Author: Julian Borger in Washington
Publication: The Guardian
Date: June 23, 2006
URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,1804078,00.html
* Attitude resembles public opinion in Islamic
nations
* British show greatest mismatch of feelings
Public opinion in Britain is mostly favourable
towards Muslims, but the feeling is not requited by British Muslims, who are
among the most embittered in the western world, according to a global poll
published yesterday.
The poll, by the Washington-based Pew Global
Attitudes Project, asked Muslims and non-Muslims about each other in 13 countries.
In most, it found suspicion and contempt to be mostly mutual, but uncovered
a significant mismatch in Britain.
Article continues
The poll found that 63% of all Britons had a favourable opinion of Muslims,
down slightly from 67% in 2004, suggesting last year's London bombings did
not trigger a significant rise in prejudice. Attitudes in Britain were more
positive than in the US, Germany and Spain (where the popularity of Muslims
has plummeted to 29%), and about the same as in France.
Less than a third of British non-Muslims said
they viewed Muslims as violent, significantly fewer than non-Muslims in Spain
(60%), Germany (52%), the US (45%) and France (41%).
By contrast, the poll found that British Muslims
represented a "notable exception" in Europe, with far more negative
views of westerners than Islamic minorities elsewhere on the continent. A
significant majority viewed western populations as selfish, arrogant, greedy
and immoral. Just over half said westerners were violent. While the overwhelming
majority of European Muslims said westerners were respectful of women, fewer
than half British Muslims agreed. Another startling result found that only
32% of Muslims in Britain had a favourable opinion of Jews, compared with
71% of French Muslims.
Across the board, Muslim attitudes in Britain
more resembled public opinion in Islamic countries in the Middle East and
Asia than elsewhere in Europe. And on the whole, British Muslims were more
pessimistic than those in Germany, France and Spain about the feasibility
of living in a modern society while remaining devout.
The Pew poll found that British Muslims are
far more likely than their European counterparts to harbour conspiracy theories
about the September 11 attacks. Only 17% believed that Arabs were involved,
compared with 48% in France.
There was general agreement that relations
are bad, but Britons as a whole were much less likely than other Europeans
to blame Muslims. More Britons faulted westerners (27%) than Muslims (25%),
with a third saying both are equally responsible. British Muslims were less
ambivalent. Nearly half blamed westerners. By comparison, in Germany and France
both communities blamed each other in roughly equal measure.
Unlike the rest of Europe, a majority of Britons
declared themselves sympathetic to Muslims offended by the cartoons of the
prophet Muhammad published in the European press last year. But most Britons
said the outbreak of violence was the result of Muslim intolerance for western
freedom of expression. Only 9% of British Muslims agreed with that view. Nearly
three-quarters blamed the controversy on western disrespect of Islam.
While finding ample confirmation of the rift
between Muslims and non-Muslims around the world, the poll did find some signs
of encouragement.
"Confidence in Osama bin Laden has ...
fallen in most Muslim countries in recent years," the survey concluded.
That was particularly true in Jordan, where 24% expressed confidence in the
al-Qaida leader, compared with 60% a year ago.
Support for suicide bombing has also plummeted
in Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia. In Pakistan now, 69% said the terrorist
tactic was never justified, compared with 38% four years ago.
