Fundamentalism and out-group hostility
Muslim immigrants and Christian natives in Western Europe *

In the heated controversies over immigration and Islam in the early 21st century, Muslims have widely become associated in media debates and the popular imagery with religious fundamentalism. Against this, others have argued that religiously fundamentalist ideas are found among only a small minority of Muslims living in the West, and that religious fundamentalism can equally be found among adherents of other religions, including Christianity. However, claims on both sides of this debate lack a sound empirical base because very little is known about the extent of religious fundamentalism among Muslim immigrants, and virtually no evidence is available that allows a comparison with native Christians.

The Six Country Immigrant Integration Comparative Survey (SCIICS) among
immigrants and natives in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Sweden
provides for the first time a solid empirical basis for these debates. The survey with a total
sample size of 9,000 respondents was conducted in 2008 among persons with a Turkish or
Moroccan immigration background, as well as a native comparison group.

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* Ruud Koopmans, the author of this study, became in 2013 Professor of Sociology and Migration Research at the Institute of Social Sciences at the Humboldt University Berlin. He also teaches at the Berlin Graduate School for Transnational Studies.