What Can Multicultural Theory Tell Us about Integrating Muslims in Europe?

Abstract

Across Europe and elsewhere we are witnessing a series of decisions, including attempts (successful and otherwise) to ban the burka or the building of minarets on mosques, which seem to be made from a fear of ‘politicised Muslims’– Muslim residents and citizens in European countries – who are alleged to be irredeemably and unambiguously anti‐European and therefore anti‐democratic. They are, additionally, frequently portrayed as taking orders from fundamentalist regimes, or organisations, which operate from outside Europe and aim to destabilise European political life. The debates and conflicts portrayed in the Swiss media in the week before the vote on whether to ban the construction of minarets, for example, and in the days just afterwards, mirror those that have been occupying European countries for the past several years. As I shall suggest in this article, these debates are familiar to theorists of multiculturalism, and of liberal democracy more generally, and they press us to consider whether the challenges (apparently) posed by Muslim integration are distinct from the challenges that have occupied the attention of multicultural theorists in the past. Underpinning the analysis in this article is my view that the principles that underpin multicultural theorising, principles that were developed in response to previous waves of immigration, are able to guide us in developing fair terms of integration for Muslim citizens.

Redefining cultural identity through language in young Romanian migrants in Spain

“…For her, one of the answers has to do with this progressive incorporation to areas of socialization mediated by the majority host culture (Phinney, Jacoby & Silva, 2007;Tuomi-Gröhn & Engeström, 2003). However, the results in our research also show us that it has to do with the implications of being "integrated" in the host society, partly due to the expectations (Johansson & Olofsson, 2011), but partly also due to the necessity that inherently we feel as social beings to form part of a group (Espinosa, 2005;Lenard, 2010;Seggie & Sanford, 2010;Trumbull & Rothstein-Fisch, 2011).…”

“…The results transfer us constantly to the heart of the matter, to the necessity "to feel part" (Espinosa, 2005;Lenard, 2010;Seggie & Sanford, 2010;Trumbull & Rothstein-Fisch, 2011), to be accepted by "the others". That leads us to the importance of the integration expectations which are constructed intersubjectively in relation to the redefinition of identity in multilingual and multicultural contexts.…”

“…"Who are you? "), many youths of immigrant origin feel a dimension which is linked to the fact of belonging to a group, culture or society (Espinosa, 2005;Lenard, 2010;Seggie & Sanford, 2010;Trumbull & Rothstein-Fisch, 2011). In the line of other studies, a duality between "here" and "there" can be observed for those young immigrants who live in the host country, shaping a hybrid identity (Marcu, 2012(Marcu, , 2014.…”

Veil Dressing and the Gender Geopolitics of “What Not to Wear”

“…In each case, albeit in different measures, media debates and court settlements focused on the way these head‐coverings could be deemed a refusal by the wearer to culturally integrate, or as a barrier to communication in the workplace—if worn by an office worker, or teacher for example, or as in the French case, a breach of the constitutional separation of church and state ( laïcité ) in all affairs public. In countries where cultural similitude rather than differentiation is the sine qua non of the good society, outward signs of being different—in this case as a Muslim—are intolerable (see Moors :395; Lenard :312–313).…”

“…Getting the ban on the statute books and the idea embedded in public imaginaries has been a political victory for hardliners in these countries, effectively the flipside of laws requiring women to wear the hijab, burqa, or niqab in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, or Iran for instance. However, the shift to more explicit disapproval of burqa‐ or niqab‐wearing women in particular by the political center and pundits reveals a gradual hardening of attitudes toward veil dressing practices in the European Union across the political spectrum (Moors ; Lenard ). This accompanies an increase in overt anti‐Muslim/immigrant sentiments in the media and popular opinion polls (Khiabany and Williamson ; Williamson and Khiabany ; McRobbie ).…”