Showing posts with label UK Surveys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UK Surveys. Show all posts
18 July 2015
01 June 2015
Survey of Surveys - Concerning Islam & Muslims
1.0 About this Survey of Surveys
2.0 Summary
3.0 Headline Results
4.0 Surveys - British Muslims
5.0 Surveys - British People (non-Muslims)
6.0 Surveys - Muslims in Islamic Countries
7.0 Surveys - Muslims in Western Countries
8.0 Surveys - International (non-Muslims)
1.0 About this Survey of Surveys
Surveys and polls concerning Islam and Muslims regularly hit the headlines.
Often alarming, sometimes reassuring, and difficult to put into context they can confuse more than illuminate. And, there is always the question of survey and poll quality.
This is a survey of such surveys from reliable sources published over the last five years or so, compiled with the objective of providing a clear picture and a convenient reference.
2.0 Summary
British Muslims
A large minority of British Muslims subscribe to values that clash with those held by the majority of British people. The proportion ranges from around 15% to 30% depending on the topic.
27% had some sympathy with the killers of the Charlie Hebdo staff. 11% believe those who publish images of Mohammed deserve to be attacked. 20% have some sympathy with young Muslims who leave the UK to join fighters in Syria.
29% would prefer to live in Britain under Sharia law rather than British law. 17% believe it is appropriate that Muslims who convert to other religions are cut off by their family and even worse 31% agree Muslim conversion to another religion is forbidden and punishable by death.
Muslims themselves see the divide. 16-20% say there is a clash between Islam and British values.
Much of the time this might not be apparent as large numbers maintain dual identities. 77% say they identify as strongly with Britain just as much as they do (75%) with their religion.
For ethnic minorities in general research has shown that 44% say they identify as strongly with their ethnic group as they identify with Britain. 22% hold entirely to their original culture. 21% have lost their original culture but have taken nothing of British culture. Only 13% are assimilated.
Dual identity is not necessarily a bad thing but when starkly conflicting values are involved it is a cause for concern.
British People
The majority British view of Islam and Muslims is strongly negative.
Over half (55%) believe there is a fundamental clash between Islam and British values and six in 10 (61%) have a negative or wholly negative view of Islam.
A large majority (81%) would support a ban on wearing of a full face veil or niqab in public places, such as schools, courts or hospitals. 71% believe the media should publish material even if it offends the religious views of some people.
The World's Muslims
On average, seven in 10 (70%) Muslims in the greater part of the Muslim world favour making Sharia the Law of the Land.
Of these, 58% favour whippings or cutting off the hands of thieves and robbers, 60% favour stoning as a punishment for adultery, and 53% favour the death penalty for apostasy. And, on average 43% of Muslims favour gender segregation in the workplace. It is as high as 85% in Pakistan.
Large minorities (10-30%) believe suicide bombing against civilian targets can be often or sometimes justified in order to defend Islam from its enemies.
It is difficult to find words that might qualify these horrendous results of surveys by the Pew Research Center, a highly reputable research organisation.
Knowledge and education topics also provide results alarming to modern people.
Nearly half (44%) of Muslims believe in creationism; humans and other living things have always existed in their present form. A staggering two in three (64%) deny that Arabs (Muslims) carried out the 9/11 attacks.
Muslims in Europe and Western Countries
In Germany more than one in five (22%) Muslims are against integration and reject German values. Over half of French Muslims say they will marry only another Muslim.
Nearly half (47%) of Canadian Muslims believe they should be free to choose to be ruled by Sharia courts in the case of divorce and other family matters.
Three quarters of Australian Muslims think counter-terrorism policing and laws unfairly target their community. Many of them explain terrorism as the result of "the history of occupation and invasion throughout the Middle East".
Western Views
On average in Europe's largest countries over half (54%) of Europeans believe Islam is incompatible with the Western world. Seven in 10 (69%) would approve a ban on veils that cover the whole face.
More than half (57%) of Germans believe Islam poses a threat to Germany. 52% believe it does not belong in German society. They see Islam as an "archaic religion, incapable of fitting into modern life".
Three quarters (74%) of the French think Islam is intolerant and that it is incompatible with the values of French society.
Half of Danish citizens favour a cap on the number of Muslims permitted to live in Denmark.
3.0 Headline Results
This section lists the publisher of each survey, the date of publication, and the headline results.
3.1 Surveys - British Muslims
Sky News, April 2015
Nearly one in five (16%) British Muslims believe British values are not compatible with Islam.
(This is in line with the findings of a survey for the BBC in February)
Four in 10 (39%) British Muslims believe the police and MI5 contribute to the radicalisation of young Muslims.
One in five (20%) have some sympathy with young Muslims who leave the UK to join fighters in Syria.
BBC Radio 4, February 2015
One in five (20%) British Muslims believe British liberal society can never be compatible with Islam.
More than one in four (27%) had some sympathy with the killers of the Charlie Hebdo staff. One in 10 (11%) believe those who publish images of the Prophet Mohammed deserve to be attacked.
And, one in 10 (11%) are sympathetic towards people who want to fight against western interests.
Nearly one in five (17%) believe it is appropriate that Muslims who convert to other religions are cut off by their family.
Understanding Society - University of Essex, December 2013
Nearly half (44%) of Britain's ethnic minority people say they identify as strongly with their ethnic group (and by implication with the values of that group's culture) as they identify with Britain.
Of the rest 22% are separate; they hold entirely to their original culture. 21% are marginalised; they have lost their original culture but have taken nothing from British culture.
Only 13% are assimilated. They strongly identify only with Britain and there is less potential for a clash with the values of their ethnic group.
Gallup – The Co-exist Foundation, 2009
British Muslims identify as extremely strongly or as very strongly with their religion (75%) as they do with Britain (77%).
British Muslims are much less inclined to see not wearing a veil (only 12% of them) and acceptance of comments about their faith which they deem offensive (9%) as necessary features of integration, than French or German Muslims.
Policy Exchange, January 2007
Three in 10 (31%) British Muslims agree Muslim conversion to another religion is forbidden and punishable by death.
Half (51%) agree a Muslim woman may not marry a non-Muslim.
Three in 10 (29%) would prefer to live in Britain under Sharia law rather than British law.
3.2 Surveys - British People (non-Muslims)
YouGov-Cambridge, March 2015
The majority (55%) of British people believe there is a fundamental clash between Islam and British values.
For Conservative voters the figure is 68%. For Labour 48%, and UKIP 89%.
Only one in five (22%) believe Islam is compatible with British society.
YouGov, January 2015
Six in 10 (61%) British adults have a negative or wholly negative view of Islam.
Sunday Times, January 2015
Seven in 10 (69%) of people believe it was acceptable for Charlie Hebdo to publish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
Seven in 10 (71%) believe the media have an obligation to show controversial items that are newsworthy even if they may offend the religious views of some people.
Only one in 10 (11%) believe the media have an obligation to avoid offending religious views.
Channel 4 News, October 2013
Eight in 10 (81%) people would support a ban on wearing of a full face veil or niqab in certain public places, such as schools, courts or hospitals.
More than half (55%) would support such a ban in any public place.
BBC, September 2013
Six in 10 (60%) young British people (18 – 24 years-old) think Islam has a negative image. (For other religions it ranges from 11% to 17% thinking the religion has a negative image.)
Just over a quarter of young people (27%) do not trust Muslims.
Nearly half (44%) tend to agree or strongly agree that the Muslim community does not share the same values as people in the rest of Britain.
Sunday Times, May 2013
Six in 10 (60%) British people believe the great majority of Muslims are peaceful and law-abiding citizens but there is a dangerous minority.
One in seven (14%) think a large proportion of British Muslims feel no sense of loyalty to this country and are prepared to condone or even carry out acts of terrorism.
Half (50%) think a significant number of the leaders of Britain's Muslim communities are turning a blind eye to terrorism.
University of Nottingham, May 2013
Over half (59%) of British people agree or tend to agree there will be a "clash of civilizations" between Muslims and native white Britons.
(This followed the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby. Six months before the figure was 49%.)
63% agree or tend to agree the vast majority of Muslims are good British citizens.
45% think free speech in Britain is threatened by the influence of Muslims in the media
Chatham House, January 2013
Nearly half (49%) of British people agree or tend to agree there will be a "clash of civilizations" between Muslims and native white Britons.
Over half (52%) agree or tend to agree higher birth rates within Muslim communities pose a fundamental threat to British national identity.
Fewer than one in four (24%) think Muslims are compatible with the British way of life.
Extremis Project, September 2012
Nearly four in 10 (37%) would be more likely to vote for a party that promised to reduce the number of Muslims/presence of Islam in British society.
YouGov, April 2011
Two thirds (66%) of the public agree the burkha should be banned in Britain.
