The result of a study on the setting of Muslim immigrants in Europe causes a sensation: Researchers at the Science Centre Berlin for Social Research (WZB) have found that it is far more common among Muslims to have fundamentalist views, then as a resident Christians.
As part of the "Six Country Immigrant Integration Comparative Survey", the scientists questioned nearly 6000 Muslims with Moroccan or Turkish background, who live in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden or Austria.
The result: 44 percent of respondents showed a fundamentalist stance. In a comparison group of 2,500 based in the countries Christians compared with only four percent.This study disproved that few Muslims in the West are fundamentalist, says study leader Ruud Koopmans according to the "NZZ am Sonntag".
According to the study 60 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that Muslims should return to the roots of Islam.
75 percent affirmed the position that there is only one interpretation of the Koran and all Muslims have to abide by this.
Thirdly, 65 percent of the study participants, held the rules of the Koran more important than state laws. Who agreed to all three statements according to the study definition presented a fundamentalist attitude to the day. This was true for 44 percent of respondents.
Of those surveyed, Christians agreed to these statements were based on Christianity and the Bible, to 13-21 percent. All three statements was affirmed by only four percent of the Christian participants.
Criticism reaps the study by the Swiss Islamic scholar Rifa'at Lenzin. She blames the researchers of negligence. The President of the Inter-religious Association «Iras Cotis" interfere in the fact that Muslim immigrants would pitted against resident Christians. In addition, it considers that the study's definition of fundamentalism is improper. "Had we precisely asked whether Muslims wanted to introduce Sharia , the agreement would have been probably far deeper"», Lenzin suspects in the "NZZ am Sonntag".
Study leader Koopmans admits that when altered statements, other figures would be arrived at. But it is changing nothing on the main findings that fundamentalist attitudes among Muslim immigrants are widespread.
Moreover Koopmans does not believe that Muslims in Europe know little about their religion. The survey showed that there was a strong relationship between fundamentalism and degree of religiosity; Muslims who regularly go to the mosque, would follow the dietary laws or wear a headscarf.