WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Morals is the new prism through which Muslim-West relations are now scrutinized. Research has shown that Muslims want participatory politics, rule of law, and freedom of expression, thereby shattering the theory that they reject democratic ideals. And so, the coexistence debate, especially in Europe, has shifted to the Muslim-West gap in attitudes toward social and moral values.
In their analysis of World Values Survey (WVS) data published in Foreign Policy in 2003, Ronald Inglehart, professor of political science at the University of Michigan and director of the WVS project, and Pippa Norris, lecturer at Harvard University, observed that both cultures differ most on issues of eros rather than demos. The authors argue that "when it comes to attitudes toward gender equality and sexual liberalization, the cultural gap between Islam and the West widens into a chasm."
But such a theory suggests that the West speaks with one voice on issues of morals, tolerance, and sexual freedoms. Western countries become lumped together to present a monolithic, liberal moral compass to an equally monolithic, conservative Muslim world. Furthermore, this unified system of Western values represents the logical progression in all civilized, modern societies, and if they are to live in the West, Muslims are expected to embrace such liberal views. In 2006, the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany introduced a naturalization test to assess applicants' moral views. One of the test questions asks "What do you think about the fact that homosexual people hold official offices in Germany?" That same year, the Dutch authorities released a film, as part of its immigration package, to show would-be immigrants the values of Dutch society. In addition to footage of gay men kissing and a bare-breasted woman coming out of the sea, the film also informs viewers that the Netherlands does not allow "violence," "female circumcision," and "honor killings." Only applicants from non-Western countries must take this Dutch "values competency" test. In this context, sexual mores recalibrate the price of European admission for Muslims.
Gallup Polls conducted in Europe and the United States challenge the theory of a monolithic system of values for the West, highlighting, instead, a wide spectrum of opinions on moral values. Additionally, the poll findings show that on some issues Muslims and Western populations share some common ground. But perhaps more strikingly is that the poll findings reveal that, at least on some issues, the moral compass of religious Americans (defined as respondents for whom religion plays a "very important" role in their lives) and Muslims polled point to the same north.
To gauge variations in traditional values of those in key Western countries, Gallup asked the public in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as religious Americans in the United States about the moral acceptability of several issues. Additionally, Gallup also asked Muslims living in Paris, Berlin, and London, three distinct communities, about their attitudes toward the same moral values, providing a critical comparison to inform the integration and assimilation debate. When asked about the importance of religion, 88% of Muslims in London, 85% of those living in Berlin, and 68% of those in Paris say religion is religion is an important part of their daily lives.
Moral Issues That Most Divide Westerners and European Muslims
Although the opinions of the public in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom and Muslims in these countries capital cities differ most on the moral acceptability of homosexuality, abortion, pornography, and sex outside of marriage, the data show that attitudes toward these issues also vary greatly across the Western countries studied. The French public is more likely than any other population polled to view homosexuality (81%) as morally acceptable. As points of comparison, 68% of Germans, 66% of Britons, and 48% of Americans believe homosexuality is morally acceptable. In the Muslim communities polled, the acceptability of homosexuality is highest among those living in Berlin (26%) and lowest among those living in London (4%); in Paris, 18% of Muslims believe homosexual acts are morally acceptable. Religious Americans' attitudes (28%) on this issue align closest with those expressed by Muslims living in Berlin.
Next I'm going to read you a list. For each item on the list, please tell me whether you personally believe that it is morally acceptable or morally wrong:
With respect to abortion, the French public (77%) is also far more likely than the Britons (58%), Germans (52%), and Americans (40%) to say that it is morally acceptable. And while Muslim respondents' attitudes on this issue vary across communities, they are less likely than Westerners polled to believe it is morally acceptable: 34% of Berlin Muslims, 24% of Paris Muslims, and 10% of London Muslims believe abortion is morally acceptable. Religious Americans (22%) are also far less likely than the European and U.S. publics surveyed to believe abortion is morally acceptable.
Next I'm going to read you a list. For each item on the list, please tell me whether you personally believe that it is morally acceptable or morally wrong:
Pornography also elicits different levels of acceptability across Western countries polled. Sixty percent of Germans, 52% of the French, and 29% of the British believe viewing pornography is morally acceptable. On the other side of the "cultural divide," Muslims living in Berlin (24%) are much more likely than either Muslims living in London (4%) or Paris (7%) are to believe that viewing pornography is morally acceptable. Gallup did not ask the pornography question in the U.S. survey.
Next I'm going to read you a list. For each item on the list, please tell me whether you personally believe that it is morally acceptable or morally wrong:
Europeans polled are more likely than the U.S. public and religious Americans are to hold relatively tolerant views toward sex outside of marriage. Eighty-eight percent of the French, 86% of Germans, and 82% of Britons believe that sex between an unmarried man and woman is morally acceptable, compared with 61% of Americans and 38% of religious Americans. On this issue, Muslim respondents' attitudes also vary: 38% of Berlin Muslims, 30% of Paris Muslims, and 11% of London Muslims say sex outside of marriage is morally acceptable.
