Anti-American feelings soar as Muslim society is radicalised by War on Terror
Pastor Dale Morgan
From The Times
February 21, 2007
*Anti-American feelings soar as Muslim society is radicalised by War on
Terror*
Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent
The War on Terror has radicalised Muslims around the world to
unprecedented levels of anti-American feeling, according to the largest
survey of Muslims ever to be conducted.
Seven per cent believe that the events of 9/11 were “completely
justified”. In Saudi Arabia, 79 per cent had an “unfavourable view” of
the US.
Gallup’s Centre for Muslim Studies in New York carried out surveys of
10,000 Muslims in ten predominantly Muslim countries. One finding was
that the wealthier and better-educated the Muslim was, the more likely
he was to be radicalised.
The surveys were carried out in 2005 and 2006. Along with an earlier
Gallup survey in nine other countries in 2001, they represent the views
of more than 90 per cent of the world’s Muslims. A further 1,500 Muslims
in London, Paris and Berlin are involved in a separate poll to be
published in April.
The findings come in a climate of growing mistrust between Islam and the
West. Another recent survey in the US found that 39 per cent of
Americans felt some prejudice towards Muslims.
The Gallup findings indicate that, in terms of spiritual values and the
emphasis on the family and the future, Americans have more in common
with Muslims than they do with their Western counterparts in Europe.
A large number of Muslims supported the Western ideal of democratic
government. Fifty per cent of radicals supported democracy, compared
with 35 per cent of moderates.
Religion was found to have little to do with radicalisation or antipathy
towards Western culture. Muslims were condemnatory of promiscuity and a
sense of moral decay. What they admired most was liberty, its democratic
system, technology and freedom of speech.
While there was widespread support for Sharia, or Islamic law, only a
minority wanted religious leaders to be making laws. Most women in the
predominantly Muslim countries believed that Sharia should be the source
of a nation’s laws, but they strongly believed in equal rights for women.
This finding indicates the complexity of the struggle ahead for Western
understanding. Few Western commentators can see how women could embrace
the veil, Sharia and equal rights at the same time.
Researchers set out to examine the truth behind the stock response in
the West to the question of when it will know it is winning the war on
terror. Foreign policy experts tend to believe that victory will come
when the Islamic world rejects radicalism. “Every politician has a
theory: radicals are religious fundamentalists; they are poor; they are
full of hopeless-ness and hate. But those theories are wrong,” the
researchers reported.
“We find that Muslim radicals have more in common with their moderate
brethren than is often assumed. If the West wants to reach the
extremists, and empower the moderate majority, it must first recognise
who it’s up against.”
Gallup says that because terrorists often hijack Islamic precepts for
their own ends, pundits and politicians in the West sometimes portray
Islam as a religion of terrorism.
“They often charge that religious fervour triggers radical and violent
views,” said John Esposito, a religion professor, and Dalia Mogahed,
Gallup’s Muslim studies director, in one analysis. “But the data say
otherwise. There is no significant difference in religiosity between
moderates and radicals. In fact, radicals are no more likely to attend
religious services regularly than are moderates.”
They continue: “It’s no secret that many in the Muslim world suffer from
crippling poverty and lack of education. But are radicals any poorer
than their fellow Muslims? We found the opposite: there is indeed a key
difference between radicals and moderates when it comes to income and
education, but it is the radicals who earn more and stay in school longer.”
In fact, the surveys found that the radicals were more satisfied with
their finances and quality of life than moderates.
Genieve Abdo, a senior Gallup analyst and author of Mecca and Main
Street: Muslim Life in America After 9/11, said that the findings of a
high level of religious belief among both moderate and radical Muslims
had “huge implications” for Western governments.
She said: “We have to assume that these Islamic parties and movements
that are coming to power are popular and have a large constituency.
People are not just voting for a party, they are voting for a religion,
a way of life.”
She said that the Gallup findings countered the argument that, for
example, a vote for Hamas was a vote against the former Palestinian
government of Arafat rather than a vote for the extreme religious
position of the new government.
Looking west
Percentage with unfavourable view of US in 2005 (all increased since
9/11 except where indicated:
79%
Saudi Arabia
65%
Jordan
49%
Morocco
52%
Iran (down from 63 in 2001)
65%
Pakistan (down from 69 in 2001)