A recent survey in the United Kingdom by the group Hope not Hate shows in its headline figures a growing tolerance to immigration but a growing fear of Islam. Overall 42% of those polled said that recent attacks had increased their suspicion about Islam and Muslims. Meanwhile only 10% of those polled said that they felt “similar” to Muslims, suggesting a widespread perception that Muslims are seen as culturally different.

This accords with the findings of another recent survey across Europe by Bertelsmann Stiftung which suggests that despite integrating much better than often thought, Muslims still face problems being accepted by the wider society. This was seen in another pan-European survey earlier in the year by Chatham House which suggested that many opposed Islamic immigration rather than immigration per se.

… Paul Hedges PhD is Associate Professor in Interreligious Studies for the Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He maintains a blog on Interreligious Studies and related issues at: www.logosdao.wordpress.com.