MUSLIMS IN THE WEST

Americans are more than twice as likely to express prejudice against Muslims than they are against Christians, Jews or Buddhists, a new survey found. Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they have little or no knowledge of Islam. Still, a majority dislikes the faith.

The analysis is from the Gallup World Religion Survey and is part of a project on finding ways to increase understanding between Americans and Muslims. President Barack Obama and his administration want to improve America's image in the Muslim world. Many analysts who study extremism also say that US Muslims who feel alienated from the broader society resist integrating, potentially becoming more vulnerable to radical ideas.

In the poll, just over half of Americans said they felt no prejudice against Muslims. However, 43 percent acknowledged at least “a little” prejudice against Muslims, a significantly higher percentage than for the other four faiths in the survey. About 18 per cent of respondents said they had some level of prejudice against Christians, while the figure was 15 per cent toward Jews and 14 per cent toward Buddhists.

Asked about knowledge of Islam, 63 per cent of Americans say they have “very little” or “none at all.” A large majority of respondents believe most Muslims want peace.

Yet, 53 per cent of Americans say their opinion of the faith is “not too favourable” or “not favourable at all.” By comparison, 25 per cent of Americans say they have unfavorable views of Judaism, while 7 per cent say they have “some” or “a great deal” of prejudice toward Jews. Personally knowing a Muslim is not linked to a lower level of prejudice, although not knowing a Muslim is related to the greatest level of bias. The authors of the report say this finding underscores the need for better education on what Islam teaches. “What really seems to impact one's perception of a group much more than knowing an individual is having a positive opinion of that group's distinguishing characteristic, which in this case is their faith,” said Dalia Mogahed, senior analyst and executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. “That one person being nice enough could simply be explained as that person being an exception.” Respondents who say they attend religious services more than once a week are significantly more likely to have a favourable view of Muslims. Mogahed said people who are more religious generally consider prejudice a moral evil and often have respect for the devout of other faiths.

Researchers also found a link between prejudice against Jews and Muslims. Americans who acknowledged “a great deal” of bias toward Jews were much more likely to feel the same about Muslims. The survey results could not explain why the two prejudices are linked. Mogahed said bias against both groups should be tracked and studied together to understand the dynamic.

“Groups working against the two types of prejudices should perhaps form a closer alliance,” she said.

The report, from the Muslim West Facts Project, a partnership of Gallup and the Coexist Foundation, is based on a random telephone survey of more than 1,000 adults, conducted from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13 of last year. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

Europe's treatment of its Muslim residents will test the region's commitment to equal rights

Effective and sustainable measures are urgently needed at the city, national and EU levels to tackle religious discrimination, according to a report released on December 15, 2009 by the Open Society Institute's At Home in Europe Project.

"Europe needs to live up to its promise of an inclusive, open society," said Nazia Hussain, director of OSI's At Home in Europe project. "Switzerland's recent ban on minarets is a clear sign that anti-Muslim sentiment is a real problem in Europe. Too many Europeans believe that religious identity is somehow a barrier to integration, yet the majority of Muslims surveyed identify strongly with the city and country where they live. The role of the city is crucial in tackling discrimination but also in paving the way for inclusion of different people".

Muslims in Europe: A Report on 11 EU Cities is the culmination of over 2,000 one-on-one in-depth interviews and more than 60 focus groups with Muslim residents as well as interviews with local government officials, Muslim leaders, academics, journalists, and activists in select neighbourhoods in 11 cities of seven countries: Amsterdam and Rotterdam, Antwerp, Berlin and Hamburg, Copenhagen, Leicester and London, Marseille and Paris, and Stockholm. The 11 city-specific reports, to be released later, highlight positive examples of change at the local level and analyze how authorities are addressing challenges related to integration in sectors such as education, employment, health and the media.

About 20 million Muslims live within the European Union, mostly in capital cities and large industrial towns. They are a diverse and growing population of citizens as well as newly arrived migrants. Though the majority of Muslims are a long-standing and integral part of the fabric of their cities, many still experience discrimination and suspicion. This complex situation presents Europe with one of its greatest challenges: how to effectively ensure equal rights and social cohesion in a climate of political and social tension, global economic recession, and rapidly expanding diversity.

"There is very little official data available on Europe's Muslim and minority populations. What does exist is either anecdotal or extrapolated and contributes to an inaccurate picture of Muslim communities and minorities in Europe and a lack of understanding of the experiences and concerns of these communities," said Hussain. This body of work will offer new data on the everyday situation in Muslim communities and concrete recommendations for improving living conditions. It also points to how communities, regardless of faith, have largely the same concerns. Where they differ is how they are treated and viewed."

Muslims in Europe: A Report on 11 EU Cities is available online at www.soros.org/initiatives/home.n