One-quarter of adult Britons blame Muslims for the existence of Islamophobia in the UK, according to a ComRes poll of 1,004 adults aged 18 and over undertaken by telephone between 8 and 10 July 2011, and published on 21 July.
The survey was commissioned by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, in the run-up to its annual convention on 22-24 July, ‘in order to inform its plans to counter the tide of prejudice against Islam and highlight strategies to promote better community relations’.
The media were the group most likely to be blamed for Islamophobia, by 29% of the entire sample, rising to 40% among those aged 18-24 (against 18% of over-65s). Far-right political movements were cited by 13%, and politicians and government by 10%.
Muslims abroad (14%) were seen as more responsible for domestic Islamophobia than Muslims in the UK (11%). 1% mentioned the police, 4% other causes, 1% denied that Islamophobia existed in the UK, and 17% expressed no opinion.
Asked whether the Qur’an justified the use of violence against non-Muslims, only 14% agreed that it did, with 65% disagreeing and 21% uncertain. Dissentients were particularly found among the 18-24s (75%) and Scots (72%).
Although replies were disaggregated by religious affiliation, Christians and those professing no religion alone were sufficiently numerous for analysis. The latter were more well-disposed to Muslims than the former, but the difference on both questions was not substantial.
The computer tabulations for the poll, and the associated press release from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, are available at:
http://www.comres.co.uk/poll/499/ahmadiyya-muslim-association-uk-islamophobia-survey.htm
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