Thu. Jul. 12, 2007
IslamOnLine
CAIRO — The majority of Britons and Scotts still retain a positive view of Islam as a religion of peace despite the damage done to its image by the recent terrorist plots in London and Glasgow, according to a new poll released Thursday, July 12.Damaged:
"Despite the failed car bomb attacks, 60 percent of people believe that Islam is fundamentally a religion of peace," said Paul Woolley, director of Theos think tank which conducted the poll.
The Scotts are the most positive of all regions towards Islam, the poll found.
Nearly 69 percent of Scottish respondents believe Islam is a religion of peace against only 7 percent who don't.
"The swift condemnation of the attacks and the active stance taken by Muslim leaders against extremism has clearly helped to build confidence and national solidarity," said Woolley.
...The umbrella Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) organized on Saturday, July 7, a high-profile meeting of senior Muslim community leaders and imams to discuss radicalism in Britain.
A declaration issued by participants strongly condemned the Glasgow and London plots and urged all Britons, Muslim and non-Muslims, to stand united against the threat of terrorism.
A recent Populus survey showed that an overwhelming 93 percent of British Muslims think that suicide attacks on civilians in the UK cannot be justified and 86 percent rejected targeting military establishments.
It found a whooping 98 percent of those polled said they would feel shame if a family member decided to join Al-Qaeda.
The Theos survey, however, found that the failed attacks have harmed the image of the Islamic faith.
More than seven in ten people (71%) believe that the attacks have given Islam a bad name.
Nearly 54 percent also said that the attacks have damaged the reputation of the faith in general.
The survey found that young people are the most group likely to see Islam as a violent religion.
Nearly 28 percent of 18-24 year olds believe Islam is fundamentally a religion of war which sits uneasily with modern Western culture compared with 17 percent of the overall population and only 13 percent of those aged 65.
Less than half of all 18-24 year olds (48%) see Islam as a religion of peace, compared with 60 percent or over for every other age group, the poll found.
"The trend that will alarm the Government and community groups most is that young people, who are generally more positive about spirituality, are so much more negative about Islam than the population as a whole," said Woolley.
He called for closer cooperation between the government and Muslim leaders to help avoid deteriorating ties with the Muslim minority, estimated at nearly 2 million.
"This is something that we should be concerned about if we are to foster social cohesion and avoid any ‘clash of civilizations’," said Woolley.
"We need to build opportunities for mutual understanding and co-operation and avoid simplistic and knee-jerk reactions."
Click to Read the Poll
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