Phenomenon “Diversity”

We explore how ‘diversity’ is specified with regard to the relationship between the dominant German ingroup and two non-dominant groups, specifically Jews in one case and Muslims in the other. This is accomplished by analyzing newspaper articles following the sociology of knowledge approach to discourse. We contextualize our analysis by reflecting on the theoretical insight into anti-Semitism and Islamophobia as two kinds of outgroup hostility frequently discussed in the context of non-dominant Jewish and Muslims outgroups, as well as by providing an overview of the historic context leading up to todays’ intergroup contact in Germany. Our analysis shows a media focus on the Shoah and anti-Semitism as constitutive conditions for the German-Jewish relation, as well as on Muslims as both a source and target of danger in today’s Germany. We discuss our findings by reflecting on how the dominant German discourse positions itself with regard to hostility toward the non-dominant outgroup in the form of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Our chapter concludes with remarks on the significance of our findings for a diverse society.