By Ahmed J Versi
Muslims in the UK, France and Germany feel more loyalty towards the country they live in than the general public, according to a Gallup poll published on May 7.
The Gallup Coexist Survey charting the attitudes of Muslims and the wider public shows that religion and national identity are complementary rather than competing and dispels the myth that Muslims do not feel loyalty to their country.
British Muslims identify with Britain far more than the general public and have more confidence in the country’s institutions.
The survey found that 77% of British Muslims were loyal to Britain compared to only 36% of the general public. However, nearly half of the British public (49%) said British Muslims were not loyal to Britain.
Contrary to the prevailing stereotype, more British Muslims (67%) prefer to live in mixed neighbourhoods than the British public (58%).
British Muslims have more confidence in democratic institutions than the general public: judicial system (76% against 55%), financial institutions (62% against 56%), honesty of elections (83% against 57%) and national government (40% against 32%). However Muslims have less confidence in the military than the general public (52% against 86%).
A larger proportion of the non-Muslim British public said attacks on civilian targets are justified compared to the British Muslim populace. The Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, Dalia Mogahed, called for a renewed debate about the views of the majority of Muslims, suggesting the report had broken down many of the stereotypes about Muslim attitudes.
On moral issues, Muslims are more conservative than the general public. 58% of British public view homosexuality as morally acceptable, whilst none of the British Muslims polled accepted this (0%). 35% of British public believe that viewing pornography is morally acceptable whilst only 1% of British Muslims accepted this.
“What I found most surprising in the survey is the low level of thriving among British Muslims. They are less likely to be employed than other members of the British public. Thriving does correlate strongly with employment, income and physical health. This is the key issue where British Muslims are lagging behind, as well as with regards to their citizenship,” Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, Dalia Mogahed, who was recently appointed to President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships told The Muslim News.
Source: www.muslimnews.co.uk, Issue 241, Friday 29 May 2009
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