry the same degree of institutional history as “native” Germans with which to negatively critique the functioning of democracy and its various institutions. Furthermore, we argue that if one considers the range of push-pull factors that have driven immigration to Germany in the post-war era, then it is likely that a majority of immigrants have seen improvements in their general standard of living and overall well-being. On the economic front, many immigrants escaped extreme poverty and massive unemployment in prime sending countries like Turkey to take on Table 1. Comparing Political Trust among Muslims and non-Muslims Muslim ID N connection to community .049 1279 connection to state and its people .029 1280 connection to Federal Republic .039 1278 connection index .050 1276 .044 1264 .069* 1281 Political Community Regime Principles evaluation of democracy as idea Regime Norms satisfaction with democracy in FRG Regime Institutions education system .032 1187 health system .059* 1279 supreme court .071* 1206 federal government .017 1276 parliament .056* 1266 local government .013 1275 political parties .036 1272 judiciary .096** 1268 police .038 1277 political institutions index .088** 1186 **p<.01, *p<.05, two-tailed test Note: As explained in the text, the following variables are controlled: social trust, participation in voluntary institutions, age, gender, income, citizenship, level of post-materialism, employment status, education, ideology, support for parties in power, interest in politics, amount of television viewing and evaluation of government performance. 113 admittedly difficult yet often stable employment in Germany’s booming economy. On the political front, Germany has long served as a prime destination for refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants escaping persecution from repressive regimes. Kurds from Turkey and citizens of the former Yugoslavia are two prime examples. While many of these immigrants are sure to have experienced hardship and myriad forms of discrimination in Germany, Germany’s democratic institutional setting and prosperous economy may still compare favourably to the homeland experiences. This may be especially true of those holding German citizenship, which guarantees individuals a set of inalienable basic rights and liberties. While much work still needs to be done to develop a more complete picture of Muslims’ integration in Germany and Europe, this study provides firm evidence on the basis of one important dimension of political integration— individuals’ trust in the political system—that Muslims are in fact integrating well into German society and are not a threat to democracy. Terrorists operating on the margins of German society may use radical Islamist ideology to justify attacks on democracy, but those identifying as Muslim in Germany, regardless of their level of religiosity, are supportive of democracy and the institutions of the state. These results raise new questions about integration; only the subject of 114 Forum 21 [Research] concern appears to be the large population of non-Muslims, the vast majority of whom would also self-identify as ethnic Germans, rather than Muslims. Significantly lower levels of political trust among non-Muslims may negatively affect their views of government and, more specifically, its efforts to respond to Germany’s Muslim population. Scepticism and distrust of government may actually undermine important programs designed to bridge real value and cultural differences, which remain a source of ignorance that fuels prejudice and discrimination. To fully succeed, integration policies must therefore target all members of society. Note 1 This article is based on the paper titled “Immigrant Integration and Trust in Public Institutions: Lessons from GSOEP and ALLBUS” presented at the XVII ISA (International Sociological Association) World Congress of Sociology “Sociology on the Move” from 11 to 17 July 2010 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The entire research paper can be requested from the authors: pdoersch@bloomu.edu; pjackson@ric. edu FR Intégration des musulmans en Allemagne : un échec réel ? Intégration et confiance dans les institutions publiques Peter Doerschler, professeur en sciences politique Faculté des sciences politiques Université de Bloomsburg Bloomsburg, PA 17815, USA pdoersch@bloomu.edu Pamela Irving Jackson, professeur en sociologie Directrice du programme d’études sur la justice Faculté de sociologie Collège Rhode Island Providence, RI 02908, USA pjackson@ric.edu Comme beaucoup de pays d’Europe occidentale, la République fédérale d’Allemagne a connu une vague d’immigration de masse dans la période d’après-guerre. Les données du Mikrozensus (microrecensement) de 2008, mené sur un échantillon de 1 % de la population allemande par le Bureau fédéral des