Universalism and anti-Muslim sentiment

Abstract

a b s t r a c tSocial scientists debate the nature of the critique of Islam that has recently become prominent in various European societies. Some consider it as a mere focussing of more general feelings of xenophobia on a new target group, and therefore regard it as an expression of Islam phobia. Others see it as, at least in part, the result of a defence of values and rights that should be universal. This paper seeks to gauge the extent to which anti-Muslim feelings can be considered the consequence of general forms of xenophobia, to what extent they are inspired by adherence to a universalistic conception of human rights. That question is answered on the basis of a sample of 522 university students surveyed in 2009. Besides anti-Muslim feelings four kinds of prejudice are measured. Confirmative factor analysis shows that these can be distinguished from each other in a measurement model. Yet the relationships between the different forms of prejudice are very strong and more than half of the variation in anti-Muslim feelings can be attributed to more general forms of prejudice. Yet, even after controlling for the effects of the four forms of prejudice, adherence to a universalistic conception of human rights adds significantly to anti-Muslim feelings.

Secular Tolerance? Anti‐Muslim Sentiment in Western Europe

“…And several studies have shown that anti‐Muslim sentiment is closely related to other types of prejudice, like ethnocentrism (Van Bohemen et al. ), cultural and economic xenophobia (Elchardus and Spruyt ), and other general measures of prejudice and authoritarianism (de Koster et al. ).…”

“…And several studies have shown that anti-Muslim sentiment is closely related to other types of prejudice, like ethnocentrism (Van Bohemen et al 2011), cultural and economic xenophobia (Elchardus and Spruyt 2014), and other general measures of prejudice and authoritarianism (de Koster et al 2010). Second, using the dichotomous "Muslim as neighbor" item, we conducted a linear probability multilevel analysis to check whether the results from the extended scale are comparable with the responses to the dichotomous variable.…”

Examining the public’s exposure to reports about ethnic groups in mainstream Russian media

“…• studies discussing the role of stereotypes in interethnic conflicts and miscommunication across nations (Verevkin, 2009;Minyar-Belorucheva & Pokrovskaya, 2012;Mishlanova & Sirotkina, 2013;Malkova, 2007;Gladkova, 2013bGladkova, , 2015Petrova et al, 2014;Contini, 2013;Elchardus & Spruyt, 2014;Loennqvist et al, 2014;Ivanic, Bates & Somasundaram, 2014, and others) • studies focusing on issues of in-group and out-group trust and the impact of trust and other psychological phenomena upon interethnic relations (Alesina & La Ferrara, 2002;Abanes, Scheepers & Sterkens, 2014;Gundelach, 2014;Bahry et al, 2005;Allwood, Traum & Jokinen, 2000, and others) • studies identifying social prerequisites for interethnic confrontation, such as the degree of diversity in the society (Alesina & La Ferrara, 2002;Gladkova, 2013a;Matsaganis, Katz & Ball-Rokeach, 2011;Vartanova, 2005Vartanova, , 2012 and the role of social categorization in provoking conflicts and misunderstanding (Ufkes et al, 2012) • studies examining personal characteristics and their role in multicultural communication, including respondents' pride in belonging to a certain ethnic group and its influence upon their tolerance toward other ethnic formations (Ward et al, 2006), as well as individuals' level of education, income, and gender and age characteristics, etc. ; • studies discussing issues of migration and the lack of sense of belonging among migrants as a potential risk factor in a multiethnic society (Osin & Konstantinov, 2014;Bazhenova et al, 2015); • studies analyzing the role of language and linguistic means, including hate speech, in affecting attitudes toward ethnic groups (Shulumba, 2013;Malkova, 2007).…”

Ethnic Auto-And Hetero-Stereotypes of Representatives of the Indigenous Population and Immigrants in the Contemporary Metropolis

“…In connection with this there are a growing number of scientific researches dedicated to the problem of inter-ethnic and inter-confessional relations lately (Banks, 1996;Elchardus & Spruyt, 2014;Harris, 1998;Schaafsma & Williams, 2012).…”

“…Thus, M. Elchardus and B. Spruyt (2014) have investigated the problem of expansion of anti-Muslim sentiment in the world. J.…”