Attitudes and perceptions towards Islam and Muslims, and the success of their integration in Malta

Abstract

This study investigates the integration of Islam and Muslims in Malta. The main research questions cover the success (or otherwise) of integration of Islam and Muslims in Malta, and general perceptions and attitudes of non-Muslim Maltese persons about Islam and Muslims in Malta. The study adopts a two-step approach. The first stage consists of two expert interviews with Imam Ahmad Laiq Atif, a representative of the Muslim community in Malta, and Professor Adrian-Mario Gellel, a University of Malta researcher who led the Living Together project. This was done in order to gain an understanding of the area and develop hypotheses to be tested in the second stage. The second stage is an online self-administered survey which received a total of 164 responses, gathering information about perceptions and attitudes about Islam and Muslims in Malta. Results indicate that, while there is religious freedom in Malta, there is a lack of policy accommodating for and encouraging integration. Attitudes towards Islam and Muslims were not overly negative but neither overly positive, and the main influences on such attitudes seem to be age, level of education, religiosity, traditionality, identification with the Maltese identity, and to some extent, social trust.