Muslim Integration into EU Societies: Comparative Perspectives

先进工业国家的移民问题对我们作为民主国家的未来至关重要。在过去的一代人中，全球经济的力量为贫穷国家雄心勃勃、有时甚至是赤贫的人民提供了改善他们在西方生活的机会。然而，这些移民浪潮对当地居民构成了挑战，许多人将移民视为文化和经济威胁。穆斯林移民的情况也许是移民融入社会的最大挑战，特别是在欧洲。鉴于这一社会和政治问题，本研究项目力求衡量穆斯林在经济流动性和移民家庭融入欧洲的社会政治方面是否处于不利地位;如果存在这种不利地位，则确定其原因。欧洲和穆斯林世界之间的社会和政治关系在政治上是难以驾驭的，这突出了这个项目的重要性。它将侧重于法国，这是穆斯林人口最多的欧洲国家（估计约有500万）。 更具体地说，该项目提出了两个研究问题：穆斯林移民及其后代在融入欧洲社会方面是否面临着比他们在所有其他因素上都相似但非穆斯林所面临的更大的障碍？ 如果他们确实面临更大的障碍，是什么导致了这些差异，又是什么维持了这些差异？为了回答这些问题，该项目解决了一个基本的方法论问题，这个问题阻碍了过去的研究人员令人信服地回答这些问题，然后采用三种不同的研究工具来回答这些问题。方法上的问题是，当（在法国）几乎所有的穆斯林都是北非人时，很难孤立出“穆斯林”效应。为了克服这一点，该项目重点关注来自塞内加尔的两个移民群体，每个群体都分为天主教徒和穆斯林。这些移民群体之间的唯一区别是宗教，因此该项目推断，这些亚群体在法国的经济或社会进步方面的系统性差异只能用他们的宗教差异来解释。该项目将采用民族志浸入、有针对性的民意调查和一系列实地实验来衡量任何“穆斯林”效应，并确定这种效应是否是由于群体内过程造成的（如妇女的待遇）或群体外的歧视。2004年3月和2005年7月在伦敦发生的骚乱，以及2005年11月和2007年11月在巴黎郊区发生的骚乱，都被归咎于“穆斯林”，欧洲的政党动员舆论反对穆斯林对欧洲的威胁。 因此，欧盟国家和穆斯林世界之间的关系在政治上已经成为必然结果--关于中东的外交政策;加入欧盟的新成员国;以及穆斯林人口向欧盟国家的大量移民。 通过这一研究项目，可以评估穆斯林移民融入欧洲社会的明显困难，并从改善有关这些移民的公共政策的角度出发，为他们融入欧洲社会提供便利。

The issue of immigration into the advanced industrial states is of fundamental importance to our futures as democracies. The forces of the global economy have over the past generation given opportunities to ambitious and sometimes destitute people of poor countries to improve their life chances in the West. Yet these waves of immigration have been challenging to the native populations, many of whom see the immigrants as cultural and economic threats. Perhaps the most challenging situation for the incorporation of immigrants, especially in Europe, is that of Muslim migrants. In light of this social and political concern, this research project seeks to measure whether there is a Muslim disadvantage in economic mobility and socio-political integration for immigrant families into Europe; and if there is such a disadvantage, to determine its cause. That the social and political relations between Europe and the Muslim world are politically fractious underlines the importance of this project. It will focus on France, the European country with the largest population of people of Muslim origin (estimated to be about five million). More specifically, the project raises two research questions: Do Muslim immigrants and their descendants face greater hurdles integrating into European societies than they would have faced were they alike on all other factors but were non-Muslim? If they do face greater hurdles, what causes the differences and what sustains them?To answer these questions, the project addresses one fundamental methodological problem that has held back past researchers from answering these questions convincingly, and then employs three distinct research tools to provide answers to these questions. The methodological problem is that it is hard to isolate a "Muslim" effect when (in France) nearly all Muslims are North Africans. To overcome this, the project focuses on two immigrant groups from Senegal, each of which is split between Catholics and Muslims. The only difference between these immigrant groups is religion, allowing the project to infer that systematic differences between these sub-groups in economic or social advancement in France can only be explained by their religious differences. The project will employ ethnographic immersion, targeted public opinion surveys, and a range of field experiments to measure any "Muslim" effect and to determine whether the effect is due to in-group processes (such as treatment of women) or out-group discrimination.Attacks in Madrid (March 2004) and London (July 2005), and the riots in suburban Paris in November 2005 and November 2007, have all been attributed to "Muslims," and political parties in Europe have mobilized opinion against a Muslim threat to Europe. Relations between the countries of the European Union and the Muslim world have therefore become politically consequential-foreign policy in regard to the Middle East; new membership into the EU; and the vast migration of Muslim populations into EU states. This research project allows for an assessment of a discernible difficulty for Muslim migrants integrating into European society with a perspective that can improve public policy in regard to these immigrants, easing their incorporation.