Muslim women not wearing the Hijab were not viewed any differently than women from other immigrant backgrounds, a study of Norwegians’ attitudes towards immigrants demonstrates. This changed when it was worn, however.
“The Hijab seems to have been an important symbol of ‘foreignness’. It would be interesting to know exactly what negative connotations the Hijab awakens in the majority population,” Zan Strabac, an associate professor at Sør-Trøndelag University College (HiST/TØH), told Klassekampen
The results suggest that it is not the woman’s religion that causes scepticism amongst Norwegians but the religious headgear itself, which covers her hair.
Mr Strabac was one of several who collaborated on the project, an experimental study researching Norwegians’ attitudes to immigrants.
Marco Valenta, a professor at Trondheim’s University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Department of Social Work and Health Science, thinks women should certainly not stop wearing the hijab, as the poll’s results are “just something we observe objectively.”
Amongst his previous research results is having found different languages and cultures can lead to workplace fractionalisation and social isolation.
He says of the study that “the cost of wearing the Hijab is quite high. But attitudes towards Muslim women were not more negative than attitudes toward other women with immigrant backgrounds when they did not wear it.”
“The scores are not as bad as expected for Muslims who do have Muslim symbols on their personage. There is a social distance regarding both Christians and Muslims, there is always an immigrant effect, but we did not find this was larger when it came to Muslims,” Klassekampen reported Mr Valenta as saying.
Participants in the online survey were shown different images of the same woman, both with and without the Hijab.
Those taking part were shown images of the same women with and without the Hijab. The images were labelled stating the subject was a “Christian” or a “Muslim” without the Hijab, and a “Muslim” with a hijab.
The subject was a Portuguese research colleague who could have seemed to be of Middle-Eastern origin.