The theme of this paper is political identity and participation among
Muslim migrant young people in Denmark. Political identity is analysed
by examining students’ political interests and perception of themselves as
participants in politics, as well as their rationalities for politics. In order
to address the research question ‘What characterizes political identities
among Muslim immigrant young people in schools?’ we interviewed eight
Muslim students from a Danish upper secondary school and from different
national origins. The students’ political orientations seemed quite
contradictory, even among those who might readily have been identified as
a-political. Despite moderate political interest, all students showed some
inclinations to participate in elections or in particular issues. However, they
emphasized that their social studies classes primarily provided them with
factual knowledge experience, and some students found this knowledge
useful. None of the students seemed to experience school as an arena for
participation. Consequently, there is first a need to emphasize the significance
of a dynamic perspective on the phenomenon of political identity,
and second, we need to know how students in school should be regarded
as citizens in ‘the making’ or as equal citizens in a participatory arena.
Keywords: politics, identity, citizenship, participation, democracy.