Searchlight Educational Trust, February 2011
More than two in three (68%) people think religion should not influence laws and policies in Britain.
Over half (52%) think Muslims create problems or a lot of problems. (For other religions it ranges from 7% to 15% thinking the religion creates problems or a lot of problems.)
Six in 10 (60%) think people should be allowed to say what they believe about religion, however critical or offensive it might be.
More than four in 10 (43%) would support a campaign to stop the building of a mosque near where they live.
3.3 Surveys – Muslims in Islamic Countries
Pew Research Center, July 2014
Large minorities (10-30%) in most large Muslim countries believe suicide bombing can be often or sometimes justified against civilian targets in order to defend Islam from its enemies.
University of Kirikkale and Happy Kids Association, April 2013
One in three (34%) Turkish men believe violence against women is "occasionally necessary".
Pew Research Center, April 2013
On average, seven in 10 (70%) Muslims in each county in the greater part of the Muslim world, favour making Sharia the Law of the Land.
Of these, 58% favour whippings or cutting off the hands of thieves and robbers, 60% favour stoning as a punishment for adultery, and 53% favour the death penalty for apostasy.
18% of all Muslims say suicide bombing attacks against civilians in defence of Islam can be often/sometimes justified.
Nearly half (44%) believe in creationism; humans and other living things have always existed in their present form.
Pew Research Center, July 2011
Nearly two in three (64%) Muslims deny that Arabs (Muslims) carried out the 9/11 attacks. Only one in five (20%) believe Arabs (Muslims) were responsible.
Over half (56%) of Muslims first consider themselves as a Muslim. Only one in four (25%) first consider themselves as being a particular nationality.
Only 23% of Westerners first consider themselves as a Christian. Two in three (65%) first consider themselves as being a particular nationality.
Well over half (59%) of Westerners believe Muslims in their countries want to be distinct from the larger society.
Pew Research Center, December 2010
On average 43% of Muslims favour gender segregation in the workplace. This ranges from 85% in Pakistan to 11% in Lebanon.
One in two (49%) Muslims favour whippings or cutting off the hands of thieves and robbers, 53% favour stoning as a punishment for adultery, and 48% favour the death penalty for apostasy.
On average 65% say democracy is preferable to any other kind of government. This ranges from 81% in Lebanon to 42% in Pakistan.
3.4 Surveys – Muslims in Western Countries
Australian Research Council, March 2015
Three quarters of Australian Muslims think counter-terrorism policing and laws unfairly target their community. This has generated a community backlash.
(A limited and biased knowledge of how the West and the Islamic world have interacted in modern times may have a lot to do with this attitude.)
Muslim Australians identify much more strongly with their religion than they do with being an Australian.
WZB - Berlin Social Science Center, December 2013
Islamic fundamentalism is widespread in Europe.
(Fundamentalism is defined as the return to eternal and unchangeable rules laid down in the past; the rules allow only one interpretation and are binding for all believers; and they have priority over secular laws.)
Two thirds (65%) of Muslim Turkish and Moroccan immigrants believe religious rules are more important to them than the laws of the country in which they live.
German Interior Ministry, March 2012
More than one in five (22%) Muslims in Germany are against integration.
Among those who are not German citizens this rises to nearly half (48%) who clearly reject German majority culture.
Among the 14 to 32-year-olds a subgroup of religious extremists holds anti-western views and are reportedly prepared to use violence. This group amounts to about 15% of Muslims with German citizenship and about 24% for Muslims who are not German.
Macdonald-Laurier Institute, November 2011
Nearly half (47%) of Canadian Muslims believe they should be free to choose to be ruled by Sharia courts in the case of divorce and other family matters.
This is belief is also very high, a third (33%), among Muslims who do not attend mosque regularly.
Online Muslim dating service, January 2011
Over half of French Muslims say they will marry only another Muslim.
3.5 Surveys – International (non-Muslims)
The Huffington Post, April 2015
More than half (55%) of Americans have unfavourable view of Islam.
Global News, March 2015
Most Canadians (88%) say faces shouldn’t be covered at citizenship ceremonies.
Heute tabloid paper, February 2015
Seven in 10 (69%) Austrians say "Islam does not belong in Austria".
Metroxpress, February 2015
One in two (50%) Danish citizens favour a cap on the number of Muslims permitted to live in Denmark.
Bertelsmann Foundation, January 2015
More than half (57%) of Germans believe Islam poses a threat to Germany.
Six in 10 (61%) believe Islam is incompatible with the Western world.
Scanlon Foundation and Monash University, October 2014
One in four (26%) Australians feel very negative or somewhat negative towards Muslims.
(This is five times greater than any negative feelings towards Christians or Buddhists.)
Stern Magazine, August 2014
Over half (52%) of Germans believe Islam "does not belong in German society".
Friedrich Ebert Foundation, March 2014
Over half (56%) of Germans consider Islam an "archaic religion, incapable of fitting into modern life".
Berlingske newspaper, October 2013
Danes: We are too tolerant of Muslims.
Bertelsmann Foundation, April 2013
On average in Europe's largest countries over half (54%) of Europeans believe Islam is incompatible with the Western world.
46% say it is very threatening or fairly threatening.
Le Parisien, March 2013
80% of French public favour tougher anti-veil laws
Le Monde, January 2013
Three quarters (74%) of the French think Islam is intolerant.
The same number think it is incompatible with the values of French society.
(In comparison, 10% think Catholicism incompatible and 25% think Judaism incompatible.)
University of Bielefeld, January 2013
Only 19% of Germans believe that Islam is compatible with German culture.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, November 2012
German poll indicates a widespread fear of Muslims and Islam.
Association for Canadian Studies and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, March 2012.
Half (52%) of Canadians distrust Muslims.
Canadians believe discrimination against Muslims is "mainly their own fault"
IFOP, February 2012
More than two in five (40-47%) in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK, say the presence of a Muslim community is a threat to their country’s identity.
About three quarters (65-77%) say Muslims are not very or not at all integrated.
More than one in three (34-47%) say the cultural differences are too great.
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, March 2011
Half (47-60%) of Europeans say Islam is an intolerant religion.
Pew Research Center, July 2010
Seven in 10 (69%) Europeans approve a ban on veils that cover the whole face
4.0 Surveys - British Muslims
The sections above are the first three sections (the first 11pp of 120pp) of the report, "Survey of Surveys - Concerning Islam & Muslims". The full report is available only as a pdf.
If you would like a copy of the full report emailed to you simply email islamsurveyed[AT]gmail.com
The main sections of the report provide considerably more information on each survey and poll covered, including:
- A tabular summary of all significant results as well as those mentioned above;
- Further summary analysis and comment;
- Survey details such as sample size and interview method;
- Links to publishers' and research agency original reports and results;
- Summaries of and links to media coverage, press comment and articles.
5.0 Surveys - British People (non-Muslims)
6.0 Surveys - Muslims in Islamic Countries
7.0 Surveys - Muslims in Western Countries
8.0 Surveys - International (non-Muslims)
10 April 2015
Poll: Majority Have No Sympathy With Extremists
An exclusive poll suggests most Muslims think families are most responsible for stopping young people joining groups like IS.
More than a third of British Muslims say the actions of the authorities are contributing to the radicalisation of young people, according to an exclusive Sky News poll.
Some 39% of Muslims who were asked said the authorities, including police and MI5, were a factor in radicalising the younger generation, compared to 29% of Muslims who said they were not.
The research found the issue of young people travelling to fight with extremist groups, including Islamic State, or becoming so-called 'jihadi brides', remains highly controversial.
.... We asked 1,000 Muslims and 1,000 non-Muslims to share their opinions and found that while 71% of Muslims in the UK said the values of British society were compatible with those of Islam, 16% believed they were not.
[TOP RATED COMMENT ] Color me shocked.
[ANOTHER] So actually 29% of British Muslims (i.e. nearly one million Muslims) DON'T believe UK life is compatible with Islam. Surely that should be the headline!
[ANOTHER] Not integrated or assimilated and most Muslims don't want to be and thats the sad truth about people. The sad truth is that they have come to live in a free and open society but they form their own little ghettoes until it becomes like the medieval hole they came from?
As their numbers grow they seem to get more and more emboldened demanding special treatment and even different laws to live under [Sharia] and people in this country are getting a little bit fed up of them now and i mean Christians,Hindus,Jews and other faiths who rub along together with no issues. My fear is as their numbers increase their will at some time in the future be a flash point and civil unrest will ensue?
[ANOTHER] What absolute garbage! Yet again everyone else is to blame for everything EXCEPT the poor Muslims.
[ANOTHER] Of course it's the fault of the police..... Muslims never do anything wrong.
