Muslim Migrants Research Articles

Constructing the Internal Enemy

This paper analyses five major Bosnian daily newspapers over a period spanning from August 1st, 2018 until August 2019 ,31 and attempts to discern the main patterns in the discourse over Muslims and Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results of this research show three major discursive patterns when covering Muslims and Islam in the country: Bosnian Muslims as political obstructionists; Bosnia and Herzegovina as a haven for Muslim extremists and finally Muslim migrants as a threat to the country and to Europe.

AFTER HYDERABAD’S 1948 ANNEXATION: MUSLIM BELONGING AND HISTORIES OF THE LONG PARTITION

ABSTRACT This paper revisits the violent annexation of the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad by the Indian army in 1948 as an inaugural moment of dispossession to reconstruct Hyderabad's twentieth century past along the axes of Muslim belonging and memory. I argue that we must situate twentieth and twenty-first century Hyderabadi Muslim migration in relation to Partition-related displacements and attempts to overcome them through economic conditions provided by migration. The partition of India prompted waves of migration—such as the later migration of Hyderabadi Muslims to the Persian Gulf in the wake of 1970s oil boom—and their sense of displacement persisted long past the mid-twentieth century, reshaping Muslim notions of belonging. The use of the nation-state as the dominant framework to analyze these shifts is insufficient for understanding Hyderabadi Muslims' sense of belonging and citizenship, which must be also contextualized in terms of upward class mobility along the axes of global and local contexts.

What Gender Values Do Muslims Resist? How Religiosity and Acculturation Over Time Shape Muslims’ Public-Sphere Equality, Family Role Divisions, and Sexual Liberalization Values Differently

Abstract Populist voices argue that Muslim migrants’ religion would cause them to denounce all aspects of women’s equality and sexual liberalization, no matter how long migrants have lived in Western Europe. Previous quantitative studies have refuted claims that Islamic religiosity necessarily begets gender traditionalism and that migrants would not become more progressive over time. However, existing studies have not yet addressed the assumption of uniformity in “gender egalitarianism.” The present study argues that individuals’ religiosity and acculturation over time shape support for public-sphere equality, progressive family role divisions, and sexual liberalization in different ways. EURISLAM data on 4,000 Muslim migrants show that different gender values are indeed driven by varying mechanisms and develop differently. Over time and generations, Muslim migrants’ support for public-sphere equality and sexual liberalization swell, but their support for progressive family roles dwindles. Religiosity hardly reduces support for public-sphere equality, more strongly curbs progressive family roles, and most strongly stifles sexual liberalization. These differences magnify over the years after migration; religiosity’s already weak and inconsistent obstruction to public-sphere equality further dulls, while its stronger opposition to sexual liberalization intensifies. Altogether, varying gender values differ to such an extent that any conclusion on “the gender traditionalism” of Muslim migrants should be viewed suspiciously.

Проблемы занятости мигрантов-мусульман во Франции (на примере Парижа). Ч. 2

In the second part of the article, the authors focus on the employment of Muslim migrants in France over the last 15 years. It is noted that modern France needs labour migrants, especially qualified technical personnel. However, when applying for a job, Muslim migrants face discrimination, language and cultural barriers, requirements to confirm their education and qualification documents, as well as other issues. Employment of these people often depends on their family and friends’ help. The article focuses on the analysis of the jobs taken by Muslim migrants and sectors they are employed in using the statistics for Paris. The research allowed us to specify the Muslim migrants’ employment level (slightly exceeding 50 %) and fields of work, as well as the most common occupation groups (workers and employees). The study demonstrates that the share of Muslim migrants in prestigious occupation groups is much smaller than that of other migrants and French people. Research and experiments conducted in 2006, 2009, 2015 and 2017 revealed that Muslim migrants face problems and restrictions when applying for jobs. Primarily, they are discriminated against due to their Islamic religion, nationality, poor French language skills, living in disadvantaged areas dominated by migrants from Muslim countries, and other reasons. The authors conclude that in France, migrants of Muslim origin are being discriminated against when trying to get employed (even though the majority of French people condemn any form of discrimination) and restricted in their access to senior positions, intellectual jobs and education.

