The most extensive study ever conducted of British Muslims found what the researchers described as some “deeply worrying” results, including over 40 percent of British Muslims wanting to replace British law with at least some aspects of Sharia Law and widespread belief that the 9/11 terror attacks were either an American or Jewish conspiracy.
The study was commissioned by the Westminster-based think tank Policy Exchange and included a survey of over 3,000 British Muslims by the highly regarded polling firm ICM. While the survey found general agreement among Muslims with the rest of the population on issues like immigration, unemployment and healthcare, views diverged sharply on law and terrorism.
A total of 43 percent of British Muslims surveyed said they wanted at least parts of British law replaced by “particular aspects” of Islamic law (16 percent “strongly” supported; 25 percent “tend to support” the idea). Only 22 percent are opposed (9 percent are strongly).
The widespread views on terrorism were even more eye-opening: 31 percent of British Muslims said the 9/11 terrorist attack was a conspiracy of the U.S. government, while 7 percent blamed the Jews. Only 4 percent believed Al Qaeda was behind the attack.
The conspiratorial views on 9/11 were not the only troubling results regarding radical Islam. More than a quarter (26 percent) surveyed said they did not believe that Islamic extremism even exists and nearly half (48 percent) said they would not turn someone over to police if they knew the person was linked to terrorism.
In his foreword to the study, Labour MP Khalid Mahmood addresses the problem of this “paranoid and at times fearful worldview”:
It is obviously a cause for concern that so many within our communities should doubt the very existence of this phenomenon, even as we face a severe and on-going terrorist threat.
Even more startling is the fact that so many British Muslims seem ready to entertain wild and outlandish conspiracy theories about the way the world works, believing that dark forces are at work to ‘do us down’ as Muslims. From the attacks of 9/11, down to the more recent conflict in Syria, too many people seem ready to believe that these events are being deliberately organised and manipulated – whether by the American Government, Jews, or some other force – with the express intention of damaging Muslims. …
This readiness to believe in conspiracy theories and the mentality of victimhood to which it speaks is having a pernicious effect on British Muslims and the way they see the world. It is holding us back – as a community – and ensuring that we remain locked in a paranoid and at times fearful worldview.
Another one of the study’s authors, Dr. Martyn Frampton, called the many conspiratorial views on terrorism among the UK’s Muslim population “deeply worrying.”
“Unlike the general population, nearly a third of British Muslims believe the American government was responsible for the attacks on the Twin Towers, while a surprisingly tiny number attributed blame to al-Qaeda,” said Frampton.
Some positive findings in the study included that, like the British people in general, British Muslims overwhelmingly condemned terrorism (90 percent). They also felt strong connection to England. A total of 55 percent supported seeing more police on the streets for the protection of the population.
For more on Muslims’ views on terrorism and Sharia Law, see Pew Research Center’s study of Muslims and Islam.
H/T Express.
Top image (Getty Images): “Muslims arrive to protest against the killing of Osama bin Laden outside the US embassy in Mayfair on May 6, 2011 in London, England. The demonstration, which was called by radical Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary, was in close proximity to a rival protest by the English Defense League who were celebrating the death of the al-Queda leader.”