Islamophobia Without Muslims? The “Contact Hypothesis” as an Explanation for Anti-Muslim Attitudes – Eastern European Societies in a Comparative Perspective

Abstract

Even though Muslim communities are virtually absent in most Eastern European societies new research shows that Islamophobia is more widespread in Eastern Europe than in Western Europe. The existence of ‘Islamophobia without Muslims’ is surprising prima facie, but in fact this empirical pattern reflects the assumption of the contact hypothesis. In a nutshell, the contact hypothesis argues that an individual’s contact with members of an ‘outgroup’ is conducive to refute existing prejudice and stereotypes. We test the explanatory power of the contact hypothesis on both the individual and the societal level. Empirically, we draw our data from the European Social Survey (2014), which allows us to conduct a systematic comparison of Eastern and Western European societies and to account for other well-established social psychological theories of prejudice and stereotyping (e. g. Social Identity Theory, Integrated Threat Theory). Our empirical results show that people with less or no contact are more prone to Islamophobic attitudes. This pattern is characteristic for Eastern European countries as the sheer absence of Muslim communities in these societies turns out to be a relevant explanation for anti-Muslim prejudice. Eastern European citizens tend to have para-social-contacts with Muslims. In general, they rely on media and statements of (populist) politicians, to build their opinions about Muslims. Negative news coverage fueled by terrorist attacks shapes the prevailing image of all Muslims, media consumption therefore intensifies already existing anti-Muslim sentiments. As a result, Eastern European countries have been comparatively unpopular choices for migrants to settle.

The Varying Challenge of Islamophobia for the EU: On Anti-Muslim Resentments and Its Dividend for Right-Wing Populists and Eurosceptics—Central and Eastern Europe in a Comparative Perspective

“…4 This survey allows us to investigate the research guiding hypothesis because citizens were asked whether they would like to see an immigration ban for Muslims and whether they believe that the European unification process has gone too far. We consider the support of a Muslim ban as a proxy for Islamophobic attitudes (Pickel and Öztürk 2018b). To classify the ideological leanings of parties, we refer to the PopuList of Rooduijn et al (2019).…”

“…Secondly, several studies were able to validate the assumptions of Allport's (1971) contact hypothesis. An anti-Muslim social climate is particularly pronounced in Eastern Europe, where the number of Muslims is comparatively small (Marfouk 2019;Pickel and Öztürk 2018b;Schlueter et al 2019). This increasingly salient anti-Muslim social climate, further intensified by the so-called refugee crisis, might have led to a loss of reputation for the EU in Eastern Europe (Krastev 2018).…”

The “refugee crisis” and the transformation of the far right and the political mainstream: the extreme case of the Czech Republic

“…However, unlike other immigrants, Muslims are perceived as politically mobilised and as a threat to the majority population (cf. Mudde 2007), notwithstanding their actual very low number (Ostřanský 2018;Pickel and Öztürk 2018). Contrary to Vietnamese or East European immigrants, Muslims are believed to have a political agenda, which is monolithic and incompatible with European cultural and religious values as well as with democracy (e.g.…”

Muslims in leading municipal positions? On the prevalence of opposing attitudes towards Muslim mayoral candidates in Germany and their socio-psychological driving forces

“…B. Kölner Silvesternacht 2015) verstärkt. Diese Interpretation bestätigen gleich mehrere Studien, die zeigen, dass Bedrohungswahrnehmungen zu den wirkungsmächtigsten Triebkräften antimuslimischer Vorurteile gehören (Ciftci 2012;Pickel und Öztürk 2018;Pickel und Yendell 2016).…”