Immigrant generation and religiosity: a study of Christian immigrant groups in 33 European countries

ABSTRACT Although Christian migrant groups make up a sizeable part of the immigrant population in Europe, little is known about their religiosity. This paper studies patterns of intergenerational change and proposes and tests hypotheses that specify when and why changes across generations are stronger. Using data from the European Social Survey (2002–2018) on 33 European countries, it is found that there is a strong pattern of intergenerational decline in the level of religiosity among Christian migrant groups in Europe. This process of religious decline is by no means universal. Results show that children from two foreign-born parents are much more religious than children from intermarried (foreign-born and native) couples. We also observe that intergenerational decline is much less pronounced in European countries that are more religious. Finally, when Christian migrant groups belong to a religious minority group, this is associated with higher levels of religiosity in both the first and second generation. It is argued that these insights can explain the ‘puzzling’ strong intergenerational religious transmission among Muslim migrant groups in Western European societies.

Integracja emigrantów muzułmańskich ze społeczeństwem przyjmującym na przykładzie Francji

Incorporating Muslim Migrants in the West: The French Model of IntegrationThe Muslim emigration to France is connected with many social, religious and political problems. The worshippers of Islam were admitted to settle, but not to integrate with French society and the national economy. Although, according to the French scheme of integration, all people are equal before the law and it is unlawful to emphasise differences, life in France does not reflect the Republican idea any more, and instead of creating the French nation as one community, a multicultural society unable to assimilate newcomers is being born.There are numerous stereotypes in French society that push aside Algerians and Moroccans, especially those living in the suburbs, and put them in conflict with the French legal system. This approach should change and the French must cease perceiving Muslims as strangers and realise they are lawful citizens, an inseparable part of their everyday life. The successive generations of Muslim immigrants should no longer be pushed to the margins of social life because of their ethnic origin, name, religion, and culture.The violent riots in France in 2005 and 2007, however, were caused not only by cultural conflict but also by the recession of the French economy. The main problem in the French suburbs is the high level of unemployment (40%) caused by the numerous meanders of the immigration policy. Instead of facilitating employment for immigrants, the government demands special professional training even for jobs which do not require such qualifications.

Ismaili Muslims in Moscow: community, identity and integration

ABSTRACT The mass influx of people from the former republics of the Soviet Union has resulted in ‘migration’ and ‘integration’ being one of the central foci of debate in contemporary Russia. This article examines the Ismaili Muslim migrants from Tajikistan in Moscow. It pays particular attention to the ways in which the community impacts migrants’ integration into a host society. Using a case study approach, the article presents the diversity in terms of viewpoints and approaches to socio-cultural integration. The data were gathered thorough participant observations and semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that strong religious identity and the community closure based on religious affiliation can hinder the Ismaili migrants’ integration. The case studies show that an intention to settle permanently in Russia is one of the key factors determining migrants’ attitudes towards integration.

Meeting Halfway? The Moral Dilemma of Muslim Migrants Engaging in the Austrian Labor Market

Meeting Halfway? The Moral Dilemma of Muslim Migrants Engaging in the Austrian Labor Market

Gender, Islam and nativism in populist radical-right posters: visualizing ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’

ABSTRACT Sayan-Cengiz and Tekin explore the visual communication strategies of Western European populist radical-right (PRR) parties in disseminating nativist, anti-migrant and Islamophobic agendas through gendered visual representations. It is widely argued that the PRR homogenizes and dichotomizes both ‘native’ and Muslim migrant cultures through an ostensibly liberal discourse of respect for women’s rights and freedoms in order to mainstream their exclusionary position towards Muslim migrant communities. However, there is a void in the literature in terms of accounting for how visual communication strategies are used in this process. The authors here argue that looking into the visual representations of Muslim migrant and ‘native’ bodies in the PRR parties’ visual communication materials is crucial for understanding the PRR’s gendered cultural constructions of both Muslim migrant ‘outsiders’ and native ‘insiders’. Focusing on the campaign posters for the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Germany, the Rassemblement National (RN) in France, and the Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV) in the Netherlands using a social semiotic approach, their study suggests that Muslim migrants are represented as alien Others, but that there is also a significant difference between representations of migrant women as ‘victims’ and men as ‘aggressors’. On the other hand, ‘native’ women are represented as the embodiment of authentic national identities, as either reproducers or defenders of the nation. ‘Native’, heterosexual men do not often appear in the posters, pointing to the position of power that they hold in the PRR’s imagination. That is, they are the designated spectators and addressees of visual communication materials, rather than objects of representation.

