Abstract
This chapter borrows political psychology theories to explore political attitudes towards groups representing Muslims and Islam. This study of public opinion focuses particularly on political tolerance, and its affective and cognitive determinants. The study takes place in the Netherlands, a country famous for its tolerant attitudes towards soft drug use, euthanasia and gay marriage. The heightened levels of fear and anger towards the Arab world and Muslims, and the growing divide between non-Muslim majorities and Muslim minorities in Europe, make the study of political tolerance very topical. This chapter is particularly interested in the interplay between emotions, values and the environment, for the expression of political tolerance. The findings of this research point to the importance of the political context, the levels of citizens' affective state and the nature of their civic values for the understanding of political tolerance towards Islam. Keywords:emotionality; Islam; Muslim minorities; political psychology; political tolerance
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