Who are the Belgian-Moroccans and Belgian-Turks? Do they feel more Moroccan or Turkish than Belgian? These questions were asked to a sample of those two populations. Nearly 700 of them responded to the questionnaires, as part of a study funded by the King Baudouin Foundation, which revealed their profile and deconstructed at the same time a series of prejudices.
It seems, for example, that the majority of them think that Muslims should adapt to Belgian society, that women and men should share the housework. Further, it was generally felt that the Belgian-Moroccans and Turks feel more integrated in Flanders than Wallonia, which can be explained by the famous Flanders integration policy.
A prejudice that further collapses as it emerges from respondents’ answers is that they speak the language and have a better understanding of the region, in Wallonia, they are more likely to graduate in higher education, and participate in political life. Another example: they feel mostly Belgian.
However, despite significant religious fervor, the researchers point out some signs of secularization. First, Corinne Torrekens, project manager of the study, says that initially she expected to see two profiles: an “orthodox” scrupulously respecting all the precepts and a “social” profile that fits in more by ignoring certain dogmas. In fact, it turns out that much of Muslim Belgians surveyed for this study are tinkering.
That is to say that the young man practicing Ramadan will be drinking alcohol outside, the young woman who wears the veil is not attending the mosque, etc. Everyone builds his own practice. Then the decrease in regular attendance at mosques is especially due to the fact that the imam does not appear at all as a reference in the construction of faith.
To browse the full version of this study: click here.
