Half of Germans view Islam as a threat, says new study

The Bertelsmann Foundation released a study on Thursday revealing that every second German feels threatened by Islam. Dr. Yasemin El-Menouar, an Islam expert with Bertelsmann, wrote “Overall, about half of the respondents perceive Islam as a threat.

In East Germany, this proportion is even higher at 57% than in West Germany [50%].

The new study surveyed 1,000 people. It was conducted by the foundation’s Religion Monitor department and the data was collected in the Spring of 2019. Only a third of those surveyed said Islam enriches German society. In contrast, a majority of Germans say Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism serve to enrich Germany.

El-Menouar suspects that the negative result for Islam is influenced by the perception that Islam is more of a political ideology and less of a religion. However, the study also noted that “Only a minority of citizens show a clearly anti-Islamic view and demand, for example, to prevent the immigration of Muslims.”

According to El-Menouar, “Although our study shows a widespread skepticism of Islam, but that is not necessarily synonymous with hostility toward [Muslims]. Many people have reservations about Islam, but that does not lead to political demands or anti-democratic views.”

Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed a largely open border policy starting in 2015 that resulted in the absorption of over one million new refugees and immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.

The Bertelsmann Foundation operates independently in Gütersloh, Germany.

Benjamin Weinthal is a European correspondent at The Jerusalem Post and a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.