• Log In

Why?

(Try to find out what feelings and needs are alive in the other person: empathic resonance)

Are you feeling uncomfortable/ irritated/uneasy because there are more and more Muslim citizens in our western society and their behaviour is different from yours?
Do you need order/ predictability?


What if?

(‘Mirror questions’: how would it be if you were standing in the shoes of that person)

Do you have Muslim colleagues or acquaintances? Do you have the experience they don’t fit into our society? Do you know what their values in life are? Are they so much different from yours? Do you know for example their opinions on women’s rights? Do you know why they are thinking this way?


Self-reflection

(Questions you can ask yourself in silence to support yourself in understanding the other person)

How important is order/ predictability for me?
When do I need it?
How do I feel when this need is not fulfilled?


Empowerment

(More information on the issue and tips how to explore the problem and continue the discussion)

Let people of Muslim faith tell about their religion In order to understand the diversity of Muslim life-worlds, to get to know the Koran and its interpretations, or to understand the rules of the faithful, it makes sense to get into a conversation with Muslims. It is well known that one cannot argue about faith, but fears and prejudices about Islam can thereby be eliminated.
The headscarf is a piece of clothing that is addressed in the Koran and can belong to the faith practice of Islam. For many women it is above all a personal expression of their religiousness, some wear it as a sign of their cultural identity. Wearing a headscarf is mistakenly seen as an indicator of (missing) integration. Remember your own family 5o years ago: At that time it was a general habit in many European and Western societies that women wore headscarves in public.
Nevertheless, women should decide for themselves what kind of clothes they wear – including the headscarf.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Project Number: 2018-1-DE02-KA204-005060