The At Home in Europe Program of the Open Society Foundations has published its report “Muslims in Marseille”. This report offers unique insight into the daily lives and experiences of Marseille’s Muslim and non-Muslim residents in the 3rd arrondissement. Based on qualitative interviews with 300 people including local officials, members of civil society and community leaders, the report explores various spheres of participation by its residents, their needs and concerns, and to what extent local policymakers and communities understand and engage with each other to realise these needs.
The Marseille study is part of an 11 city reports series, entitled “Muslims in EU Cities”.
Findings from the Muslims in Marseille Report
- Among Muslims 55 per cent said they felt they belonged to Marseille, while nearly 70 per cent of non-Muslims indicated a sense of belonging to their city
- A sense of belonging to France was not strongly pronounced, with Muslims declaring significantly less attachment to France than non-Muslims
- People in the 18th arrondissement were not divided by their basic values: 67 per cent stated that “people in this neighbourhood share the same values”, a score that is unexpectedly high
- More than 40 per cent of Muslim and non-Muslim respondents agreed that racial prejudice is prevalent and widespread
For the whole report click the link:
http://www.soros.org/initiatives/home/articles_publications/publications/muslims-marseille-20110920