How religion came into play: Muslim' as a category of practice in immigrant integration debates
Muslim' has become a frequently applied category in immigrant integration policy. While there is extensive research on the construction of this religious category to identify the target groups of these policies, there are few empirical studies on the category use. Many scholars argue that popu...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Routledge
2018
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In: |
Religion, state & society
Year: 2018, Volume: 46, Issue: 3, Pages: 186-205 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Austria
/ Switzerland
/ Germany
/ Immigration policy
/ Muslim
/ Integration
/ Debate
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Further subjects: | B
Muslims
B Categorisation B immigrant integration B Populism B Party Politics B accommodation of Islam |
Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
Summary: | Muslim' has become a frequently applied category in immigrant integration policy. While there is extensive research on the construction of this religious category to identify the target groups of these policies, there are few empirical studies on the category use. Many scholars argue that populations of immigrants were increasingly labelled as Muslim' following the 9/11 terror attacks. Also, the increased application of Muslim' is debated as the result of the anti-Islam mobilisation by populist right-wing parties or in relation to the institutional accommodation of Islam. This article asks when, through which actors and in which contexts the category Muslim' entered and evolved in the policy field. The study focuses on parliamentary immigrant integration debates in Austria, Germany and Switzerland (1993-2013). The analysis shows that right-wing parties make use of the category Muslim' in relation to security and common values. Left-wing actors take up the category to criticise this usage, while mainstream parties do so when discussing the accommodation of Islam. Instances of religious violence were not found to generate a sustained increase in category use, while the agenda setting of populist parties on the right and the extent to which the accommodation of Islam is debated proved to be decisive. |
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ISSN: | 1465-3974 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion, state & society
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/09637494.2018.1474031 |