and that that lack of respect is contributing to strained relations.
The poll findings are part of a report titled, “Measuring the State of Muslim-West Relations,” released by Gallup last December 1. The poll surveyed more than 100,000 Muslims in 55 countries between March 2008 and May 2010.
Nearly three-quarters of the Muslims polled said increased respect for the Qoran and other religious symbols would reduce tensions. They suggested relations could be ameliorated in several ways, from Hollywood portraying Muslim characters in a more “accurate” light to refraining from Qoran desecrations.
The characters in Hollywood films who are identified as Muslims are largely terrorists. The characters in Hollywood films who are specifically identified as Italian are, however, largely Mafia killers.
The Gallup survey found that people across the globe—from the United States to sub-Saharan Africa—believe the tensions between Muslim countries and the West are mostly avoidable.
“This was especially true among people who saw the conflict as political in nature, rather than caused by religious differences,” said Dalia Mogahed, the Egyptian-born executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. “We also found that this concept of respect … now includes perceptions of fairness in policies, not just culturally sensitive language.”
Fifty-four percent of Muslims said being treated fairly in terms of foreign policies that directly affect them would be a very meaningful demonstration of respect. Mogahed said that those “policies” were not defined in the survey, but that previous Gallup studies found that respondents were particularly concerned about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In most of the countries surveyed, people said greater interaction between Muslims and the West would help relations. Some 76 percent of Americans and 63 percent of Iranians said interaction would be beneficial.
Gallup researchers also classified individuals as being “ready” or “not ready” for Muslim-Western engagement based on their comments about such relations, as well as perceptions of respect and of future conflict. Researchers said religion plays a key role in readiness.
“For ‘Not Ready’ individuals, irrespective of whether they live in majority-Muslim or Western societies, religion is the factor most likely to be cited as being at the root of Muslim-Western tensions,” the report stated.
Interestingly, people in majority-Muslim societies who were considered “ready,” and those in the West who were “not ready,” were both more likely to have attended religious services in the past week.
The Gallup report is available at: http://www.gallup.com/poll/144971/Political-Issues-Key-Muslim-West-Engagement.aspx