ISLAMOPHOBIA and its origins

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ISLAMOPHOBIA and its origins

• Henk Dekker
• Leiden University
• Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Political Science department
• Lecture
• Excellent University Project
• Comenius University
• Bratislava
• 18 January 2008

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Question

• How can we explain Islamophobia?

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Relevance

• Societal relevance
• Scientific relevance
• Muslims report more exclusion, discrimination,
  violence (EUMC).Public Opinion polls
• Negative attitudes
• Fear
• Why?
• Negative relationships will have a negative
  impact on social and political cohesion

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Attitude Theories

• Attitude
• The amount of affect for or against some object
  (Azjen and Fishbein, 1975)
• Theories
• Direct Contact
• Socialization
• Inference
• Realistic Group Conflict Theory
• Social Identity Theory

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Sample Methods

• 581 respondents
• Aged 14-16
• 3 educational levels
• Areas with different degrees of Muslim density
• Data collection March-April 2006
• Methods
• multiple regression analysis
• Path-analysis

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Attitude towards the Islam and Muslims

• Scale 7 items (Cronbachs alpha .91)
• General feeling Islam, Turks, Moroccans
• Trust Turks and Moroccans
• Favourability Turkish and Moroccan neighbours
• Descriptives

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Explanation regression analysis

• Predictors attitude towards the Islam and
  Muslims
• Evaluation of direct contact
• Perceived symbolic threat
• Perceived attitude personal socializers
• Positive beliefs
• National identification
• Gender
• Religiosity
• Explained variance 71.5 percent

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Explanation path analysis II
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Conclusion

• Explanations of Islamophobia
• Main predictors
• Direct contact, socialization, symbolic threat
• Secondary
• Positive beliefs, national attitude
• Rejected hypotheses
• socialization by mass media
• low level of knowledge
• negative emotions
• low self-esteem

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Future research

• Cross-national design
• Longitudinal or panel design
• Improved measurement of emotions, beliefs and
  knowledge
• Other socializers teachers, textbooks,
  politicians