The political power of Muslim social capital in Europe and North America

The social lives of Muslims living in the West are often regarded with suspicion, based on the assumption that social embeddedness within a Muslim community compromises more widespread integration and social cohesion. This article tests these claims by examining the relationship between Muslim social capital and political participation. Using original data from 2,341 Muslims in Canada, France, Germany, the UK, and the US, it finds that Muslim structural, cognitive, and civic social capital all support political participation. Within structural capital, both bonding and bridging networks are positively associated with mainstream political activities, but bonding networks predict protest activities. Very few indicators of social capital share a negative relationship with participation, and the two that do (trust in the government, size of close friend group) only suppress protest, which may suggest that they capture civic satisfaction. There are some national-level differences in political participation after controlling for other variables, but not many, suggesting similar mechanisms mobilize and facilitate Muslim political participation across national contexts. These findings should be a relief those who are concerned that Muslim networks are encouraging withdrawal.