Are Muslim experiences taken seriously in theories of Islamophobia? A literature review of Muslim experiences with social exclusion in the West

Abstract

Scholars within Islamophobia studies are predominantly concerned with studying societies and actors that embody Islamophobic beliefs and practices. A common claim in this literature is that Islamophobia is structurally and institutionally embedded, resulting in a multifaceted social exclusion of Muslims across Western societies. This article sets out to evaluate this claim by means of reviewing the qualitative literature concerned with Muslim experiences with social exclusion (Islamophobia, discrimination, racism, prejudice, stigmatization, and exclusion) in Western settings. In doing so, this article provides a structured overview of existing knowledge within these related topics, while also identifying assumptions within Islamophobia studies that ought to be informed by this empirical knowledge.