Muslim Integration into EU Societies: Comparative Perspectives

发达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。在过去的一代人里，全球经济的力量为贫穷国家雄心勃勃、有时穷困潦倒的人们提供了在西方改善生活机会的机会。然而，这些移民浪潮对当地居民构成了挑战，他们中的许多人将移民视为文化和经济威胁。对于移民，尤其是欧洲的移民来说，最具挑战性的情况可能是穆斯林移民。鉴于这种社会和政治问题，本研究项目试图衡量穆斯林在移民家庭进入欧洲的经济流动性和社会政治融合方面是否存在劣势；如果有这样的缺点，要确定其原因。欧洲和穆斯林世界之间的社会和政治关系在政治上是不稳定的，这凸显了这个项目的重要性。法国是欧洲穆斯林人口最多的国家（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融入欧洲社会是否比他们在其他所有因素上都相似但不是穆斯林时面临更大的障碍？如果他们确实面临更大的障碍，是什么导致了差异，又是什么支撑着差异？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，然后使用三种不同的研究工具来提供这些问题的答案。方法论上的问题是，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。为了克服这个问题，该项目将重点放在来自塞内加尔的两个移民群体上，这两个群体分别是天主教徒和穆斯林。这些移民群体之间的唯一区别是宗教信仰，这使得该项目可以推断，这些子群体在法国经济或社会进步方面的系统性差异只能用宗教差异来解释。该项目将采用民族志沉浸、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”的影响，并确定这种影响是由于群体内的过程（如对待妇女）还是群体外的歧视。马德里（2004年3月）和伦敦（2005年7月）的袭击事件，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”，欧洲各政党动员舆论反对穆斯林对欧洲的威胁。因此，欧盟国家与穆斯林世界之间的关系在政治上具有重要意义——对中东的外交政策；欧盟新成员国；以及穆斯林人口向欧盟国家的大规模移民。这个研究项目允许对穆斯林移民融入欧洲社会的明显困难进行评估，并从一个角度改善有关这些移民的公共政策，减轻他们的融入。

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.