Antisemitic and antimuslim attitudes in an immigration country (Februar 2022 – Oktober 2022)

Antisemitism on the one hand and Islamophobia, or antimuslim hostility, on the other have been the subject of both public and political debate for many years. The issue has gained relevance, as criminal offences motivated by antisemitic and antimuslim attitudes have recently increased (once more). The key to peaceful social coexistence, however, is that no group is systematically excluded or even threatened. Islamophobic and antisemitic attitudes in Germany’s overall population have been relatively well researched. Representative surveys tend to show that Islamophobic and antimuslim attitudes are slightly more widespread than antisemitism. The attitudes of, specifically, people with a migration background to Judaism and Islam have been studied to a lesser degree, though. Knowledge about these attitudes within the various groups of migrants and religious groups in Germany is needed to better understand intergroup relations as a whole in an immigration society and, based on that, to recognise what policy action is necessary.

The objective of the project is to investigate the scale and spread of antisemitic and Islamophobic, or antimuslim, attitudes among people with a migration background based on the SVR’s 2020 Integration Barometer. The Integration Barometer provides a representative picture of these attitudes both at the level of origin group and in relation to the religious affiliation of those surveyed. The project also investigates whether and to what extent antisemitism and Islamophobia are linked to migration-specific and socio-demographic features.

The results of the project were published in a study in October 2022.

Study (Summary)

Anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic attitudes in an immigration country – (not) an exceptional case?