Is Islam an Obstacle for Integration? A Qualitative Analysis of German Media Discourse

This article asks how the integration of Muslim migrants into German society is portrayed and discussed in the influential German news magazine Der Spiegel. Three dominant topics emerge from a qualitative analysis of Der Spiegel articles published up to 2007: first, the oppression of women; second fundamentalist indoctrination in mosques and in Quran schools; and third the overarching issue of the formation of so called 'parallel societies,' i.e. the formation of ethnically and culturally homogeneous neighborhoods. Finally, we discuss the culturalist framework in which religiousness and religious tradition is considered a main determinant for failed integration in media representations of German Muslims. We conclude by giving a short overview of the current media discourse since 2008.