Critical Inclusiveness: Prejudice, principles, and the social acceptance of Muslim minorities

Abstract

Criticism of minority group practices is commonly examined in terms of prejudice and racism, but might also coexist with a non-prejudiced inclusive attitude. With latent profile analysis, we examined how Dutch and German (N=3712) majority members combine their perception of gender inequality among Muslim minorities, feelings towards Muslims as a minority group, and support of Muslim expressive rights. Three identified subgroups perceived that Muslim minorities engage in gender inequality practices. In addition to reflecting anti-Muslim prejudices, for a third of the population this perception co-exists with an inclusive attitude indicating that non-prejudiced individuals can still be critical of specific minority practices. The subgroups’ distinctiveness is validated using indirect prejudice measures and considering authoritarianism. The findings present a more nuanced picture of the ways in which majority members can perceive minorities and demonstrate that an inclusive orientation can coincide with being critical towards perceived minority beliefs and practices.