Everyday Lives of Young Muslims in Germany. Effects of Living Conditions on Lifestyle and Well-Being

Social research about young Muslims is often biased towards problematic aspects of coming of age of a group of young people that is considered ‘different’ in religious and cultural terms. There is a lack of research that simply regards them as being young and involved in age-typical behaviour and activities like their non-Muslim peers. This article addresses this lack of empirical evidence regarding relevant aspects of the everyday life of young Muslims beyond contested issues like radicalization or Islamism. It is based on the representative AIDA-survey of the German Youth Institute conducted in 2014/15 among more than 13.000 young people aged 12 to 32 in Germany. In multivariate models young Muslims are compared with other young people with or without migration background regarding living conditions, leisure time, social participation, life satisfaction, social relationships and experiences of discrimination. Findings indicate that young Muslims are hardly different from other young people in terms of life styles and activities. Yet they are socially and materially underprivileged and exposed to specific disadvantages in relation to their status a social minority.