Doctoral Dissertation Research: Muslim Pan-ethnic Identity and Political Engagement across European Countries

目前的估计认为，从1990年到2040年，穆斯林在欧洲人口中的比例预计将翻一番。不断增加的移民给下一代欧洲穆斯林的成功融入带来了挑战。欧洲的穆斯林移民代表着文化、种族和种族的多样性；然而，政府政策和公共话语往往将穆斯林视为一个铁板一块的群体。这个项目调查了欧洲移民的穆斯林后裔在青春期出现了共同的群体认同，并考虑了这种共同的群体认同如何反过来被用于成年后的政治参与和融入。调查结果将加强对宗教在民主社会中的地位的理解，这些社会正在适应快速的人口变化和日益增加的宗教多样性。具体而言，该项目将宗教作为身份的来源、社会分裂的可能性以及将边缘化少数群体纳入主流民主进程的一种机制加以审查。这项研究将对宗教作为社会关系的基础以及伊斯兰教在欧洲社会中的地位提供见解。结果也将对经历穆斯林人口增加的国家的学校官员、社会工作者和政策制定者产生影响。理论家们认为，欧洲的界限--被定义为对他者的看法--是基于宗教的。然而，还没有研究考察国家是如何建立边界的，以及它们对宗教认同突显、被感知的宗教歧视和政治参与的影响。研究人员假设欧洲的穆斯林身份认同是一种种族主义的泛种族身份认同：一种强加的分类，将来自不同背景的个人统一起来。具体地说，这个项目调查了接受的背景(民族融合政策和当地多数人的地区态度)如何塑造穆斯林泛族裔认同的三个方面：1)它在青春期独立于民族血统和个人宗教信仰的发展，2)它植根于共同的宗教歧视经历，3)它通过泛族裔组织进行政治参与的潜力。为了研究这三个领域的泛种族认同，本项目使用潜在增长曲线分析来模拟穆斯林青少年？德国、荷兰、英国和瑞典的九年级到十一年级的身份认同突显，以及分析穆斯林的多层次模型？19个欧洲国家的宗教和政治融合。这项研究使用了最近在四个欧洲国家进行的移民儿童纵向研究，19个欧洲国家的欧洲社会调查，以及关于国家一级移民政策的数据。

Current estimates hold that the Muslim share of the population in Europe is expected to double between 1990 and 2040. Rising immigration poses challenges for the successful incorporation of the next generation of European Muslims. Muslim immigrants to Europe represent a diversity of cultures, ethnicities and races; yet government policies and public discourse often treat Muslims as a monolithic group. This project investigates the emergence of a shared group identity in adolescence for Muslim descendants of immigrants in Europe, and it considers how this shared group identity, can, in turn, be used for political engagement and incorporation in adulthood. Findings will enhance understanding of the place of religion in democratic societies that are adapting to rapid demographic change and increasing religious diversity. Specifically, this project examines religion as a source of identity, as a potential for social cleavage, and as a mechanism for the incorporation of marginalized minority groups into the mainstream democratic process. This research will provide insights into religion as a basis for social relations and the place of Islam in European societies. Results will also have implications for school officials, social workers and policy makers in countries experiencing an increase in the Muslim population. Theorists argue that boundaries?defined as perceptions of otherness?in Europe are based on religion. However, no research has examined how boundaries are created by states and their implications for religious identity salience, perceived religious discrimination, and political participation. The researchers posit Muslim identity in Europe as a racialized pan-ethnic identity: an imposed categorization which unifies individuals from diverse backgrounds. Specifically, this project investigates how the context of reception (national incorporation policies and regional attitudes from the native majority) shapes three facets of Muslim pan-ethnic identity: 1) its development in adolescence independently from national origins and personal religiosity, 2) its roots in shared experiences of religious discrimination, and 3) its potential for political engagement in adulthood through pan-ethnic organizations. In order to study pan-ethnic identity across these three domains, this project uses latent growth curve analysis for modeling Muslim adolescents? identity salience between ninth and eleventh grade in Germany, the Netherlands, England and Sweden, and multilevel modeling for analyzing Muslims? religious and political incorporation in nineteen European countries. The research uses the recently available Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study in four European Countries, the European Social Survey of nineteen European countries, and data on country-level immigration policy.