♻RetweetGermans Negative on Islam, Poll Shows
Sat, May 20, 2006 at 8:34:59 am PDT
Despite relentless governmental attempts to promote tolerance and multiculturalism, a new study shows that an overwhelming majority of Germans mistrust Muslims and Islam. (Hat tip: LGF readers.)
Experts fear new conflicts after a study published this week showed most Germans doubt the Western and Islamic worlds can peacefully coexist. Mistrust of the 3 million Muslims living in Germany appears to be growing.
In spite of official attempts to promote dialog among religions, distrust of Islam continues to grow, with 60 percent of Germans expecting tension between traditional German society and immigrants from Muslim countries, according to an Allensbach study commissioned by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.
“Germans are increasingly of the opinion that a lasting, peaceful coexistence with the Islamic world will not be possible,” the researchers said in the survey, released Wednesday.
Some 56 percent of Germans said they believed a “clash of cultures” already exists, partly a result of recent incidents that received a large amount of media attention, according to the survey’s authors Elisabeth Noelle and Thomas Petersen.
The case of a Berlin “honor killing,” a quarrel over two Bonn students who wore burkas to school and discussions concerning increasing schoolyard violence among immigrant children have all made headlines in the German press recently.
“In view of the diffuse feeling of being under threat, and the suspected intolerance of Islam, the readiness of Germans to show tolerance to the Muslim faith is sinking,” Noelle and Petersen wrote.
More details at Expatica: Germans negative on Islam, poll shows.
Asked if they though Christianity and Islamic could co-exist peacefully, 61 per cent of those surveyed said they believed there would always be “major conflicts” between both faiths.
Some 91 per cent said they associated Islam with oppression of women, up from 85 per cent in 2004.
The statement that Islam was dominated by fanaticism was shared by 83 per cent, compared to 75 per cent two years ago, the poll showed.
A total of 71 per cent said Islam was intolerant, up from 66 per cent in 2004.
Asked if there should be a ban on the building of mosques in Germany as long as the building of churches in some Islamic states is forbidden, 56 per cent agreed, said the poll.
There is even considerable backing for ending Germany’s constitutional right of freedom of religion with regard to Islam, the poll showed.
Asked if strict limits should be imposed on the practice of Islam in Germany to protect the country, 40 per cent said they would support such moves.
Frank says:
