Global General

Special

Newsmaker

Asia Pacific

America

Middle East

Europe

Africa

Study: Poverty fueling Muslim tension with West

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-08 09:42

Researchers found 38 percent of British Muslims said they had a job, much lower than the figure for the British general public - 62 percent - and lower than Muslims in Germany or France, where 53 percent and 45 percent respectively said they were employed. No figures were compiled for the United States.

"Economic integration may become more precarious in light of the current financial crisis affecting Europe," Mogahed said.

Muslims questioned by Gallup were pessimistic about their prospects. It found 71 percent of Britain's Muslims considered themselves to be struggling to get by, as did 56 percent of Muslims questioned in the United States. Research for the study was conducted in mid-2008, before the full impact of the current financial crisis hit.

"It's not about faith, it's not about ethnicity. The key thing that divides people is poverty and depravation," said Mohammed Shafiq, of the British Muslim organization the Ramadhan Foundation.

British government research into radicalization also has highlighted joblessness and low pay as among factors that can push people toward extremism. Those with poor prospects can look to violent extremism to improve their sense of achievement and status, according to the research by security officials.

Another key finding of the study was that Muslims don't prioritize their faith over patriotism, Mogahed said.

Attempts to create a greater sense of national identity among Muslims have been a key concern for European lawmakers, particularly in Britain - where British-born Muslims have been behind several attempted terror attacks since 2001.

Four suicide bombers who killed 52 commuters and themselves in an attack on London's subway and bus network on July 7, 2005 were Muslims born or raised in Britain - three with family ties to Pakistan.

The study found that 77 percent of British Muslims feel a strong sense of British identity, compared to 50 percent of the country's non-Muslims. In France, around half of Muslims and non-Muslims say they feel a strong sense of patriotism.

Muslims account for around 3 percent, or 2 million people out of Britain's 60 million population. In France, Muslims represent almost 8 percent - or 5 million people of the population of 65 million. In Germany they make up 4 percent - or 3.3 million Muslims out of 82 million inhabitants.

Estimates of the US Muslim population vary dramatically from 2 million to 6 million - and beyond.

Gallup conducted multiple surveys in 27 countries in 2008. Polls of the general public typically questioned around 1,000 people, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The company said the polls of Muslims involved samples of 500 people, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Researchers interviewed Muslims and non-Muslims in Norway, France, Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Canada, Israel, the US, Italy, India, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Brazil, Ethiopia, Mali, Chad, Malaysia, Tanzania, Niger, Mauritania, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Djibouti and Bangladesh.

   Previous page 1 2 Next Page  

   Previous page 1 2 Next Page