Key Facts

Principal investigators:

  • Prof. Dr. Heiko Beyer, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Soziologie IV
  • Dr. Melanie Reddig, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Soziologie I

Research assistant

  • Bjarne Goldkuhle
  • Niklas Herrberg

Duration: 10/2020 – 09/2024 

Practice Partners

  • Network for Democracy and Courage (Website)
  • Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Scholarship Fund (Website)

The Impact of Radical Islam on Jewish Life in Germany (ArenDt)

The Influence of Radical Islam on Experiences of Discrimination, Perceptions of Threat, and Intentions to Act by Jews Living in Germany

The project examines if and how radical Islam, together and in comparison with other political ideologies, is partly responsible for Jewish experiences of discrimination and perceptions of threat. In addition, ArenDt explores whether this results in any consequential actions on the part of those affected. The focus is on both the prevalence and causes of these phenomena and the significance of Islamist anti-Semitism as perceived by members of the Jewish community. The project team will answer these questions by conducting a quantitative online survey of approximately 2,200 Jews as well as qualitative interviews with 36 individuals. Compared to previous studies, the project will focus more on both individual and regional differences. The duration of the project is four years.

Practice partners of the project are the Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Scholarship Fund (ELES) and the Network for Democracy and Courage (NDC). The Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Scholarship Fund is a scholarship program of the Jewish community in Germany. ELES will advise the project in all project phases and will initially assist the project during the field access phase. At the end of the project, ELES will help to disseminate the results within the Jewish community. This will include joint workshops and lectures.

The Network for Democracy and Courage‘s fields of activity cover both youth and adult education. In this context the results of the project are used for purposes of political education and integrated into existing offers as well as into the conception of new contents.


Film "Project ArenDt" | Duration 2"14' | Production Ute Seitz // Philipp Offermann | PRIF 2023

What do Jews experience regarding anti-Semitism in Germany, especially in relation to Islamist actors? This question is addressed by the research project "The Impact of Radical Islam on Jewish Life in Germany" (ArenDt). In an interview with RADIS, Prof. Dr. Heiko Beyer and Dr. Melanie Reddig describe how the respondents perceive anti-Semitism in Germany and the discourses about it, and what strategies they have found for dealing with it. Read more.