РЕЛИГИОЗНАЯ ИДЕНТИЧНОСТЬ МОЛОДЫХ МУЖЧИН МУСУЛЬМАН ИЗ СТРАН СНГ КАК ТРАНСФОРМИРУЮЩИЙСЯ ФЕНОМЕН (НА ПРИМЕРЕ ГОРОДА КАЗАНЬ)

The article examines the phenomenon of religious identity of young Muslim migrants in the city of Kazan. The study is based on a premise that religious identity is a transforming phenomenon influenced by personal experience, historical factors, and social changes. Among these, migration appears to be a significant factor in the transformation of religious identity of individuals. In the study of Muslim migrants’ identity transformation processes the author rests upon the work of L. Peek distinguishing three forms of religious identity: ascribed, chosen, and declared. Each form of identity replaces the previous when religiosity becomes deeper and the implementation of religious practices becomes more conscious. Based on foreign methodology, the author of the article carried out qualitative research in the city of Kazan using in-depth interviews to identify key stages in the transformation of young Muslim migrants’ religious identity — ascribed, chosen, and declared. The first is formed during primary socialization in an environment with the majority of the population practising Islam and is taken for granted, not causing questions and reflection; the second is formed as the individual grows up, transforming from the ascribed identity under the influence of reflection, the external environment, and personal choice; the third is formed as a result of emigration and can undergo relatively small changes during the person’s life

МУСУЛЬМАНИ-ІММІГРАНТИ: ПРИЧИНИ ПЕРЕЇЗДУ ДО УКРАЇНИ ТА СУПУТНІ ПРОБЛЕМИ (НА МАТЕРІАЛАХ м. КИЄВА)

The article tells about the issues of migration of Muslims to Ukraine, clarifies the reasons for relocating and analyzes the problems that foreign Muslims face when they relocate to Ukraine. The author found out that the most popular countries from which Muslims often relocate to Ukraine are former countries of the Soviet Union (Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, the Russian Federation), North Africa (Morocco, Lebanon, Algeria, Egypt), Turkey and the Middle East (Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Syria, Saudi Arabia). The reasons for choosing Ukraine as a country for relocation among Muslim foreigners were established and analyzed. The motives of Muslim migrants to relocate to Ukraine were classified into four groups. According to Muslims, the reasons for migration were the following: high level of religious tolerance among Ukrainian citizens; availability of higher education (due to relatively low prices at universities); motivation to start one’s own business in Ukraine (due to the simple process of legal registration of a business). The article shows several examples of Muslims who came to Ukraine primarily for higher education and then remained here on a permanent basis, formed a family and acquired citizenship. In addition, the obstacles that arise on the way to a convenient relocation of Muslims to Ukraine were found out. The obstacles were divided into two groups. The first group is related to bureaucratic obstacles (difficulties with obtaining a residence permit, visa and citizenship of Ukraine). The second group includes household background problems: non-adaptation of Ukrainian cities and villages to the needs of the Muslim community (lack of Muslim communities (jamaat), insufficient number of mosques, places to pray, Muslim schools, halal food services, etc.).

ФРОНТИРНАЯ ИДЕНТИЧНОСТЬ МИГРАНТОВ-МУСУЛЬМАН В СТРАНАХ ЗАПАДНОЙ ЕВРОПЫ: ФЕНОМЕНОЛОГИЯ И ПРОЦЕСС ИНСТИТУЦИОНАЛИЗАЦИИ

The purpose of the study is the phenomenon of the frontier identity of Muslim migrants as a process and a certain outcome of their socio-political construction of a new reality. The main objectives of the article are: 1) to present the stages of the frontier identity of Muslim migrants in Western European countries (France, Great Britain, Germany), 2) to substantiate the state and prospects of the frontier identity of Muslim migrants for Western civilization from the point of view of the iconic problem of their "non-return back". The working hypothesis of the study is the assumption that the frontier is the border of the development of the territory, which can develop inside the "old" countries of Western Europe, including due to the wide cultural expansion of Muslim migrants. As a result of the completion of the process of registration of the frontier identity of Muslim migrants, additional conditions for the aggravation of the conflict of civilizations are formed. As a result, the fault lines between Western and Islamic civilizations within the states of "old" Europe are highlighted. The rationale for the increase in the number and influence of Muslim migrants in Western countries is presented.

Existence and coexistence of the Muslim migrants: the ecopolitics roles in Papua

ABSTRACT This article explores Muslim migrants’ economic and political contributions to Jayapura, Papua, as well as the tensions that have emerged therein. Through observation, interviews, and a review of the literature, it investigates the influence of Muslim migrants on Papuan life, as well as Muslim migrants’ use of economic means to ensure their survival in the face of significant pressure. Although indigene – migrant relations have ebbed and flowed over time, Muslim migrants have not only influenced society through open communication and interactions with their peers, but also contributed to the social, economic, and political advancement of Papua. As such, this article recommends that future research should investigate how different elements of Papuan society recognize each other and work cooperatively and progressively towards achieving a better future.

