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Muslim converts - Intermediaries for Integration? , , Qualitative analysis of the role of Muslim converts in the integration of Muslims
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For the first time, the level of integration of the Muslim population with a migration background can be assessed as a result of the representative study "Muslimisches Leben in Deutschland" ("Muslim life in Germany"). The collected database gives information about various aspects of the integration as well as the religiosity of people in Germany originating from predominantly Muslim countries.
A comprehensive picture of Muslim life
Although "Muslim life in Germany" filled important knowledge gaps, it was unable to account for Muslims without a migration background, that is Muslim converts, due to methodological restraints. As of yet, there is no register from which a random sample could be drawn. Scientifically reliable information about Muslim converts is barely available.
To draw a comprehensive picture of Muslim life in Germany and in order to develop efficient and sustainable strategies for the integration of Muslims in Germany, however, inclusion of native German converts is essential.
Enlargement of empirical evidence on Muslim converts
The present research project is aimed at obtaining information about Muslim converts and establishing a basis for broader empirical research on this target group. The qualitative study will serve to analyze the role of native German converts within Muslim communities, organizations and social networks. It is designed to answer the question to which extent converts are integrated into these structures.
Specifically, this research should assist in identifying the roles and functions of converts with regard to religious and societal aspects of Muslim community life. The study’s results should also provide a review of whether Muslim converts (could) assume the role of intermediaries between the Muslim community and the majority society and under which conditions they could do so.
In the context of this study, about 45 problem-focused guided interviews with converts were conducted. These individual interviews were complemented by expert interviews including interviews with imams from selected mosques and representatives of Islamic associations and umbrella organizations.