Denmark: Converts to Islam are left-wing oriented

A sixth of Danish converts to Islam oppose democracy, but that's because they are left-wing oriented, explain researchers. A new study among 130 Danish converts to Islam shows that a sixth don't think their new religious convictions can be combined with democracy.

Some of the Danish converts felt the need to say that they have become Muslims and now follow something different. For some there's a bit of a protest in saying that they don't think Islam and democracy can co-exist, says Kate Østergaard, a religion historian at Copenhagen University, whose research can be read in the book "New Muslims in Denmark" (Nye muslimer i Danmark). She adds that there are about 4,000 converts in Denmark.

But thought only 1/6 are direct opponents of democracy, Islam is more important than democracy for more than half of the converts. According to Kate Østergaard, half of the converts think that Islam will rule society. They think that democracy is an Islamic principle and that it is therefore possible to have an Islamic society that is either based on democracy or has democratic elements.

Anthropologist Tina Gudrun Jensen, who co-wrote the book, thinks that the missing concept of democracy is due to that most converts are left-wing oriented.

She says that opposition to democracy for some go together with the fact that they are generally critical of the modern capitalistic and materialistic society and those are the same attitudes of left-wing oriented groups in the 60's and 70's. Factually, many converts are very much left-wing oriented.

Source: 180 Grader (Danish) h/t Daily Atheist (English)

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