[ANOTHER] I would love to know exactly who (which NON mozlem population demographic) was targeted and where this survey was conducted. I would wager it was not conducted in Oxford, Rochdale, Rotherham or one of the cities or towns where the pakistani and other mozlem paedophile gangs have mass raped NON moslem British children or areas where izlamist thugs parade up and down demanding sharia law and special treatment for this insular minority group.
Once again we see the race card appear, use of the blame game and denial of the facts by mozlems in the UK. By far, most terror attacks and plots, atrocities are carried out across the world by the followers of the cult of izlam.
Large numbers of young "educated" mozlems,often from prominent families in the UK glorify and admire these murders and acts of cultural annihilation of other belief systems and justify this because their quran tells them to do it.
Even more disturbing is the desire amongst these "young educated mozlems" from Britain to join terror groups like ISIS etc. I wholly disagree with this "surveys" results and suggest the problem of radicalisation of mozlems in the UK lies 100% in the adherence to the texts of their quran and the what they are taught in their homes and mosques.
[ANOTHER] If Muslims don't like it in Britain there are plenty of other countries they can go to.
[ANOTHER] 16% should leave the UK then. That would be a start.
[ANOTHER] Well obviously the 52% should not be here, they should be in an Islamic country that suits their needs. I'll help them
[ANOTHER] Aren't they precious. Is there anything else they'd like us to change to suit them?
[ANOTHER] Simple solution: You have a problem with how we do things in the UK, we will pay, out of the public purse, for a one way flight for you to go to any country you want, and we'll keep your British passport here (if you have one).
I'd be happier for my tax money to go on that than almost any other public service I can think of.
[ANOTHER] Poor Sky, still distracted by the 'moderates' who mean absolutely nothing in the equation of civilisational differences.
It isn't the 3/4 Muslims who we are worried about. It is the one quarter of their ever growing population who are riding on the back of the entire religions level of devout fundamentalism, to establish Islamic extremism, that we are worried about. It is the 89% of Muslims in Pakistan who say they want the death penalty put in place for leaving the religion [PEW poll 2013] who we are worried about.
It is the upwards of 70% of Muslims in Egypt who also want the death penalty put in place for leaving Islam who we are worried about. It is the Saudi funded mosques and the silencing of all debate that we are worried about. It is our governments and their fear of being called 'Islamophobic' that we are worried about.
Islam has to be reformed. How will it be reformed if we accept it as it is, don't demand reformation and instead pretend there is nothing bad coming from its current spread?
Islamism is displacing and murdering hundreds of thousands of Christians right now, and all's the likes of Sky News can do is tell us there is no problem.
Why didn't you challenge these non-fundamental Muslims to speak out and protest against the Imams who are preaching fundamentalism? Why is it left to the likes of the EDL to demand change within Islam?
[ANOTHER] The koran encourages muslims to lie about their religion to non-muslims. Islam is not religion of peace, it's a religion of conquest. The only difference between an extremist and a "moderate" is a matter of patience. [Sky News] Read more
Poll reveals over a third of Muslims believe security services play role in radicalisation of young Muslims
The polls reveal some interesting findings on who young Muslims feel is contributing to radicalisation. According to the results, 38.9% of Muslims agreed with the statement “The actions of the police and MI5 are contributing to the radicalisation of young Muslims”. Those disagreeing that the police and MI5 were contributing to radicalisation was under a third, at 28.8%.
Earlier this year, the human rights campaign group, CAGE, argued that harassment by security services played a role in the radicalisation of Mohammed Emwazi, the student from London identified as “Jihadi John”, responsible for killing hostages for Islamic State. For making a causal link with perceived abuse by state authorities and radicalisation, CAGE, were widely condemned as “apologists for terror”. From the survey results, it would seem around 40% of British Muslims are also “apologists for terror”. [MEND] Read more
Poll: Majority Have No Sympathy With Extremists
.... The results found younger Muslims were more likely to see their values aligned to those of Britain, with 73% of those aged 18 to 34 agreeing, compared to 71% of those aged over 55.
Male Muslims were also more likely to agree - 78%, versus 64% for females.
On the issue of integration into UK society, the survey found 58% of non-Muslims believed their Muslim neighbours were not doing enough, with those aged over 55 more likely to be critical.
Two thirds of Muslims, however, said they were doing enough.
Anjum Anwar, one of the Muslims questioned in the survey, told Sky News: "Are we talking about integration or assimilation? That's the problem, because I see integration happening." [Sky News] Read more
MI5 and police partly to blame for radicalisation – say four in 10 British Muslims
Four in 10 British Muslims believe that police and MI5 are partly responsible for the radicalisation of young people who support extremists, new polling has found.
A survey commissioned by Sky News, also found that more than a quarter of British Muslims have some sympathy with those who have left to join fighters in Syria.
Among Muslim women and those under the age of 35, the figure rises to a third.
While almost three quarters of Muslims polled said they believe the “values of British society” are compatible with those of their religion, one in seven said they were not.
But the polling of 1,000 Muslims and 1,000 non-Muslims by Survation, also pointed to a growing sense of alienation between members of Britain’s fastest growing faith group and wider society.
A third of Muslims said they experience more suspicion from others than a few years ago.
The perception is backed up by polling of non-Muslims, of whom 44 per cent – and 49 per cent of men – admitted they were more suspicious of Muslims than they were.
Strikingly, only one in five (22 per cent) of non-Muslims saw Islam as compatible with British values, with just over half saying it is not. [The Telegraph] Read more
01 April 2015
Responses to recent YouGov poll on Islam and British values
A recent YouGov poll finds that 55% of British voters (based on a sample of 1641 adults) believe that "There is a fundamental clash between Islam and the values of British society"
The poll appears to have received little media attention – but here’s one comment on its findings:
The poll seems to reflect public concerns about so called “Muslim extremism” which may have been exacerbated by hostile media coverage and a plethora of government statements and policies over tackling radicalisation. [Harry’s Place] Read more
Islam and “British values” – do Brits believe them to be compatible?
.... of the 1641 adults polled by YouGov, only 22% said they felt “Islam is generally compatible with the values of British society”. Fifty five percent of people agreed with the statement “There is a fundamental clash between Islam and the values of British society”, while almost 25% didn’t adopt either statement or answered ‘don’t know’.
That is, more people opted not to offer a response to the statements than affirmed that “Islam is generally compatible with the values of British society”. And over half of those polled said they believed “There is a fundamental clash between Islam and the values of British society”.
The data broken down by party affiliation shows that UKIP supporters are most likely to believe in the clash of values between Islam and Britain (89%) and the Lib Dems least likely (38%) with the Conservatives taking second place after UKIP (68%) and Labour, third place (48%). [31 March, MEND] Read more
The majority of voters doubt that Islam is compatible with British values
.... A clear distinction must be made, Mrs May concluded, between followers of the Islamic faith, which is “entirely compatible” with British values, and extremists who claim there is a “fundamental incompatibility”. Hence the keystone of her new strategy is a proud promotion of “the values that unite us”.
Except they don’t unite us, according to a majority of the British public. As a recent survey by the YouGov-Cambridge Programme shows, a striking 55 per cent of British voters currently think “there is a fundamental clash between Islam and the values of British society”, compared with just 22 per cent – little over one in five – who say Islam and British values are “generally compatible”.
Among Tory supporters, this gap increases to 68 per cent who say “clash” versus 17 per cent who think “compatible”. Ukip supporters look almost unanimous on the issue (89 per cent “clash” versus 4 per cent “compatible”) while roughly half of Labour supporters take the negative view (48 per cent “clash” versus 27 per cent “compatible”) and Lib Dems are divided (38 per cent “clash” versus 39 per cent “compatible). [30 March, The Telegraph] Read more
12 December 2013
Do You Think The Wrong Thing?!
.... The reaction to the Glasgow story was reminiscent to that which followed the publication of a poll carried out by BBC Radio 1 in June of this year. When it was released in September, it transpired that of 1,000 young people polled, 27% said that they did not trust Muslims, with 44% saying they thought Muslims did not share the same views as the rest of the population.
On that occasion, too, the BBC and other media went into overdrive to work out what had gone wrong and how Britain could better "address" the problem that so many people thought this way.
Conversely, when the same poll showed that 15% of young people did not trust Jews, 13% did not trust Buddhists and 12% did not trust Christians, those facts were not deemed figures of significance. [Gatestone Institute] Read more
24 October 2013
More than half of Brits want full face veil banned - 81% support ban in schools, courts or hospitals
An exclusive ComRes poll for Channel 4 News showed that more than half of the public believe women should not be allowed to wear the niqab in public - with 55 per cent backing an outright ban similar to the one in France.
An even greater proportion, 81 per cent, say they support a ban on wearing the niqab in certain public places, such as schools, courts or hospitals.
Controversy has dogged the niqab in recent weeks. In September, a college in Birmingham was forced to drop a ban on Muslim face veils after a Channel 4 News report, but in the same month a judge ruled that Muslim women must remove the full face veil to give evidence.