What Shapes Attitudes Toward Homosexuality among European Muslims? The Role of Religiosity and Destination Hostility

Muslim migrants and their descendants in Western Europe have consistently been shown to hold more negative attitudes toward homosexuality, the more religious they are. In this article, we go beyond this mono-dimensional view of religiosity and develop a theoretical framework that combines (a) the role of different dimensions of religiosity in anchoring cultural attitudes and (b) the potential impact of destination hostility and discrimination on the retention of cultural attitudes toward homosexuality among Muslim migrants in Western Europe. For the analysis, we use eight rounds of the European Social Survey, enriched with country-level data. Findings indicate that Muslim migrants’ mosque attendance, as a dimension of religiosity, has the negative effect that was expected. Particularly, Muslims who grew up in Western Europe are negative about homosexuality if they attended mosque regularly, whereas among first-generation Muslim migrants, origin-country norms are a strong predictor of attitudes toward homosexuality. In addition, we find that perceived group discrimination drives the maintenance of negative attitudes toward homosexuality, especially among mosque attendees. These results imply that the development of more liberal attitudes among European Muslims is held back by a combination of socialization in conservative religious communities and hostility from host-country populations.

Generalised Trust among Second-Generation Muslim and Non-Muslim Minority Groups in Europe

Abstract This study compares generalised trust between second-generation Muslim and non- Muslim migrant groups in Europe, and examines the effect on trust of discrimination and cultural transmission. Analysis of data from the European Social Survey of 4,687 respondents in 32 European countries shows that second-generation Muslim groups have lower levels of trust than second-generation non-Muslim minority groups. The findings provide no evidence that Muslims’ lower levels of trust are due to discrimination and exclusion. Rather, results indicate that the differences are due to cultural transmission: Muslim groups originate more often from low-trust societies, and generalised trust is transmitted from one generation to the next.

30 lat rosyjskiej polityki imigracyjnej i jej znaczenie z perspektywy Federacji Rosyjskiej i obszaru poradzieckiego

The article aims to analyze the immigration politics of the Russian Federation from the perspective of the last three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union. We have considered its importance from the point of view of the domestic and foreign policy of the state. Since 2000, with the beginning of Vladimir Putin’s first presidency, we have been observing a significant increase in the importance of the immigration policy of the Russian Federation, which was an important component of the Russian population policy and one of the key instruments to counteract the deepening depopulation of the state. However, the growing popularity of labor migration to the Russian Federation and the low effectiveness of managing migration flows resulted in a massive influx of irregular migrants, which have used some of the Russian political circles to fuel anti-immigration sentiments. Because of this politics, since 2007, we have been observing a gradual departure from the earlier model of immigration policy, open to labor migration from the Commonwealth of Independent States, towards a policy limiting the influx of Muslim migrants from Central Asia. At the same time Russian government have invited Russian-speaking people from the post-Soviet area to settle in Russia. The introduced restrictions allowed the Russian Federation to use the facilitation of access to the Russian labor market as an instrument encouraging the political and economic integration of the post-Soviet states within the structures controlled by the Russian Federation. The increase in the political component of immigration policy did not change the fact that it was thanks to the influx of people from the post-Soviet area that Russia avoided the depopulation that is currently observed in Ukraine. Analyzing the situation of the Russian Federation and its politics towards the post-Soviet region, the realistic paradigm was used as it best reflects the specificity of the region.

«ТЕКУЧЕЕ» РАЗМЫВАНИЕ НАЦИОНАЛЬНОЙ ИДЕНТИЧНОСТИ: МУСУЛЬМАНСКАЯ ИММИГРАЦИЯ КАК ВЫЗОВ ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЙ ПОЛИТИКЕ ИНТЕГРАЦИИ

