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Three-quarters of non-Muslims believe Islam negative for Britain
Haroon Siddique ("Telegraph," August 2, 2010)
London, UK - Three-quarters of non-Muslims believe Islam has provided a
negative contribution to British society, according to a new poll, which has
prompted calls for Muslims to help improve the perception of their faith.
It isn't a perception problem it is a reality problem. Islamic law is
antithetical to Western law in so many particulars that only the Politically
Correct can't see it for what it is.
The study for the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA) also found
that 63% of people surveyed did not disagree with the statement "Muslims
are terrorists" and 94% agreed that "Islam oppresses women". It included
qualitative as well as quantitative data. One respondent said: ""If I had my
way I'd kick them all [Muslims] out of here."
The results follow an online YouGov poll, published in June, that found 58%
linked Islam with extremism and 69% believed it encouraged the repression
of women.
Despite the widespread negative perceptions of Islam, iERA believes the
fact that most opinions were formed in ignorance of the faith indicates that
Muslims can positively influence them.
Four-fifths of those polled said they have less than very little knowledge
about Islam, while 40% did not know who "Allah" referred to and 36% did not
know who the Prophet Muhammad was.
This is appalling but probably little different than America What it shows
is the need for teaching such subjects as Comparative Religion, Bible
Studies, and History of Religions in the schools, Religious illiteracy is a
serious problem in any pluralist society But it would hardly help Muslims
since, in comparison with just about all other faiths, Islam criminal in
character, puritanic, and medieval.
iERA's senior researcher Hamza Tzortzis said: "We wanted to do something
positive with the survey results rather than just say, 'It's so sad'. So, the
organisation's strategy is to give a new realm of possibility for people
to comprehend Islam, have a proper respect for Islam and see the human
relevance of the faith."
The organisation has made a number of recommendations on how to spread
knowledge of Islam and the Muslim community through education and audiovisual
materials. It also advocates "promoting Muslim women as ambassadors of
change" to counter the impression that they are oppressed.
Not sure what a parade of female propaganda shills would accomplish.
Although the survey indicated people may not be willing to listen – 60%
said they preferred not to receive any information about religion, while 77%
did not agree in any way that Muslims should do more to teach people about
their faith – Tzortzis believes they will if they are shown that religion is
relevant.
"We need to show that it [Islam] encompasses all the things in your life
whether social or practical," he said.
"We had one of the biggest economic crises and we had no Islamic scholar
saying the Islamic [financial] model wasn't as affected and might be
relevant."
The study, carried out for iERA out by DJS Research, used face-to face
questionnaires to ascertain the views of a "statistically robust" sample of 500
randomly selected non-Muslims.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali has it right, she is the ex-Muslim who recommends that
Muslims simply quit Islam and find some other faith or philosophy and make it
their own. The results are superior for peace of mind, for fitting in with
others, and for self respect.
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