How accurate are European perceptions of Muslim Asylum Seeker values?

Abstract

Amid the problematic European Migrant Crisis (EMC), Member States are free to determine the amount of Muslim Asylum Seekers (MAS) that settle in their respective countries. Policies are to a large extent formed on the basis of what the public thinks about MAS and the values they hold. Should these perceptions be inaccurate then an unnecessary barrier is imposed in an already problematic situation. This study aimed to quantitatively measure the accuracy of perceptions of Muslim Asylum Seeker values (MASV) in two EU countries. By running correlation tests on several variables and perceptions of MASV extremity, one would be able to determine what the broader impact of inaccurate MASV perceptions could be and conversely what strong predictors of MASV perceptions are. The study found that both countries held largely inaccurate perceptions of MASV across all seven topics that were assessed. Whereas Hungarians tended to overestimate MASV extremity, Dutch people generally underestimated them. An association was detected between three variables (ATD, Let More Settle and IMPCT) and perceptions of MASV. Furthermore, although it appeared that the heightened perception of MASV extremity in Hungary spawned from a pronounced fear of MAS violence and terrorism, the origins of this fear could not be attributed to individual economic insecurity, as was hypothesised.