Tuesday 3 December 2013

Attitudes to Islam in the West

An interesting recent article from Prof Daniel Pipes:
As non-Muslims come to understand the Islamist challenge, anti-Islamic sentiments in the West are increasing, probably at a faster rate than Islamic practices. As anti-Islam trumps Islam, (I have concluded) opinions "will grow yet more hostile to Islamism over time. In this way, Islamist aggression assures that anti-Islamism in the West is winning its race with Islamism."
Correct prediction? To keep track, this weblog entry documents the course of Western public opinion on a bundle of topics connected to Islam, including democracy, immigration, jihad, Shari'a, and women. To start with, two polls:
Germany, as reported by the Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach in November 2012:
  • 56 percent: striving for political influence
  • 60 percent: revenge and retaliation
  • 64 percent: violence
  • 68 percent: intolerance toward other faiths
  • 70 percent: fanaticism and radicalism
  • 83 percent: discrimination against women
In contrast, only 7 percent of Germans associate Islam with openness, tolerance, or respect for human rights.
France, mostly from early 2013:
Australia, from the Roy Morgan Research Ltd in October 2013 and reported today:
  • 38 percent: a growing Islamic population and Islamic immigration are bad for Australia
  • 44 percent: strong, clear link between Islam and terrorism
  • 50 per cent want the Shari'a banned
  • 53 percent: ban the burqa from public spaces
  • 57 percent: Concerned about Islam in the world today
  • 70 percent: Australia is not becoming a better place because of Islam.
Daniel Pipes Comment: Negativity toward Islam is much less pronounced in Australia than France and Germany. Will it stay low or increase over time? I expect the latter. (November 24, 2013)