[The anti-semitism of the others: towards a differentiated view of anti-semitic attitudes among Muslims in Germany].

Abstract

For some years now, there has been a discussion about a new anti-Semitism. The focus of these debates is increasingly on immigrants, but above all on Muslims, and thus there is now talk about an Islamized anti-Semitism. These discussions quickly became a political issue. Right-wing extremist actors such as the Alternative for Germany seized on the evidence of anti-Semitism among Muslims and instrumentalized it for their anti-Muslim agenda. This instrumentalization, in turn, makes it difficult for people working against anti-Muslim discrimination to acknowledge the existence of anti-Semitism among Muslims. Using a variety of empirical material, this article examines the prevalence of anti-Semitic resentment among Muslims and how it relates to the persistence of anti-Semitism in German society. The results show that traditional forms of anti-Semitism, and in particular Israel-related anti-Semitism, are particularly accentuated among Muslims. Together with ethnonational, right-wing extremist anti-Semitism, anti-Semitism among Muslim submilieus poses a threat to Jews in Germany. Anti-Semitism among Muslims draws on narratives from their countries of origin and on religious sources. However, anti-Semitism among Muslims in Germany is less pronounced than in most societies in the Islamic world. Moreover, guilt-denying articulations of anti-Semitism remain a hallmark of the autochthonous population and right-wing political milieus. Anti-Semitism in Germany therefore requires a more nuanced understanding than seemed necessary just a few years ago.