statistiques, révèle que les résidents issus de l’immigration, y compris les migrants de la première génération et leur descendance, représentent aujourd’hui pas loin de 15,5 millions de la population allemande, soit environ 19 %. Comptant pour 2,5 à 4,3 millions les musulmans constituent un pourcentage non négligeable de la population allemande d’origine migrante et entre 3 à 5 % de la population totale. L’objectif sous-jacent de cette recherche est de vérifier si l’opinion répandue au sujet de l’échec de l’intégration des musulmans est étayée par des preuves empiriques. Dans ce rapport, nous examinons spécifiquement si les musulmans manifestent le même degré de confiance politique que les non-musulmans. La confiance politique est en effet un indicateur standard utilisé largement en sciences politiques pour définir la relation entre les individus et le système politique en place. Dans ce contexte, il s’agit d’évaluer la confiance des individus dans la qualité et l’efficacité globales du système politique, ses institutions politiques (partis, parlement) et les représentants élus. 115 DE Integrieren sich Muslime in Deutschland wirklich nicht? Integration von Muslimen und Vertrauen in öffentliche Institutionen Peter Doerschler, Professor für Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaftliche Fakultät Universität Bloomsburg Bloomsburg, PA 17815, USA pdoersch@bloomu.edu Pamela Irving Jackson, Professorin für Soziologie Direktorin des Justizwissenschaftlichen Progamms Soziologische Fakultät Rhode Island College Providence, RI 02908, USA pjackson@ric.edu Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland hat wie viele andere Staaten in Westeuropa in der Nachkriegszeit eine Masseneinwanderungswelle erlebt. Daten aus dem Mikrozensus 2008, einer vom Bundesamt für Statistik erhobenen Stichprobe von 1% der Bevölkerung in Deutschland, zeigen, dass die Zahl der Einwohner mit Migrationshintergrund einschließlich der ersten Einwanderergeneration und ihrer Kinder jetzt fast 15,5 Millionen oder einen Anteil von etwa 19% an der Bevölkerung Deutschlands erreicht hat. Mit einer Gesamtzahl von 2,5 bis 4,3 Millionen machen Muslime einen beträchtlichen Prozentsatz aller Migranten in Deutschland beziehungsweise 3 bis 5% der Gesamtbevölkerung aus. 116 Forum 21 [Research] Das eigentliche Ziel der Forschungsarbeit besteht in der Klärung der Frage, ob die gängige Meinung zur fehlgeschlagenen Integration der Muslime durch empirische Nachweise gestützt wird. In diesem Artikel untersuchen wir insbesondere, ob Muslime im gleichen Maße Politikvertrauen zeigen wie Nicht-Muslime. Politikvertrauen ist in der Politikwissenschaft ein häufig eingesetzter Indikator, um das Verhältnis von Einzelpersonen zum politischen System zu definieren, in dem sie leben. In diesem Zusammenhang ist Vertrauen die Messgröße für das Zutrauen des Einzelnen in die generelle Qualität und Wirksamkeit des politischen Systems sowie in spezielle politische Institutionen (Parteien, das Parlament) und gewählte Mandatsträger. RU Мусульмане в Германии так и не смогли интегрироваться? Интеграция мусульман и доверие к общественным институтам Петр Доершлер (Peter Doerschler), профессор политических наук Кафедра политических наук Блумсбергский университет Bloomsburg, PA 17815, USA pdoersch@bloomu.edu Памела Ирвинг Джексон (Pamela Irving Jackson), профессор социологии Директор программ исследования правосудия Кафедра социологии Колледж Род-Айленд/Rhode Island College Providence, RI 02908, USA pjackson@ric.edu Федеративная Республика Германия, как и многие государства в Западной Европе, пережила волну массовой иммиграции вскоре после окончания войны. По данным исследования Mikrozensus – 2008 (с выборочной репрезентативностью 1 процент населения Германии), проведенного Управлением федеральной статистики, численность жителей из числа мигрантов, включая первое поколение мигрантов и их потомков, в настоящее время приближается к 15,5 миллионам, что составляет около 19 процентов общей численности населения Германии. Мусульмане составляют значительную часть населения Германии из числа мигрантов, насчитывая от 2,5 до 4,3 миллионов, что составляет 3 - 5 процентов общей численности населения. Основной целью исследования является выяснение, поддерживается ли эмпирическими данными общепринятое мнение, что мусульмане не смогли интегрироваться. В данном отчете мы специально рассматриваем, имеют ли мусульмане такую же степень политического доверия, как немусульмане. Политическое доверие является стандартным показателем, который широко используется в политической науке для определения отношения между людьми и существующей политической системой. В этом контексте доверие измеряет уверенность индивидов в общем качестве и эффективности политической системы, а также в конкретных политических институтах (партии, парламент) и выборных должностных лицах. 117