Survey finds growing European negativity for Muslims, Jews

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Says majority of Muslims worried about rise of extremism
* Around 50 percent respondents in Germany, Spain rate Muslims negatively

WASHINGTON: Negativity towards Muslims and Jews is growing among Europeans, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project.

The survey found that most Muslims residing in Muslim majority countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Tanzania, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Nigeria worried about the rise of extremism at home and abroad. Numerous Muslims also identified struggles within their countries between people wanting modernisation of the society and those dedicated to maintaining fundamentalism. Regarding people’s attitudes toward Jews, Britain was the survey’s only European country to report no significant increase in anti-Jewish attitudes. The survey found just one in 10 British respondents held anti-Jewish views, with similar numbers of Americans reporting negative views against Jews.

Germany, Spain: The 2008 report, released on Wednesday, found around half or more of respondents in Spain and Germany rated Muslims unfavourably - 50 percent in Germany, compared with 46 percent in 2004; 52 percent in Spain, compared with 37 percent in 2005 and 60 percent in 2006.

Again, the United States and Britain had the fewest respondents with negative views of Muslims, both 23 percent. In Britain, that was up from 18 percent in 2004, and it was down in the United States from 31 percent in 2004. The survey found that optimistic views prevailed in most places about Christians, but added that unfavourable views of Christians had surged in some countries during the last four years. It said one of such places was Turkey, where unfavourable views of Christians have accompanied a rise in unfavourable attitudes towards Jews. ap

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