Next I'm going to read you a list. For each item on the list, please tell me whether you personally believe that it is morally acceptable or morally wrong:
Common Ground for Religious Americans and European Urban Muslims
Americans and Europeans surveyed express different opinions toward suicide. Just 15% of the U.S. public and 6% of religious Americans believe suicide is morally acceptable, compared with 40% of the French, 38% of the Britons, and 33% of Germans. On this issue, Muslim respondents lean more closely toward the views of religious Americans than Europeans' views: 6% of Berlin Muslims and 4% of Paris and London Muslims say suicide is morally acceptable.
Next I'm going to read you a list. For each item on the list, please tell me whether you personally believe that it is morally acceptable or morally wrong:
Public attitudes toward the morality of extramarital affairs in the four Western countries polled show great variation. On this issue, again, Muslim views are more in line with American opinions, especially those expressed by religious Americans, than European attitudes. Forty-seven percent of the French, 35% of Germans, and 18% of Britons believe that married men and women having an affair is morally acceptable, compared with 7% of Americans and 4% of religious Americans. As a point of comparison, 18% of Muslims living in Paris, 8% of those living in Berlin, and 5% of those living in London say the same about extramarital affairs.
Next I'm going to read you a list. For each item on the list, please tell me whether you personally believe that it is morally acceptable or morally wrong:
Common Ground for Europeans and European Urban Muslims
Muslims are often stereotypically portrayed as condoning honor killings, but the Gallup Poll findings show that Europeans surveyed and urban Muslim respondents in three European cities have similar views on this issue. Just 1% of Germans and Britons and 4% of the French say honor killings (murders committed by a man against a female relative who is perceived as having "dishonored" the family) are morally acceptable, compared with 3% of Berlin and London Muslims and 5% of Paris Muslims.
Next I'm going to read you a list. For each item on the list, please tell me whether you personally believe that it is morally acceptable or morally wrong:
Crimes of passion also elicit low levels of moral acceptability: just 2% of Britons, 1% of Germans, and equally low percentages of Muslims in all three European capitals believe such crimes are morally acceptable. The French public (8%), however, is slightly more likely than the other populations polled to say crimes of passion are morally acceptable. Until about 30 years ago, French law afforded a man who had killed his spouse or a close female relative, after catching her in the act of adultery or illegitimate sexual relations, a lighter sentence. Although the leniency provision was removed from the penal code in 1975, observers note the French still tend to view such crimes (and their perpetrators) with indulgence. Gallup did not ask the moral acceptability of honor killings and crimes of passion questions in the United States.
Next I'm going to read you a list. For each item on the list, please tell me whether you personally believe that it is morally acceptable or morally wrong:
On the issue of the death penalty, Europeans' and Muslim respondents' views vary; however, both groups are far less likely than the U.S. public or religious Americans are to believe it is morally acceptable. Forty-three percent of the British, 39% of the French, and 22% of the Germans, compared with 62% of Americans and 59% of religious Americans say the death penalty is morally acceptable. As a point of comparison, about 3 in 10 London Muslims (31%) and fewer than 2 in 10 Paris (19%) and Berlin Muslims (19%) say the same.
Next I'm going to read you a list. For each item on the list, please tell me whether you personally believe that it is morally acceptable or morally wrong:
Taken together, the Gallup Poll findings show that far from speaking with one voice, residents of Western nations polled express a wide spectrum of attitudes on moral issues. Across the Muslim populations in three European capital cities, opinions also vary, but Muslims and Westerners, especially religious Americans, share some moral ground. Muslims polled express similar views to those of the European public on the moral acceptability of the death penalty. Furthermore, European Muslim respondents' opinions align more closely with those of religious Americans on the issues of extramarital sex and suicide. Considering that across the West, at least for those surveyed in the polls, the moral compass points to a different north on many issues, the use of moral values as the determining factor in the integration debate is disingenuous. Tolerance requires the competition of ideas, including acceptance of different attitudes toward moral values.
Survey Methods
U.S. public: Results are based on telephone interviews conducted May 8-11, 2008, with 1,017 national adults aged 18 and older. Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones (for respondents with a landline telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell phone only). For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. For results based on the 527 sample of religious Americans, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.
British, French, and German public: Results are based on telephone interviews conducted between December and January 2007 with at least 1,200 adults, aged 15 and older, in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.
Muslim populations in Paris, Berlin, and London: Results are based on face-to-face interviews conducted between November and December 2006 with at least 500 adults, aged 15 and older, in Paris and London. In London and Paris, a probability sample of neighborhoods where Muslim penetration was at least 5% was used. In Berlin, results are based on telephone interviews conducted between January and February 2007 with at least 500 adults aged 15 and older. Also, in Berlin, random-digit dialing was used (dialing of first and family names with a high probability of leading to a Muslim household). For results based on the total sample of adults in each city, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points.
