We study the effect that a series of Islamist terrorist attacks across Europe in
2004–2005 had on the integration of Muslim immigrants. Using unique panel data that
oversamples immigrants in the Netherlands, we show that, shortly after the attacks, Muslim
immigrants’ attitudes toward integration worsened significantly compared to those of nonMuslim
immigrants, with no evidence of a negative trend in the attitudes of Muslims prior to
the attacks. While, in particular, low-educated Muslims became more geographically
segregated and unemployed after the attacks, high-educated Muslims were affected most
negatively in terms of their perceived integration. This decline in perceived integration is
associated with a higher intention to permanently re-migrate to the country of origin

• Terrorism and the integration of Muslim immigrants