Muslims Want to Leave Britain
By Foreign News Desk
Published: Thursday July 28, 2005
zaman.com
Muslims living in Britain are going through difficult days following the announcement that the London blasts' suspects were of Pakistani origin.
Reportedly, two thirds of Muslims who have been exposed to attacks, harassment and insults are considering leaving the UK. According to a Guardian/ICM poll, police recorded 1,200 suspected Islamophobic cases across the country ranging from verbal abuse to a murder in the past three weeks. The Guardian claimed the headline figure was a massive underestimation, indicating that one in five Muslims either their self or a member of their family faced abuse or hostility since the July 7 bombings.
The poll put forward that Muslims are afraid of anti-Islamic retaliation. Sixty-three percent of the 1,500 Muslims polled said they reconsidered whether or not to remain in Britain. Sixty-seven percent of those over 35 are concerned about their future, while this figure increases to 61 among those who are 34 or under. Emphasizing the Muslim population in Britain, The Guardian wrote, "Britain's Muslim population is estimated at 1.6 million, with 1.1 million over 18, meaning that more than half a million may have considered the possibility of leaving." The following reveals other outcomes from the poll conducted between July 15 and 17 by The Guardian/ICM indicating that tens of thousands of Muslims have been influenced by Islamic hostility:
Turks are the most unproblematic Muslims
Thirty percent of those participating in the poll are pessimistic about their children's future opposed to the 56 percent that said they were hopeful. Eighty percent of Muslims pointed to Britain's role in the Iraqi war as the reason for the attacks; however, 90 percent said the violence had no place in the political struggle. Twenty percent said Muslims made necessary efforts to cope with British society, 40 percent indicated there was more that could be done. Another group amounting to five percent said they supported the July 7 bombings.
Furthermore, Anthony Browne evaluated Muslim communities living in European Union (EU) countries in his article titled "The threat of Islamic extremism that stretches across Europe" published in The Times. Browne wrote that there are 15 million Muslims living in Europe; however, the most unproblematic ones were Turks living in Germany. According to the poll published in the paper conducted through the Populus institute, 74 percent of London locals believed that bombing attacks would become a reality in the city they lived
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