Muslim and Non‐Muslim Adolescents’ Reasoning About Freedom of Speech and Minority Rights

Abstract

An experimental questionnaire study, conducted in The Netherlands, examined adolescents' reasoning about freedom of speech and minority rights. Muslim minority and non-Muslim majority adolescents (12-18 years) made judgments of different types of behaviors and different contexts. The group membership of participants had a clear effect. Muslim participants were less in favor of freedom of speech if it involved the offending of religious beliefs and were more in favor of Muslim minority rights. There were also cross-group gender differences whereby parental practices that negatively affect females were more strongly rejected by Muslim females than by Muslim males and non-Muslim females and males. The findings are discussed with reference to social-cognitive domain theory and intergroup theories.

Beyond Muslim identity: Opinion-based groups in the Gezi Park protest

“…However, comparing democratic attitudes such as freedom of speech and acceptance of minorities, Muslims were found to be less democratic than non-Muslims (Inglehart & Norris, 2003;Verkuyten & Slooter, 2008).…”

“…Whereas religious identification is generally associated with less support for democratic attitudes such as freedom of speech (Inglehart & Norris, 2003;Verkuyten & Slooter, 2008), we argue that the political implications of the same religious identity depend on its intersection with different group identities (for intersectionality of gender and ethnicity, Deaux, 2001). Specifically, the association of Muslim identification with democratic attitudes should differ between distinct group identities.…”

“…Specifically, the association of Muslim identification with democratic attitudes should differ between distinct group identities. Democratic attitudes refer to support for democracy as a regime (Ariely & Davidov, 2011), freedom of speech (Verkuyten & Slooter, 2008), non-authoritarianism (Feldman, 2003), and positive attitudes towards minority groups (Verkuyten, 2007).…”

Orthodoxie en integratie van Turks Nederlandse moslims

“…In een grootschalig onderzoek onder moslims in Rotterdam hebben Phalet en Güngör (2004) vignetten gebruikt om na te gaan of religie een specifieke reden is om tolerante waarden niet na te leven. Zij vonden geen significante effecten van islambeleving op politieke tolerantie, en dus geen empirisch bewijs voor deze veronderstelling (zie ook Eisenstein, 2006;Norris & Inglehart, 2004;Verkuyten & Slooter, 2008). In hun onderzoek is echter niet gekeken naar religieuze orthodoxie en hoe dat samenhangt met politieke tolerantie.…”

“…Het gaat daarbij om de vraag of het recht op vrije meningsuiting, het recht van demonstratie en het recht van organisatie, selectief wordt toegepast op moslims. Gebaseerd op eerder onderzoek (Phalet & Güngör, 2004;Verkuyten & Slooter, 2008) zijn vier vignetten gebruikt (zie Bijlage). In de religieuze conditie van het eerste vignet is gevraagd of een tijdschrift waarin God en de godsdienst belachelijk wordt gemaakt uit de handel moet worden genomen.…”