However, he said that women would be allowed to wear the niqab when facing trial, and called on parliament to provide a definitive answer. [Channel 4 ] Read more
Niqab Ban Supported By More Than Half Of Britons, According To Channel 4 News Poll
More than half the British public think that Muslim women SHOULD NOT be allowed to wear the niqab in public. A ComRes opinion poll for Channel 4 found that 56% of respondents said they opposed the wearing of the full face-veil, while 55% said they would support a national ban, similar to legislation that was passed in France in 2010.
The niqab, which only shows the eyes of the wearer, has been the subject of intense debate in the UK, particularly over whether it should be permissible to wear the covering when giving evidence in court. The poll asked whether the niqab should be banned in public places, such as courtrooms, schools and hospitals, with 81% saying they would support such a ban. [The Huffington Post UK] Read more
25 September 2013
Many young Britons do not trust Muslims, poll finds
Some 27% of the thousand 18 to 24-year-olds questioned said they did not trust them, while fewer than three in 10 (29%) thought Muslims were doing enough to tackle extremism in their communities.
A similar proportion of the young people polled (28%) said the country would be better off with fewer Muslims and almost half (44%) felt Muslims did not share the same values as everyone else.
The BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat survey was carried out by the pollsters Comres in June after the soldier Lee Rigby was murdered in the street in Woolwich, south east London, in May. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more
Quarter of young British people 'do not trust Muslims'
More than a quarter of 18 to 24-year-olds in Britain do not trust Muslims, a BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat poll suggests.
Of the 1,000 young people questioned, 28% said Britain would be better off with fewer Muslims, while 44% said Muslims did not share the same values as the rest of the population.
Some 60% thought the British public had a negative image of Muslims.
An adviser on anti-Muslim hatred said the findings suggested young people needed to mix more. [BBC] Read more
24 January 2013
Fewer than one in four people believe Islam is compatible with British way of life
Fewer than one in four people now believe that following Islam is compatible with a British way of life, Britain's most senior Muslim minister will warn today.
Highlighting unpublished research showing that a majority of the country now believes that Islam is a threat to Western civilisation Baroness Sayeeda Warsi will say that “underlying, unfounded mistrust” of Muslims is in itself fuelling extremism. [independent.co.uk] Read more
Just 24% think Islam is compatible with being British
.... The Minister for Faith and Communities reveals stark polling conducted by YouGov which found that just 24 per cent of voters think Islam is compatible with being British, while more than half disagree. Only 23 per cent say Islam is not a threat to Western civilisation.
An unrepentant Lady Warsi, whose parents emigrated from Pakistan, said that she was right to speak out before and will use the new evidence to warn that the 'underlying, unfounded mistrust' of Muslims is fuelling extremism. Read more
16 September 2012
Voters more likely to back an anti-Muslim party than reject it – poll
.... In addition, 37% admitted that they would be more likely to support a political party that promised to reduce the number of Muslims in Britain and the presence of Islam in society, compared with 23% who said it would make them less likely.
Matthew Goodwin of the Extremis Project, an independent group monitoring extremism and terrorism that commissioned the research, said that, although Britain lacked a successful extremist political party, much of the public was susceptible to far-right ideology.
He said: "The results clearly point towards enduring public anxieties over the performance of mainstream political and business elites, immigration and also the role of Muslims and Islam in society." [guardian.co.uk] Read more
09 March 2012
BNP and UKIP voters' views on Muslims and Islam
What are their attitudes towards Muslims and Islam? At the 2010 general election, the BNP and UKIP pitched to citizens anxious over the role of Islam in society, by pledging to ban the burqa, deport radical preachers and (in the case of the BNP), end immigration from Muslim countries.
In our sample, both BNP and UKIP supporters expressed high levels of anxiety over Muslims and the 'threat' from their religion, Islam.
.... These results would suggest that supporters of the BNP and UKIP are not only deeply concerned about the issue of immigration, but also feel deeply uncomfortable about the perceived threat from Islam, and by extension the presence of its religious institutions at the local level. In short, large majorities in our sample appear absolutely convinced that Islam is threatening Western civilisation. [Islamophobia Watch] Read more
14 April 2011
Two thirds Brits want burqa ban
Two thirds of the British public agree with the statement ‘the burqa should be banned in Britain’, our poll has found, in the wake of the ban on the niqab, or any face covering (with a few exceptions) coming into force in France this week.
We polled over 2,000 nationally representative British adults, in a question that explained the burqa is a loose garment worn by some Islamic women, which covers the face and body in public, and which is removed when the woman returns home to her household out of the view of men who are not her immediate family members.
•66% agreed with the statement ‘the burqa should be banned in Britain’
•42% strongly agreed
•27% disagreed with the statement, with 9% strongly disagreeing
•Men and women are largely in agreement over the issue (68% of men and 65% of women think it should be banned)
•While older people are more likely than their younger counterparts to favour a ban (79% of the over 60s agreed with a ban, compared to 51% of those aged 18 to 24)
[YouGov] Read more
28 February 2011
Poll finds huge support for far right 'if they gave up violence' - And 52 per cent of Britons agree that ‘Muslims create problems in the UK’
Huge numbers of Britons would support an anti-immigration English nationalist party if it was not associated with violence and fascist imagery, according to the largest survey into identity and extremism conducted in the UK. [See details below]
A Populus poll found that 48% of the population would consider supporting a new anti-immigration party committed to challenging Islamist extremism ….
Anti-racism campaigners said the findings suggested Britain's mainstream parties were losing touch with public opinion on issues of identity and race.
The poll suggests that the level of backing for a far-right party could equal or even outstrip that in countries such as France, the Netherlands and Austria.
39% of Asian Britons against further immigration
According to the survey, 39% of Asian Britons, 34% of white Britons and 21% of black Britons wanted all immigration into the UK to be stopped permanently, or at least until the economy improved.
And 43% of Asian Britons, 63% of white Britons and 17% of black Britons agreed with the statement that "immigration into Britain has been a bad thing for the country".
Over half of all respondents agree "Muslims create problems in the UK"
Just over half of respondents – 52% – agreed with the proposition that "Muslims create problems in the UK".
The poll also identified a majority keen to be allowed to openly criticise religion, with 60% believing they "should be allowed to say whatever they believe about religion".
By contrast, fewer than half – 42% – said "people should be allowed to say whatever they believe about race".
Source: guardian.co.uk Read more
And another summary.
Half of Britain 'would vote for far-Right parties if they gave up violence'
Almost half the country would back a far-Right party if they gave up violence, an astonishing new poll revealed today.
A total of 48 per cent said that they would support a group that vowed to crack down on immigration and Islamic extremists.
They would also restrict the building of mosques and order the flag of St George or the Union Jack be flown on all public buildings.
In one of the most revealing questions, pollsters Populus asked people if they would back a party that ‘wants to defend the English, create an English parliament, control immigration and challenge Islamic extremism’.
A total of 48 per cent said they would either ‘definitely support’ or ‘consider supporting’ a party with such an agenda, if it shunned violence and fascist imagery.
…. In the 12 months to last September, 238,950 migrants were allowed into Britain, the highest figure since records began.
Sixty per cent of people thought immigration had been ‘a bad thing’ for England, against 40 per cent who said it had been ‘good’.
Thirty-four per cent said immigration should be stopped permanently or until the economy improved. The report also found opposition comes from all races, not just ‘white Britons’.
'And 52 per cent of Britons agree that ‘Muslims create problems in the UK’.
Source: MailOnline Read more
Details of Survey
The Searchlight Educational Trust commissioned the polling organisation Populus to carry out this survey.
With 5,054 respondents and 91 questions it is one of the largest and most comprehensive surveys into attitude, identity and extremism in the UK to date. The findings are in a major report called “Fear and Hope – the New Politics of Identity”. See full project report here.
01 September 2010
More Misleading and Pointless Islamist Propaganda
The Islamic Education and Research Agency (iERA) misreport one of the main findings of their study “Perceptions of Islam & Muslims” published last week. They say “75% (of the British non-Muslims surveyed) believed Islam and Muslims had provided a negative contribution to society”
The iERA are an international organisation committed to educating and informing humanity about the truth and noble message of Islam. [see Annex 1]
The finding was seized on by the Guardian who entitled their news report: “Three-quarters of non-Muslims believe Islam negative for Britain”
.... and ENGAGE, an organisation dedicated to promoting greater media awareness and political participation amongst British Muslims, headed its web news item: “New poll reveals 3/4 of UK population believe Islam is negative for Britain”
The finding is based on this table published in the study itself.
| What contribution do you think Islam and Muslims have had on British society? - % Who say: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very Negative | Quite Negative | No Contribution | Quite Positive | Very Positive | Not Stated |
| 14 | 22 | 39 | 19 | 2 | 4 |
For a start the English is incorrect. The question should have been either “What contribution do you think Islam and Muslims have made to British society?” or “What impact do you think Islam and Muslims have had on British society?”
