50% of Italians and Poles view Muslims negatively: Study

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Sunday 07 Jun 2015 - 13:13 Makkah mean time-20-8-1436 (Google image) Rome, (IINA) - More than 50 percent of Italians and Poles have a negative view of Muslims, according to a new research, which reveals worrying levels of xenophobia in several European countries, Newsweek magazine reported. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 61 percent of Italians and 56 percent of Poles have a negative view of Muslims in their country. Anti-Semitism is also high in both countries, with one in five Italians and one in four Poles viewing Jews unfavourably. In contrast, less than one in 10 French and British people expressed similar views. Xenophobia has seen a revival in Europe of late, with the rise of far-right and nationalist parties such as the Front National in France and the Pegida movement in Germany. The study, which also surveyed four other EU nations, was conducted after the Charlie Hebdo shootings and kosher supermarket attack in Paris earlier this year. Interestingly, although anti-Muslim sentiment is high in several European countries, the survey reported that there was not a dramatic increase in Islamophobia following the attacks. Three-quarters of French people voiced positive opinions of Muslims, while favourable views of Muslims increased by 8 percent and 11 percent since last year in the UK and Germany respectively. Roma communities generated the greatest negative sentiment, particularly in Italy, where they have been vilified by the far right of Italian politics. 86 percent of Italians expressed negative views of Roma compared to just 9 percent positive. This negative opinion is reflected elsewhere in Europe, with six in 10 French seeing Roma unfavourably and similar sentiments expressed by more than a third of the British. Spain gave the most positive reception to Roma, with 58 percent of Spaniards expressing positive views. The number of Muslims in Europe is predicted to increase by 63 percent to 71 million by 2050, when adherents of Islam will make up more than 10 percent of the total European population. Europe's 1.4 million Jews are expected to gradually decline to around 1.2 million by 2050. Around 10-12 million Roma live in Europe, with six million in the EU, making them Europe's largest ethnic minority. The EU's Agency for Fundamental Rights estimates that 200,000 Roma live in Italy, with almost 100 percent living at risk of poverty. SM/IINA