Political parties and Muslims in Europe: the regulation of Islam in public education

Abstract

Despite growing anti-immigrant discourse and radical-right party electoral support, most Western European states include Islam in religious education classes in public schools. What are the conditions that explain these policy changes? Who are the main political allies of Muslims’ demands for inclusion in religious education? Based on an original dataset that gathered data on religious education policies in 13 European countries between 1970 and 2010, this article inquires how party ideology and secularisation explain the timing and equal inclusion of Islam. The article shows that, while Left-dominated governments are the main drivers for introducing Islam within curricula, Christian-Democratic parties in power promote equal terms of inclusion, especially in contexts with a secular approach to religious education. These findings enrich our understanding of political parties in secular times by illustrating how the aim of upholding religious influence in education systems motivates Christian Democrats to promote equal rights for Muslims.