The answers are recorded on a five way scale in which conventionally the middle position is neutral, the respondent here saying he/she doesn’t think the contribution has been either negative or positive (neutral in other words). The English goes adrift again as the middle position is labelled “No contribution” (which is not the same as a negative contribution).
The 75 percent headlined by the Guardian and ENGAGE can only be arrived at by including the 39 percent who are in reality neutral on this question (the most frequent answer). Otherwise it is only 36 percent who think Islam has made a negative contribution. Yes, “only”!
Well, a third of Britons thinking British Muslims make a negative contribution to society is better than three quarters thinking so.
The purpose of the research
This careless (and deceitful) approach shows up in other ways and is a sign we are dealing with token research.
The research is irrelevant, the authors have already decided what they want to say. They think their message has greater impact if it is linked to professional research. “We must be right. Here’s the evidence”. “This shows how important and necessary our work is”. That there might be different interpretations of the research, that it might not be adequate, is not on the cards.
Even though the study is entitled “Perceptions on Muslims and Islam: A study of the UK Population”, the executive summary is a statement of the iERA’s worldview. For example, it contains this long-winded statement:
“Only then are we giving people the opportunity to make an informed free choice as how to use that information, and until that point liberty to make profound choices about particular world views will not exist, particularly if all that was known before had negative spin, psychological barriers and bad experiences. Therefore, unless something changes, the current state of affairs will remain as a form of intellectual oppression as it keeps the door to enquiry slammed firmly shut.”
The executive summary says next to nothing about the research itself. There are pages explaining why the research is necessary and even a “theological backdrop” chapter, all this portraying the ideas and objectives of the iERA.
The message is simple. Britain must be invited to Islam. That’s it! This activity, a summons or invitation to Islam, is known as dawah.
You can read (or not) the whole thing here. A word of warning: even though a sophisticated publishing tool has been used to format the study, the publisher had little idea how to create a readable document, going overboard in the use of colours, the lines in the tables changing colour one after another in the manner of a rainbow, repeating identical chapter headings in the same font size from one page to the next, mislabelling tables, and making extensive use of white out of black. There is no contents page, an annoying omission.
Slagging off your rivals
As early as page 5 the study devotes a chapter to criticising the research carried out in June by YouGov on British perceptions of Muslims and Islam on behalf of the Exploring Islam Foundation (EIF) [see Annex 2] claiming that this research is technically and significantly inferior to what the iERA have done.
iERA even go to the trouble of extensively quoting professional research papers extolling face to face interviewing, the method employed by iERA. They really want to impress you.
[A summary of this EIF research is also published here.]
YouGov used self-completion on-line questionnaires completed by members of a panel who have agreed to be surveyed from time to time. Those who send in their questionnaire are not necessarily an accurate representation of the population at large. They are those who take the trouble to respond. They also don’t have the benefit of the presence of an interviewer. YouGov obtained and analysed results from 2152 people.
iERA boast their face-to-face interviews with a random sample chosen on the street makes their results more representative and meaningful. The fieldwork was done by DJS a UK-based market research firm. Someone should point out to the iERA that recruiting at random on the street involves “self selection” just as much as people on panels.
Not everyone is willing to stand on the pavement or in some public place talking to an interviewer, especially for a lot more than a few minutes as it must have been in this case; 24 questions each of which could take between 30 seconds to a minute to read out, consider, and answer carefully. iERA also boast that some questions had open-ended extensions asking “why do you say that” answers to which the interviewer had to record verbatim! It can also be said that someone at home with the time to think might give better considered answers.
iERA don’t make any comment on the size of their sample, 500, which is grossly inferior and hence less reliable compared to YouGov’s 2152 respondents.
The results
The highlights of the results according to iERA are given in the form of 28 bullet points. The first six and more prominently displayed are:
80% have less than very little knowledge about Islam
51% learnt Islam from school
95% had come into contact with the Bible
20% had come into contact with the Qur’an
93% had very little knowledge or no knowledge at all about the Qur’an
40% did not know who Allah is
The 40% result concerning Allah includes 16% who thought he was a Prophet of Islam, not an unreasonable mistake as respondents were asked to pick the correct answer from a list including possibilities such as “a month in the Islamic calendar” (no one chose that!).
A number of the results in this impressive list of 18 show a dislike or suspicion of Islam (though in some cases not as severe as reported by iERA because of their strange way of counting neutral answers).
(only) 2% responded positively concerning perceptions about Islamic 32% believed that Muslims are a major cause of community tension 70% did not disagree with the statement “Muslims preach hatred” 94% did not disagree with the statement “Islam oppresses women” 86% did not disagree with the statement “Islam is outdated”
Annex 3 gives a full analysis of these and other selected results.
The study also has a list of 18 recommendations. The first six are:
Disseminate the results and implement our recommendations Resource and finance existing dawah organisations Disseminate information about the Prophet Muhammad Develop a dawah strategy with student organisations Attend dawah training courses Create a new language by removing overtly religious connotations and building concepts
Further details are given in Annex 4 including what is meant by the amazing recommendation “Create a new language by removing overtly religious connotations and building concepts”
What is the point?
The iERA assume, as does the EIF, that the British dislike and suspicion of Islam is all down to ignorance. All would be well if only the British knew more about Islam, if they had read the Koran, had things explained to them in the right way.
But the British are not stupid. How much do you need to know about something to dislike it or reject it? You can also judge the worth of a thing or an idea by the results it produces. How it affects you or the world you live in. How many Britons read the Communist Manifesto or Das Capital?
We are witness daily to the effects of Islam. Take for a small start these recent news stories.
“Brazil offers asylum to Iran woman sentenced to stoning”
“Pakistanis overwhelmingly favor killing apostates”
“Claim of 'Islamic veil bus ban' thrown out”
“Sharia creeps into New Jersey courtroom – but gets short shrift on appeal”
“Iran cuts off hands from five thieves”
“Two Muslim women thrown out of pool for wearing 'burkinis'“
“Malaysian first wives and children oppose polygamy”
“Council tells schools to rearrange exams and cancel swimming for Ramadan”
“Morocco Continues to Purge Nation of Foreign Christians”
“Homely Homemaking Homebodies? Why the Quran Commands Muslim Women: “Stay in Your Homes””
For a fuller picture see this summary listing of Islam/Muslim news items over the last few months.
The usual objections are also addressed, namely: (a) The mainstream media is biased, putting the worst light on things and even making up stories. (b) Not all Muslims are the same. (c) The media concentrates on the bad news and ignores the good news.
More to the point
It would do a lot more good for everyone, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, if the thought and effort going into “inviting people to Islam” and “ informing humanity about the truth and noble message of Islam” went into changing the attitudes and practices of Muslims themselves.
It seems reform is a dirty word in Islam – you can’t reform something which is supposed to be perfect – but something like reform is needed. Out of the multitude of faces Islam presents to the world, the multitude of practices and beliefs, Muslims have to decide which are right for the modern age and which will enable good relations with the rest of humanity.
Annex 1 – The iERA
From the iERA website
“iERA is an international dawah organisation committed to educating and informing humanity about the truth and noble message of Islam.
Our work is focused around creating a mass movement in dawah, on a scale that would be unprecedented in modern history. As an academy, we support our work through research led initiatives which are developed as projects or ‘models’. For this reason iERA has a dedicated research department; the first of its kind for a Muslim organisation in the West. These projects have already made a big impression in the community; these include Mission Dawah, Muslim Now, One Reason and The BIG Debates.
In addition to this we have full time Islamic speakers (da’ees) who deliver lectures, seminars and training courses.
iERA looks to dovetail into existing dawah efforts, by enhancing their effectiveness, whilst exploring new and innovative methods to reach different audiences and breakdown barriers.”
The iERA website also gives a list of its Advisors which includes Zakir Naik and Bilal Philips both recently banned from entering the UK by Theresa May, the Home Secretary. See Also The Zakir Naik School of Comparitive Religion
Wiki defines dawah as follows
Da‘wah usually denotes preaching of Islam. Da‘wah means literally "issuing a summons" or "making an invitation", being the active participle of a verb meaning variously "to summon, to invite"
A Muslim who practices da‘wah, either as a religious worker or in a volunteer community effort, is called a da‘i, plural du‘at. A da‘i is thus a person who invites people to understand Islam through a dialogical process, and may be categorized in some cases as the Islamic equivalent of a missionary, as one who invites people to the faith, to the prayer, or to Islamic life.
Annex 2 – The EIF
From the EIF website
The Exploring Islam Foundation (EIF) specialises in authoring, publishing and marketing high quality resources which creatively explore the numerous aspects of Islam.
