ABSTRACT
Since the events of ‘9/11’ the debate in most Western countries on multicultural democracy has intensified. Key words in this debate are terrorism, violence, Islam, democratic values and commitment to democratic institutions. The fall of the World Trade Center towers resulted in an extensive public debate on the political integration of immigrants. Can Islam be combined with democratic values such as the freedom of speech and the equality of men and women? Are immigrants committed to democratic institutions and, if not, how can their commitment be improved? Do they identify with the host country or their country of origin? In the last few decennia hostile feelings towards immigrants seem to increase. For example, in the Netherlands the radical anti-Islam party Partij Voor de Vrijheid and its party leader Geert Wilders scores very high in the election polls. At the elections of 9 June 2010 the party won 24 seats in Dutch parliament (that is, 16 per cent of the popular vote). Another example is the extreme right-wing British National Party that won its first county council seats in 2009 and two seats in the European parliament. These examples illustrate that recent immigration flows challenge the social cohesion in European democracies. Polarization levels seem to increase and tolerance levels to decrease. This makes the question of how to explain anti-immigrant feelings highly relevant.
