Coping with Negative Attitude Toward Muslims in The Netherlands and Germany: The Role of Religious Moral Values among Indonesian Migrants

摘要

Since the terrorist attacks in several countries in Europe, little is known about how Muslims, as a minority group, in Netherlands and Germany cope with the challenges associated with engaging their religious practices in a predominantly nonlslamic context. This study aims to investigate how Indonesian Muslims migrants dealt with the difficulties they faced in their religious practices in a foreign context, and specifically in their communities and in the wider Dutch and German society with its pluralistic spiritual beliefs. Eleven male and female Muslim migrants from Indonesia were recruited to participate in a qualitative interview. In terms of conventional content analysis, their adjustment issues were related to their religious issues, including gender roles both inside and outside of the work place, undesirable practices relating to prayer needs, and consuming halal foods and having to face several social prejudice off the work places and learning rooms. Two types of major adaptation strategies were identified for dealing with such struggles, including religious coping through their Islamic beliefs and moral values. Their major concerns about religious practices (e.g., praying 5 times per day and nawafil prayers) were resolved by communicating their needs directly with their advisors; however, they navigated the gender boundaries in the community through their Islamic beliefs. The practical implications regarding counseling are discussed both in a local and a global context.