EIF was established to fulfil the following aims:
Challenge misconceptions surrounding Islam and Muslims Raise awareness about the belief, practice, history, and cultures of Islam Collaborate with organisations on humanitarian issues Highlight the contribution of Muslims to civilisation
Our vision is of establishing a Foundation that challenges the damaging stereotypes about Islam through the medium of creative resources. These information packages will provide a comprehensive insight to the faith. We envisage working across the spectrum of media outlets, from traditional print media to innovative e-media. We expect to build strong coalitions with like-minded organisations and campaigns that are addressing global challenges in which we have a common aim. We cannot possibly ignore issues like child poverty, climate change, third world development, Aids and war; to do so would be to disregard our duty towards one another, as Muslims, as humans.
People
The Foundation is managed by a board of British Muslim professionals from a diverse range of expertise – strategy consultants, magazine editors, journalists, authors, public-relation experts, art directors and marketing executives. The patron is Lord Adam Patel of the House of Lords.
Annex 3 – Selection of results in readable tabular form
| How much do you know about | ||
|---|---|---|
| % Who say | Islam | The Qur'an |
| Don't have any knowledge | 55 | 73 |
| Have very little knowledge | 25 | 20 |
| Have basic knowledge | 17 | 7 |
| Am knowledgeable | 3 | 1 |
| Am an expert | 0 | 0 |
| How would you best describe your perception of Islamic sharia law? - % Who say: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very Negative | Quite Negative | Neutral | Quite Positive | Very Positive | Not Stated |
| 16 | 14 | 64 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| How would you describe your perception of Muslims in general? - % Who say: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very Negative | Quite Negative | Neutral | Quite Positive | Very Positive | Not Stated |
| 11 | 16 | 55 | 15 | 3 | 1 |
| Do you think Muslims are the major cause of community tensions? - % Who say: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | Don't know | Not stated |
| 32 | 25 | 27 | 16 |
| "Muslims positively engage in society" - % Who: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disagree Strongly | Disagree Slightly | Neither Agree nor Disagree | Agree Slightly | Agree Strongly |
| 18 | 18 | 40 | 17 | 6 |
| "Muslims are terrorists" - % Who: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disagree Strongly | Disagree Slightly | Neither Agree nor Disagree | Agree Slightly | Agree Strongly |
| 20 | 17 | 39 | 17 | 7 |
| "Islam oppresses women" % Who: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disagree Strongly | Disagree Slightly | Neither Agree nor Disagree | Agree Slightly | Agree Strongly |
| 2 | 4 | 35 | 29 | 30 |
| "The media is negatively biased towards Islam and Muslims" % Who: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disagree Strongly | Disagree Slightly | Neither Agree nor Disagree | Agree Slightly | Agree Strongly |
| 9 | 14 | 48 | 20 | 8 |
| "Muslims preach hatred" - % Who: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disagree Strongly | Disagree Slightly | Neither Agree nor Disagree | Agree Slightly | Agree Strongly |
| 16 | 14 | 38 | 23 | 9 |
| "Islam is outdated" - % Who: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disagree Strongly | Disagree Slightly | Neither Agree nor Disagree | Agree Slightly | Agree Strongly |
| 7 | 7 | 50 | 19 | 17 |
| Would you like to know more about Islam? % Who say: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | Don't know | Not stated |
| 7 | 77 | 10 | 5 |
Annex 4 – Amazing Recommendations
These selected recommendations and the passages we have emphasized are perfect examples of the fanatical mind at work.
They also show the Islamist character of the iERA; that Islam is a political and social system as well as a religion.
(7) Create a New Language by Removing Overtly Religious Connotations and Building Concepts
…. in this post-secular society there seems to be no psychological or social drivers to increase an interest in religion, and particularly Islam. We recommend that a strategy needs to be developed to ensure that publications and all relevant messages are captured by the target audience.
This may include couching the language of relevant presentations and publications in a new language that is appealing and engaging. This can be done by removing overtly religious connotations and explaining the uniqueness and comprehensive nature of the message of Islam. [In order to attract attention they propose to hide what they stand for. Good of them to be so frank about their dishonesty. It is also a massive condemnation of what they stand for.]
In addition to this, concepts and messages that attract the intellectual and emotional context of the target audience must be used; with an obvious link to the key message that needs to be delivered.
(8) Promote Religion and Show Islam’s Uniqueness
We also recommend that there should be an overall strategy to show that Islam is not just a religion [Islamism] thereby highlighting the importance and relevance of the Islamic way of life. In addition to this we suggest that religion in general must be shown to have been misconstrued in our post¬secular society, thereby removing the mental obstacles apparent in the wider community.
Regarding showing that Islam is not just a religion, a focus may be required to divorce the apparent view that all religions are the same and that they have experienced the same history. It must be highlighted that Islam must not be viewed through the eyes of European history or understood by fallacious references to Catholic intolerance and coercion in the past.
Rather, Islam and its history must be viewed without a reference to the historical or intellectual baggage that is specific to Europe and Britain. Superimposing a specific negative history to understand another world view is fallacious and only skews understanding.
To really understand Islam, or any other world view for that matter, it must be understood as it intends to be. [So we ignore what Islam has achieved and its effects over the last 1500 years.]
(16) Promote Islamic Civilisation and Islam’s Solutions to Modern Problems
The trends of this research have strongly suggested that the non-Muslim population feel that religion is irrelevant in today’s modern society. [The research did not cover this; the relevance or otherwise of religion in general. (What on earth on the “trends of the research”?) It is what the iERA want you to believe and, of course, it helps justify their programme in their eyes.] Combined with apathy and indifference to religion we recommend the Muslims and subsequently non-Muslims are educated on the significant impact that Islamic civilisation has had on the Western world, its unique worldview in providing political and social solutions, including Islam’s ability to address unprecedented problems facing the modern world.
The issue of global economy is a good example to highlight Islam’s relevancy in the 21st century. Islam addresses the issue of global poverty by dealing with the number one problem in economics: the distribution of resources. This stems from the geo-political view announced by the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him). The Prophet stated that human beings have limited essential needs and there are enough resources in the planet to cater for these needs.
This is in contrast to the Western (or capitalist) view that there are unlimited needs and not enough resources. The latter creates excessive competition whereas the Prophetic view facilitates distribution, thereby dealing with the number one economic problem. Although this is not the space to elaborate in detail, it is a useful insight on the applicability of Islam in the modern world.
[This sounds like third-form economic analysis. What about production? Distribution isn’t much use unless there is something to distribute. Regarding a balance between man and nature it would be interesting to know what the iERA think about population growth especially as Islam seems so keen on women staying at home and producing children.]
[We might ask why so many Islamic counties are amongst the most poor and backward, apart from islands of enormous wealth – and not much distribution of that going on - brought about by the West’s need for oil.]
(19) Invite People to the Islamic Worldview
This research has highlighted an important view held by iERA that in order to be successful in dawah, dealing with all the apparent negative perceptions and misconceptions of the non-Muslim community may be counterproductive in wanting to convince them of the truth of the Islamic worldview.
…. A view adopted by iERA is that responding and dealing with each of these perceptions actually contradicts the essence of Islam. Islam fundamentally expounds upon the idea of submission to God and its moral philosophy is driven by the view that God is determinative of what good is, and since he has announced himself to mankind in the form of the Qur’an, then that becomes the anchor for all moral teachings.
Therefore it can be argued that linking all of our actions as Muslims to our worldview will not only show people the truth of the philosophical foundations of the Islamic faith but it will also contextualize and provide the conceptual framework for non-Muslims to understand aspects of Islam they had negative perceptions about, in addition to highlighting the validity and human relevance of our view for life. [This recommendation is utter baloney.]
01 August 2010
The statistics behind “Inspired by Muhammad”
A poster advertising campaign with the theme “Inspired by Muhammad” took place this June in London.
The campaign was organised and funded by the Exploring Islam Foundation (EIF).
The EIF specialises in authoring, publishing and marketing high quality resources which creatively explore the numerous aspects of Islam. They commisioned YouGov to undertake a national survey of mainstream perceptions towards Prophet Muhammad and the results of this survey led to the “Inspired by Muhammad” advertising campaign.
YouGov obtained online responses from 2152 non-Muslim persons on their surveys panel. The detailed results broken down by age, social grade, and regions, are available on the YouGov website
A summary of the results is given below. We also comment on the messages - what the EIF want to tell you - of the “Inspired by Muhammad” campaign itself. See further below.
