Muslim Life in Germany - Deutsche Islam Konferenz

Aspects of Integration 285
live in an environment in which foreigners make up the majority
of the population. This means that these people have less opportunity
to enter into contact with Germans in their residential
environment.
5.2.5.2 Satisfaction and attachment to the place of residence
The residential situation may also influence people’s
opportunities in life and wellbeing (Friedrich 2008: 13). When
people live in areas in which they feel excluded, this may lead to
a feeling of deprivation and marginalisation which constitutes
an obstacle to integration. Interviewees for the study “Muslim
Life in Germany” were thus asked whether they had any preferences
regarding the ethnic composition of their residential
neighbourhood. For the majority of the interviewees, the composition
of the population in their neighbourhood is of no consequence.
It is immaterial to the majority of interviewees (62 per
cent) whether their neighbourhood has a majority of foreign or
German citizens. Around one third (36 per cent) reply that they
would prefer to live in a German environment. Only 3 per cent
reply that they would prefer to live with foreigners in their area.
The indifference among the majority of interviewees regarding
the composition of the population in the neighbourhood may
indicate that a residential environment inhabited predominantly
by foreigners is not necessarily seen as lowering the quality
of home life.
In order to obtain an impression of people’s satisfaction
with their current residential situation, it was assessed whether
the interviewees’ current residential environment corresponded
to their preferred residential setting.