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SOCIAL ISSUES & POLLS
Survey highlights Islam-West rift
DID ARABS
CARRY OUT 9/11?
British Muslims: 56% No
French Muslims: 46% No
Indonesia: 65% No
Egypt: 59% No
Turkey: 59% No
Jordan: 53% No
(Source: Pew Center)
Some saw the cartoon row as sign of a "clash of civilisations".
Deep mutual suspicions exist between the Muslim
world and the West, a survey of global opinion suggests. Many
Westerners see Muslims as fanatical, violent and intolerant, according
to the study by the Pew Research Center in Washington. Muslims, for
their part, tend to view the West as selfish, immoral, and greedy - as
well as fanatical and violent - the survey says. The researchers
canvassed the opinions of 14,000 people in 13 countries.
Insiders say a string of events, from last year's London
bombings to the more recent row over cartoons satirising the Prophet
Muhammad, appear to have taken their toll on relations between Islam
and the West. The Pew Research Center's survey, published on Thursday,
speaks of a "great divide" between the two. It says that Muslims and
Westerners blame each other for deteriorating relations. Muslim people
"have an aggrieved view of the West" and are "much more likely than
Americans or Western Europeans to blame Western policies for their own
lack of prosperity", the authors contend. By contrast Western publics
say Muslims are held back by "government corruption, lack of education
and Islamic fundamentalism", they add. The report says the "chasm"
between Muslims and the West is also seen in judgments about how the
other side treats women. Westerners, by large margins, do not regard
Muslims as "respectful of women", while majorities in four of the five
Muslim countries said the same about the West. Despite the divide,
attitudes are not uniformly negative. Solid majorities in France, the
US and Britain retain overall favourable opinions of Muslims, while
positive views of Muslims have declined sharply in Spain (from 46% to
29%), the survey notes. It says about eight in 10 people in both Spain
and Germany associate Islam with fanaticism - a view that is less
prevalent in France (50%), Britain (48%) and the US (43%). Likewise,
Muslim opinion is far from uniform, with Muslim minorities in Europe
often attributing positive attributes to Westerners - including
tolerance, generosity, and respect for women. On the other hand, in
Muslim countries in the Middle East and Asia large majorities describe
the West as "selfish", "arrogant", and "violent". Muslims and
Al-Qaeda: In one of the survey's most striking findings,
majorities in Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan said they did not
believe Arabs carried out the attacks on the US on 11 September 2001.
The report says this attitude is not limited to Muslims in
Muslim-dominated countries - 56% of British Muslims said the same. The
survey cited a dramatic drop in support for Osama Bin Laden in Jordan
as a sign of falling support for terrorism in Muslim countries. Less
than 1% of respondents in the country - hit by triple hotel bombings
last November - expressed confidence in Bin Laden, down from a quarter
last year. Confidence in the al-Qaeda leader had also fallen in
Pakistan, where 38% of people expressed some confidence in him, down
from 51%. However 61% of Nigerian Muslims had at least some confidence
in bin Laden, a sharp rise from 44% in May 2003.
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Poll: Public opposes Olmert's
Convergence Plan 56%:37%
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