CEIT > Polling Muslims

Polling Muslims

- an investigation of quantitative surveys among Muslims in Western Europe

The research project "Polling Muslims" is inquiring the knowledge production on Muslims in Europe at the crossroad between the spheres of academia and politics in a qualitative study of the practice of counting and measuring Muslims. It is hereby providing an overview of sampling methods, the questions asked, the topics that are investigated and the ways the results are reported. It will produce an overview on the major oppinion polls of eight Western European countries. 

Download the booklet for the conference in November 2011, with further information.

Background of the project

During the last decade a relevant number of quantitative surveys based on polling among people categorized as Muslims in the United States and Western European countries has been carried out in order to satisfy the public need for knowledge and statistical data on Muslims in these countries. These surveys covered a bunch of quite diverse issues ranging from religiosity and religious practice over attitudes towards democracy, integration or homosexuality. Surveys also measured the living situation, education and discrimination experiences of Muslims. Few polls are aiming at the representation of either multinational or urban population; however, most surveys on Muslims are carried out within the frame of the nation state, often funded by national institutions and not uncommonly carried out by national research institutions with rather limited awareness of the other existing polls. Until today a thorough overview about the local and national is still missing.

Aim of the project

This project departs from the understanding that it is about time to invest in both an astute and constructive exchange among those engaged in research on Muslims to recapitulate the existing quantitative surveys and discuss not only their results but also the methods. The sampling methods employed in this research field give rise to questions about the access to respondents and response rates. Most surveys in western European countries use migration statistics, foreigner’s registers or list of names from certain countries as a basis to recruit respondents. Furthermore, different methods of approaching respondents (like telephone, door to door, online, snowball) are connected to different deficits and encourage different target groups to participate. Specific populations have a highly critical view on surveys and are showing a strong reluctance to interviews in general but especially to quantitative polls – often these are related to the issues polled. What seems to feed into this skepticism is that results of polls are often used to support political arguments. This research is a contribution to a debate on the production of knowledge on Muslims. First results will be presented and discussed in a workshop in Copenhagen 2.-4.November 2011 with researchers from qualitative and quantitative research fields.