The article discusses specific features of the influence of the globalisation process and the migration movements from Muslim regions to the Western countries on the disintegration of the civil (political) community. This process has developed at the time of spiritual crisis and further disintegration of the European Community. With the advent of globalisation, increased racial, ethnic and religious identities have become even more important within the framework of political self-identification of individuals with a certain political community as a political nation. At the same time, the "We Discourse" of Muslim minorities in Europe becomes more intense in the identity space of European post-secular society. The Islamic people articulate this fact through their multiple identities. An integral component in the self-identification of Islamic intellectuals becomes their historical and cultural narrative, which often takes the form of an "identity battle". The national identity as considered by the democratic countries (no longer ethnically and culturally homogeneous) ceases to be a crucial resource for the development of the nation-state. It experiences the often negative pressure from external influences. This fact makes actual the need for "political actors" to pursue an identity policy that can strengthen the civil unity in society. It is obvious that the old European models of relationship construction between the population groups, which constitute historical majorities with the minority communities of Muslim identity are no longer effective. The lack of dialogue and socio-political integration of Muslim migrants into the "host community" can lead to even more serious civilisational alienation of foreign cultural and foreign religious elements.

Preventing Religious Conflict in Papua Land: Adopting Cultural Traditions of Peacebuilding

This article aims to explain why recent tensions between religious groups in Papua, Indonesia, did not develop into ethnoreligious conflicts such as those which broke out in Ambon and Poso. Such tensions are likely to occur because of the migration of Muslim ethnicities from elsewhere in Indonesia that leads to political, racial, religious, and economic divisions. Migrant populations are generally Malay, Muslim, and prosperous, while native Papuans are Melanesian, Christian, and impoverished. The Christian indigenous Papuans feel threatened by the influx of Muslim migrants. Based on Lederach’s concept of peace agents, we argue that the adoption of cultural mechanisms driving peace agencies is central to preventing ethnoreligious conflict. The curricula of local schools should include such local wisdom in order to reach all ethnoreligious groups.

The Policy of the Russian Orthodox Church on International Labor Migrants: How the Public Role Collides with Preaching the Word

The authors’ objective was to find out how and why the approach of the Russian Orthodox Church to sociocultural adaptation of predominantly Muslim international labor migrants has evolved from its initial stage to now. Research methodology is based on a critical analysis of various sources, on observations, and archival materials. The adaptation program of the Church was advertised as a secular project pursuing the goal of peacekeeping because of a tacit agreement on mutual non-proselytisation between the basic faith-based communities in Russia. The initiative, launched in December 2012, had to merge adaptation courses of all dioceses into a nationwide network that then was expected to become part of an all-Russian system of preparation for language and culture tests. The Church also planned to open its own network of testing centrescenters for migrants. The authors emphasize that, although some of the diocesan courses were successful, the initiative deteriorated due to many external and internal factors. One of them was that diocesan courses have proven to be unattractive for labor migrants; their curriculum was too thick and overloaded with information about Russian culture and Orthodox Christianity, while Muslim labor migrants preferred to adapt to their new environment with a mediation of their own networks. It is suggested by the authors that the main cause of the project’s non-fulfillment was an intra-church cleavage between the enthusiasts of adaptation who convinced that diocesan courses must aim at spreading the Orthodox faith to foreign workers, including Muslims, and the church officials who promoted secular curriculum and forbade preaching Christianity to labor migrants.

Migration of Muslims to Other Parts of the World: New Events and Facts

The issues surrounding Migration and the Problems of Muslim Minorities in the Modern World have become a hot topic of discussion and are constantly changing. This issue is fascinating, not only by Muslims but also by non-Muslims. The coverage of foreign (Western) media that always corners Islam (not individuals in Islam) and global terror events is very effective in changing a country’s policy to fight Islam. However, this does not mean that they (the West) are discriminatory actions against Muslims who live there. This study aims to review migration events and how the conditions of Muslim immigrants in Bali and several essential countries in Europe and Asia. This article is library research and empirical facts obtained from various current and reliable news sources. This event examines the extent of the fate of Muslim immigrants in multiple countries with different characters and critically examines how the policies of these countries impact Muslim minorities. In addition, a comparative study was also conducted on the condition of Muslim immigrants who became minorities in several countries with different backgrounds and characters. The results of this research are: First, Western countries highly uphold human rights. Some of the friction that occurs with the Muslim minority is a precautionary measure, not discrimination as is often presented to them. Second, the conflict between the Muslim minority and the local population is motivated by two factors (a) their ignorance of the real Islam and think that terrorist Islam is the same as King Salman’s in Saudi Arabia or Imām Khumaeni in Iran, and (b) improve security to protect the country and all its people from acts of terrorism. Third, discriminatory treatment occurs in the East World, China, Myanmar, Thailand, which are real examples that until now have not received a solution, even the United Nations has stated that the Rohingya are the most oppressed minority on earth.