How the Czechs and Spanish perceive Islam

Anotace: The paper discusses the transformations of the religious structure of European society manifested, among other ways, in an increased intolerance toward cultures other than Christian and secular, most notably the Muslim culture. The objective is to analyse the causes of the fear of Islam and explain Islamophobia in two socially and geographically distinct contexts: in Czechia and in Spain. The paper is based on a survey carried out in both countries in 2014. The issue of Islamophobia is viewed from the perspective of mainstream society, with a focus on differences in the perception of Islam by people of different nationality, religious belief, gender, age and education. The main objective of the paper is to analyse the differences in the perceived fear of Islam with regard to sources of information about the Muslim culture and personal contact with Muslims in an attempt to uncover the causes of Islamophobia. The analysis of the survey revealed that the phenomenon is generally very complex. In summary, however, Czechia registered a higher level of Islamophobia than Spain, likely due to less frequent contact between Czechs and Muslims and the Islamic culture.