The Statistics - Summary Results of YouGov Survey
| Generally speaking, how much do you feel you know about Islam? % Who say: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A great deal | A fair amount | Not very much | Nothing at all | Don't know |
| 2 | 20 | 60 | 17 | 1 |
##2
| On the whole, Muslims have a positive impact on British society % Who say: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly agree | Tend to agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Tend to disagree | Strongly disagree | Don't know |
| 3 | 16 | 31 | 23 | 18 | 9 |
##3
| On the whole, Islam is a violent religion % Who say: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly agree | Tend to agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Tend to disagree | Strongly disagree | Don't know |
| 9 | 21 | 22 | 25 | 12 | 11 |
##4
| Islam encourages repression of women % Who say: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly agree | Tend to agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Tend to disagree | Strongly disagree | Don't know |
| 27 | 41 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
##5
| Islam is a religion concerned with social justice (i.e. promoting fairness and equality) % Who say: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly agree | Tend to agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Tend to disagree | Strongly disagree | Don't know |
| 3 | 13 | 24 | 24 | 19 | 18 |
##6
| Islam promotes taking active measures towards protecting the environment % Who say: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly agree | Tend to agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Tend to disagree | Strongly disagree | Don't know |
| 1 | 5 | 29 | 16 | 13 | 36 |
The Campaign - What Muhammad (Really) Did
This campaign took the form of posters in Tube stations and other places communicating the following messages. We believe they are far fetched, even deceitful, and mislead people.
Message 1 "I believe in social justice. So did Muhammad"
In the Muhammadan faith, Sharia, its legal code based on the Koran and what Muhammad said and did, includes amongst other things; cutting peoples' hands off for stealing (as crazy as it sounds an example has recently been reported in the British media); stoning to death for adultery (an example has recently been reported in the British media); flogging for drinking alcohol; a Muslim’s life is worth more than a non-Muslims life; and homosexuality is punishable by death.
This is not social justice by any stretch of the imagination. This is confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights which stated: "sharia …. clearly diverges from Convention values, particularly with regard to its criminal law and criminal procedure, [and] its rules on the legal status of women …."
Message 2 "I believe in protecting the environment. So did Muhammad"
This claim is based on the belief that Muhammad forbade people from cutting down trees. This is not true, he had no hesitation in cutting down trees if that served his purpose.
Also the threat to the environment as understood by most people is from pollution and over population. Muhammadan beliefs and practices do not help population control.
Message 3 "I believe in women's rights. So did Muhammad"
Sharia stipulates that a woman's testimony is worth half that of a man's (a full explanation of this can be found on the website of the UK based Islamic Sharia Council); she doesn't have the right to unilateral divorce, a man may easily divorce his wife whereas a woman must argue her case and undergo a lengthy Sharia legal process; girls get half the inheritance of boys; and child custody is given to the father at a preset age irrespective of the welfare of the child.
The Islamic Sharia Council charges a fee for Muslims seeking a divorce, the fee for a man it is £100 and for women it is £250 because (they say) it is more work to process a woman's application as her word has to be corroborated.
Sharia law rules on child custody were described by judges in the House of Lords as ‘arbitrary and discriminatory’ in the case of M (Lebanon) v Home Secretary ([2008] UKHL 64).
This is not what anybody understands by “women’s rights”.
As noted above the European Court of Human Rights stated: sharia …. clearly diverges from Convention values, particularly with regard to …. its rules on the legal status of women …
21 July 2010
Majority of British adults want Burqa ban
The majority of British adults believe that the burqa, a loose garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions for the purpose of hiding a female’s body and face when out in public, should be completely banned in Britain, a recent poll on behalf of Channel 5 news has found.
67% of respondents agree that the burqa should be completely banned in Britain, with 42% of those in agreement feeling strongly.
The results come after MPs in France voted last week to ban the wearing of the full face veil in public places, and Tory MP Philip Hollobone introduced a private members’ bill proposing a similar ban in the UK. This led Immigration Minister Damian Green to label any ban on the burqa as ‘un-British’. [YouGov] Read more
02 March 2010
What the British think of Freedom of Speech
The religious section of 26th annual British Social Attitudes survey recently published (10 January, 2010) by NatCen, the UK’s largest independent social policy research organisation, asked several questions on Freedom of Speech. The results are summarised here.
Q. Some books or films offend people who have strong religious beliefs. Should books and films that attack religions be banned by law or should they be allowed?
| Should be allowed or banned - % saying: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Allowed | Banned | ||
| Definitely | Probably | Probably | Definitely |
| 33 | 38 | 16 | 11 |
The great majority of Britons support or tend to support freedom of speech (71%). They are against legal restrictions on criticising (attacking) a religion even though the followers of that religion might be offended.
A third (33%) are definitely against legal restrictions whereas only a tenth (11%) would definitely support them.
People also make a distinction between attack in the critical sense and attack that encourages violence (or at least uses relevant terminology) because when asked about “tolerance of religious extremists who claim their religion is the one true faith and other religions should be considered enemies”, the majority are clearly in favour of restricting the expression of such views.
The phrase “religious extremist” was underlined in the questionnaire, but there was no explanation of what it meant.
Nearly a half (45%) would definitely ban public meetings and a third (34%) would ban books. Only 6% would definitely allow meetings and 7% allow books.
See next two tables.
Q. There are some people whose views are considered extreme by the majority. Consider religious extremists [underlined emphasis in original], that is people who believe that their religion is the only true faith and all other religions should be considered as enemies. Do you think such people should be allowed to…
| Should such people be allowed to: - % saying: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Action | Allowed | Not allowed | ||
| Definitely | Probably | Probably | Definitely | |
| Hold public meetings to express their views | 6 | 18 | 24 | 45 |
| Publish books expressing their views | 7 | 27 | 23 | 34 |
Q. Using this card please tell me how much you agree or disagree with this statement. People have a perfect right to give a speech defending Osama Bin Laden or Al Qaeda.
| The right to give a speech defending Bin Laden or Al Qaeda - % who: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Agree | Disagree | ||
| Strongly | Somewhat | Somewhat | Strongly |
| 8 | 23 | 19 | 46 |
The sample base for each of the above three questions was 2247, 1975 and 2239 respectively. The sample represents the adult population of Great Britain.
Where the % figures don’t add up to 100% the difference is those who didn’t have an answer or who refused.
The full survey, British Social Attitudes, 26th Report, 2010, is available from SAGE, price £50.00.
The two sections concerning religion, Part 4 - Religion in Britain and the United States (this part includes the questions and statistics mentioned in this post), and, Part 5 - Religious faith and contemporary attitudes, can be purchased separately (£8.22 including VAT each) and downloaded from here.
01 March 2010
What the British think of religion and Muslims
(1) How religious are people?
(2) Is religious diversity good for Britain?
(3) What people think of Muslims
NatCen, the UK’s largest independent social policy research organisation, has published (10 January, 2010) the findings of its 26th annual British Social Attitudes survey concerning religion.
They immediately generated news headlines such as:
Britain divided by Islam, survey finds
Islam divides us, say the majority of Britons
Britons suspicious of Islam, survey reveals
New survey highlights growing UK public concern about Islam and Muslims
We summarise below the key figures supporting these headlines. Theories abound regarding the integration or otherwise of British Muslims and what the public think. Now we have an authoritative measure of the extent of the problem.
NatCen itself says “…. the adverse reaction to Muslims deserves to be the focus of policy on social cohesion, because no other group elicits so much disquiet”.
The full survey, British Social Attitudes, 26th Report, 2010, is available from SAGE, price £50.00.
The two sections concerning religion, Part 4 - Religion in Britain and the United States (this part includes the questions and statistics mentioned in this post), and, Part 5 - Religious faith and contemporary attitudes, can be purchased separately (£8.22 including VAT each) and downloaded from here.
In total Part 4 covers 25 questions organised under: Religious identity, belief and practice; Personal faith and religious authority; Religion and social division, and Religion and freedom of expression. Click the topic to see full list of questions asked.
(1) How religious are people?
The survey uses the answers to the questions on, religious identity (affiliation), belief in God, and practice (attendance at religious services) to classify people into one of three groups:
‘Religious’ if they identify with a religion, believe (however tentatively) in God, and attend services (even if less than once a year);
‘Unreligious’ if they do not regard themselves as belonging to a religion, do not believe and never attend;
‘fuzzy faithful’ (Voas, 2009): they identify with a religion, believe in God or attend services, but not all three. [Source Table 4.6 – p71]
| Religious typology - % Who are: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Unreligious | Fuzzy | Religious |
| Britain | 31 | 36 | 26 |
| United States | 4 | 24 | 70 |
(2) Is religious diversity good for Britain?
