• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
 
1615 L Street, N.W., Suite 700Washington, D.C. 20036 Tel (202) 419-4350Fax (202) 419-4399
 
www.pewglobal.org 
FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 2006, 2:00 PM EDT
Europe’s Muslims More ModerateTHE GREAT DIVIDE: HOW WESTERNERS AND MUSLIMS VIEWEACH OTHER
13-Nation Pew Global Attitudes Survey
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
 Andrew Kohut, Director Carroll Doherty, Associate Director Richard Wike, Senior Project Director (202) 419-4350www.pewglobal.org 
 
 
Europe’s Muslims More ModerateTHE GREAT DIVIDE: HOW WESTERNERS AND MUSLIMS VIEWEACH OTHER
fter a year marked by riots over cartoon portrayals of Muhammad, a major terroristattack in London, and continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, most Muslims andWesterners are convinced that relations between them are generally bad these days.Many in the West see Muslims as fanatical, violent, and as lacking tolerance. Meanwhile,Muslims in the Middle East and Asia generally see Westerners as selfish, immoral and greedy – as well as violent and fanatical.A rare point of agreement betweenWesterners and Muslims is that both believe thatMuslim nations should be more economically prosperous than they are today. But they gauge the problem quite differently. Muslim publics have anaggrieved view of the West – they are much morelikely than Americans or Western Europeans to blame Western policies for their own lack of  prosperity. For their part, Western publics instead point to government corruption, lack of educationand Islamic fundamentalism as the biggestobstacles to Muslim prosperity. Nothing highlights the divide betweenMuslims and the West more clearly than their responses to the uproar this past winter over cartoon depictions of Muhammad. Most people inJordan, Egypt, Indonesia and Turkey blame thecontroversy on Western nations’ disrespect for theIslamic religion. In contrast, majorities of Americans and Western Europeans who have heardof the controversy say Muslims’ intolerance todifferent points of view is more to blame.The chasm between Muslims and the West is also seen in judgments about how the other civilization treats women. Western publics, by lopsided margins, do not think of Muslims as
A
 
Relations BetweenMuslims and Westerners
32233314281823294149143139393010247066616153626058236458545325775255
U.S.GermanyFranceSpainGreat BritainRussiaBritish MuslimsGerman MuslimsFrench MuslimsSpanish MuslimsTurkeyEgyptJordanIndonesiaPakistanNigerian MuslimsNigerian ChristiansGenerally goodGenerally bad
 
 2“respectful of women.” But half or more in four of the five Muslim publics surveyed say thesame thing about people in the West.Yet despite the deep attitudinal divide between Western and Muslim publics, the latestPew Global Attitudes survey also finds that the views of each toward the other are far fromuniformly negative. For example, even in the wake of the tumultuous events of the past year,solid majorities in France, Great Britain and the U.S. retain overall favorable opinions of Muslims. However, positive opinions of Muslims have declined sharply in Spain over the pastyear (from 46% to 29%), and more modestly in Great Britain (from 72% to 63%).For the most part, Muslim publics feel more embittered toward the West and its peoplethan vice versa. Muslim opinions about the West and its people have worsened over the past year and by overwhelming margins, Muslims blame Westerners for the strained relationship betweenthe two sides. But there are some positive indicators as well, including the fact that in mostMuslim countries surveyed there has been a decline in support for terrorism.The survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project wasconducted in 13 countries, including the United States, fromMarch 31-May 14, 2006.
1
It includes special oversamples of Muslim minorities living in Great Britain, France, Germany andSpain. In many ways, the views of Europe’s Muslims represent amiddle ground between the way Western publics and Muslimsin the Middle East and Asia view each other.While Europe’s Muslim minorities are about as likely asMuslims elsewhere to see relations between Westerners andMuslims as generally bad, they more often associate positiveattributes to Westerners – including tolerance, generosity, andrespect for women. And in a number of respects Muslims inEurope are less inclined to see a clash of civilizations than aresome of the general publics surveyed in Europe. Notably, theyare less likely than non-Muslims in Europe to believe that thereis a conflict between modernity and being a devout Muslim.
1
In addition, some questions were asked in China and Japan.
Are Muslims‘Respectful of Women’?
 
Yes* No
Non-Muslims in…
% %
 
Great Britain 26 59France 23 77U.S. 19 69Germany 17 80Spain 12 83
Are Westerners?
Muslims in...
% %
 
Spain
82
13France
77
23Germany
73
22Great Britain 49 44Turkey 42 39Egypt 40 52Indonesia 38 50Jordan 38 53Pakistan 22 52
* Percentage who associatecharacteristic with Muslims/peoplein Western countries.
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...