Muslim residential concentrations in two largest Australian cities: who is concerned about them and why?

This paper explores attitudes towards Muslims concentration areas in Sydney and Melbourne, two largest Australian cities. Survey data is used (N=1020), collected online and by phone, from people who lived in either ‘metro areas’ (within metropolitan Sydney or Melbourne) or in ‘target areas’, designated as Muslim concentrations based on census data. We analyze quantitative data to establish how attitudes towards Muslims residential concentrations relate to demographic, socio-economic and residential characteristics of respondents. Our data show that a typical ‘concerned citizen’ can be described as older, Christian, lower-educated, unsatisfied with their income and living outside Muslim concentrations. We use qualitative data (open-ended narrative responses) to elucidate why people hold Islamophobic views and how they justify them. We find that non-Muslims who live outside Muslim concentration areas are more concerned about them than those who reside in them and therefore encounter Muslims on a daily basis. This finding supports the ‘contact theory’ of ethnic relations. The article contributes to the body of research into Islamophobia in Western countries.