Anti-Muslim sentiments on the rise in Europe

LONDON: Even though Islam is fast becoming the preferred religion across Europe, vilification of Muslims has been found to be rampant across many of its countries. As many as 61% of Italians have been found to have strong anti-Muslim sentiments, while the number stands at 56% in Poland and 42% in Spain. One in every 4 people in France and Germany has been found to feel uncomfortable about Muslims. The British have emerged as the only ones to be more favourable towards Muslims being part of their society with only 19% saying they don't view Muslims positively. These are the findings of the Pew Research Centre Survey released on Wednesday. The finding comes days after Islam was found to be the fastest growing religion in the UK. In the last two years, the number of Muslims in Britain grew by a million. This also comes after Muhammad emerged as the commonest first name given to baby boys born in London in 2012. The name was also second commonest among new born male babies across UK and Wales the same year. The 2015 Pew Research Centre survey was conducted after the Charlie Hebdo massacre and the simultaneous attack on a Jewish grocery store perpetrated by radical Islamists in Paris. The survey said, "Just over half (52%) in Spain also hold positive views of Muslims. Younger French, British and Italians, ages 18-29, have significantly more favourable views of Muslims than their elders, ages 50 and older. Only in Italy and Poland do negative opinions about Muslims outweigh affirmative views, by almost two-to-one: 61% to 31% in Italy and 56% to 30% in Poland." It added, "Anti-Muslim sentiment is disproportionately a right-wing phenomenon in Europe. French who place themselves on the right (37%) of the political spectrum are more likely than people on the left (15%) to bear unfavourable views of Muslims, by 22 percentage points. There is a similar 21-point differential between the attitudes of Germans on the right (36%) and Germans on the left (15%). Seven-in-ten Italians who consider themselves on the right have unfavourable views of Muslims, as do nearly half (49%) of self-avowed Italians on the left. Notably, more than six-in-ten Poles on the left (63%) see Muslims in an unfavourable light, similar to the 59% on the right." TOI