Struggling over Boundaries. A Case Study to the Influence of Categorization by PEGIDA Supporters on the Self-Identification of Young Active Muslims in Berlin, Germany

Abstract

In this thesis I examine the influence of categorization by PEGIDA supporters on the self-identification of twenty young active Muslims in Berlin, Germany. Through the theory of ethnic boundary making of Wimmer (2013) I try to explain how the participants respond to the negative categorization of PEGIDA supporters and how this influences their self-identification. This theory focuses on the classificatory struggles and negotiations between actors in society which result in ethnic boundaries. Instead of ethnic boundaries this thesis focuses on the religious boundary between Muslims and non-Muslims in Germany. It first examines how PEGIDA supporters are categorizing Muslims and which images and labels are used to contract the boundary and aim to exclude Muslims from German society. It continues with discussing how the twenty young Muslims interviewed for this study perceive PEGIDA and how they respond to this with boundary making strategies of their own.