Excluding Europe’s Muslims: Symbolic Boundaries and Anti-immigrant Attitudes Along a Racial–Ethnic Hierarchy

Abstract

Research has shown that immigrants in Europe face exclusion in an increasingly hostile political climate. However, few studies comprehensively investigate whether exclusionism is patterned by a pervasive race–ethnicity hierarchy. This article bridges anti-immigrant attitudes research with the symbolic boundaries literature, which identifies Islam and Muslim “otherness” as a bright ethnic boundary. I use 2014 European Social Survey data to test whether immigrants of different racial–ethnic profiles are excluded along a preference hierarchy and whether this hierarchy structures intergroup contact, a well-known depressor of anti-immigrant sentiment. In all sample countries, I find that same race and Muslim immigrants are the most and least preferred immigrant groups, respectively. Further, while natives’ residential isolation is typically mediated by interethnic contact, both forces exert a dual influence on anti-Muslim exclusionism only. Results qualify the optimism of intergroup contact theories and indicate an extensive targeting of Muslims for exclusion beyond xenophobia or general racist sentiment.