Islamophobia in Scottish towns and small cities

Islamophobia, as a form of cultural racism, can take different forms in different contexts. Previous research suggested that there is a perception among some Muslims that anti-Muslim racism is higher in areas where there is a high density of Muslim residents such as Glasgow. In contrast, some others suggest that ethnic minority people are at greater risk of racism in less racially diverse areas because of less community support and less police protection. This paper draws on a research which involved 10 semi-structured interviews with Muslims in different Scottish towns and small cities. The data is collected from marginal contexts that are typically overlooked or neglected in mainstream studies. To discuss the importance of the low or high density of Muslim communities, and any other possible factor, in the experience of Islamophobia the result of this research is compared to the experiences of 33 Muslim participants in Scottish major cities.