Q. How much do you agree or disagree with the statement “religious diversity has been good for Britain”. [Source Table 4.10 – p76]
| Religious diversity has been good for Britain - % Saying: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Religiosity | Agree | Disagree | ||
| Strongly | Somewhat | Somewhat | Strongly | |
| Unreligious | 8 | 35 | 22 | 32 |
| Fuzzy | 7 | 45 | 33 | 10 |
| Religious | 13 | 48 | 26 | 9 |
| All | 9 | 43 | 31 | 14 |
Q. Do you agree or disagree that “Britain is deeply divided along religious lines”. [Source – p76]
| Britain is deeply divided along religious grounds - % Who: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Agree | Nieither agree or disagree | Disagree |
| 52 | 28 | 16 |
This shows that around half the British public are concerned about divisions caused by religion. Judging from the answers to the following questions Islam has a lot to do with this.
(3) What people think of Muslims
Q. I’d like to get your feelings towards a number of different ethnic and religious groups.
I’ll read the name of a group and I’d like you to rate that group using something we call the feeling thermometer. Ratings between 50 degrees and 100 degrees mean that you feel favourable and warm toward the group.
Ratings between 0 degrees and 50 degrees mean that you don’t feel favourable and don’t care too much for that group. You would rate the group at the 50-degree mark if you don’t feel particularly warm or cold towards the group. Feel free to use the entire extent of the scale. [Source Table 4.13 – p79]
| Feelings towards different religious groups in Britain - % Who rate: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Religious group | Cool (0-49) | Neutral (50) | Warm (51-100) |
| No religion | 8 | 49 | 40 |
| Protestants | 6 | 44 | 47 |
| Catholics | 9 | 43 | 45 |
| Jews | 13 | 47 | 36 |
| Buddhists | 15 | 45 | 35 |
| Deeply religious | 29 | 41 | 27 |
| Muslims | 34 | 40 | 23 |
At least a third (34%) of the British public are negative about Muslims, not much more are neutral, and barely a quarter have positive feelings. This is in stark contrast to the low level of any negative feelings (6% - 15%) and much higher positive feelings about other religious groups, apart from the deeply religious.
The answers to two more questions underlined this result.
Q. Suppose some Muslims wanted to build a large Muslim mosque in your community. Would this bother you a lot, bother you a little, not bother you, or be something you welcome?
The other half of respondents were asked:
Suppose some Christians wanted to build a large Christian church in your community. Would this bother you a lot, bother you a little, not bother you, or be something you welcome? [Source – p79]
| Reaction to the building of a large mosque or church - % Who are: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Building | Bothered | Not bothered |
| Mosque | 55 | 45 |
| Church | 15 | 85 |
Q. Do you agree or disagree with the statement “nearly all Muslims living in Britain really want to fit in. [Source – p80]
| Nearly all Muslims living in Britain want to fit in - % Who: | |
|---|---|
| Agree | Disagree |
| 38 | 39 |
NatCen itself says in regard to these findings:
Education has a clear impact on attitudes towards Muslims; 44 per cent of respondents with no qualifications have negative feelings, as against 23 per cent of those with degrees.
Perhaps surprisingly, given the importance of education, there are no sharp age differences, although 18–24 year olds are less likely than people aged 65 and over to have negative feelings (34 and 41 per cent respectively).
Religiosity makes little difference to the prevalence of negative feelings towards Muslims, but the religious are almost twice as likely as the unreligious (31 per cent versus 17 per cent) to express feelings that are positive rather than neutral.
…. the adverse reaction to Muslims deserves to be the focus of policy on social cohesion, because no other group elicits so much disquiet.
(4) NatCen and the British Social Attitudes survey
NatCen (National Centre for Social Research) is Britain’s largest independent research organisation studying social policy. It was founded in 1969 and has a team of 350 permanent staff and a field force of 1200 freelance interviewers.
NatCen has conducted the British Social Attitudes survey annually since 1983. The 2008 survey consisted of 4,486 interviews with a representative, random sample of people in Britain.
The survey is funded by charitable and government sources. The questions in the 2008 survey were funded by the following government Departments: Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (now Business, Innovation and Skills); Children, Schools and Families; Health; Transport; and Work and Pensions.
Other funders came from: the Economic and Social Research Council; the Food Standards Agency; the Gatsby Charitable Foundation; the Hera Trust; the John Templeton Foundation; the Leverhulme Trust; and NORFACE.
The full survey, British Social Attitudes, 26th Report, 2010, is available from SAGE, price £50.00. It is edited by Alison Park, John Curtice, Katarina Thomson, Miranda Phillips, Elizabeth Clery and Sarah Butt.
The two sections concerning religion, Part 4 - Religion in Britain and the United States , and, Part 5 - Religious faith and contemporary attitudes, can be purchased separately (£8.22 including VAT each) and downloaded from here.
The questions asked and analysed in Part 4 are as follows.
Questions on religious identity, belief and practice
(1) Do you regard yourself as belonging to any particular religion? Which one?
(2) Which statement comes closest to expressing what you believe about God.
… I don’t believe in God
… I don’t know whether there is a God and I don’t believe there is any way to find out
… I don’t believe in a personal God, but I do believe in a higher power of some kind
… I find myself believing in God some of the time, but not at others
… While I have doubts, I feel that I do believe in God
… I know God really exists and that I have no doubts about it
(3) Would you describe yourself as:
… extremely religious
… very religious
… somewhat religious
… neither religious or non-religious
… somewhat non-religious
… very non-religious, or
… extremely non-religious?
(4) Apart from such special occasions as weddings, funerals and baptisms, how often nowadays do you attend services or meetings connected with your religion?
Questions on personal faith and religious authority
(5) How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
Practising a religion helps people to:
… find inner peace and happiness
… make friends
… gain comfort in times of trouble or sorrow
(6) At the present time, do you think religion as a whole is increasing its influence on British life or losing its influence?
(7) All in all, do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing?
(8) Do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
... Religious leaders should not try to influence how people vote in Elections
... Religious leaders should not try to influence government decisions
(9) If many more of our elected officials were deeply religious, do you think that the laws and policy decisions they make would probably be better or would probably be worse?
(10) Which of these two statements comes closest to your views:
... In matters of right and wrong, some people say it is important to faithfully follow the leaders and teachings of one’s religion.
... Others say it is more important to follow one’s own conscience
(11) Which of these statements comes closest to your views:
Some say it is okay for religious people to try to convert other people to their faith, others say that everyone should leave everyone else alone
(12) Some schools are for children of a particular religion. Which of the statements on this card comes closest to your views about these schools?
… No religious group should have its own schools
… Some religious groups but not others should have their own schools
… Any religious group should be able to have its own schools
Questions on religion and social division
(13) How much do you agree or disagree with the statement “religious diversity has been good for Britain”.
(14) How much do you agree or disagree that “all religious groups in Britain should have equal rights”.
(15) Do you agree or disagree that “Britain is deeply divided along religious lines”.
(16) People have different religions and different religious views. Would you accept a person from a different religion or with a very different religious view from yours.
… marrying a relative of yours?
… being a candidate of the political party you prefer?
(17) I’d like to get your feelings towards a number of different ethnic and religious groups.
I’ll read the name of a group and I’d like you to rate that group using something we call the feeling thermometer. Ratings between 50 degrees and 100 degrees mean that you feel favourable and warm toward the group.
Ratings between 0 degrees and 50 degrees mean that you don’t feel favourable and don’t care too much for that group. You would rate the group at the 50-degree mark if you don’t feel particularly warm or cold towards the group. Feel free to use the entire extent of the scale
(18) Suppose some Muslims wanted to build a large Muslim mosque in your community. Would this bother you a lot, bother you a little, not bother you, or be something you welcome?
The other half of respondents were asked:
Suppose some Christians wanted to build a large Christian church in your community. Would this bother you a lot, bother you a little, not bother you, or be something you welcome?
(19) Do you agree or disagree with the statement “nearly all Muslims living in Britain really want to fit in.
Questions on religion and freedom of expression
(20) Consider religious extremists, people who believe that their religion is the only true faith and all other religions should be considered as enemies. Do you think such people should be allowed:
… to hold a public meeting to express their views?
… to publish books expressing their views?
(21) In Britain, respondents were invited to agree or disagree with the view that:
People have a perfect right to give a speech defending Osama bin Laden or al Qaeda
(22) Some books or films offend people who have strong religious beliefs. Should books and films that attack religions be banned by law or should they be allowed?
(23) A different question was asked in the United States, in view of the strong constitutional (and ideological) support for free speech.
There are always some people whose ideas are considered bad or dangerous by other people. For instance, somebody who is against all churches and religion … If such a person wanted to make a speech in your community against churches and religion, should he be allowed to speak, or not?
… If some people in your community suggested that a book he wrote against churches and religion should be taken out of your public library, would you favour removing this book, or not?
(24) Should people be allowed to dress in a way that shows their religious faith, by wearing veils, turbans or crucifixes?
(25) Should people who work with the general public be allowed to dress in a way that shows their religious faith, by wearing veils, turbans or crucifixes?
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