BERLIN,
December 26 (IslamOnline.net) - Islamophobia is on the rise in
Germany, with many people in the European country seeing Islam as
incompatible with the western culture and civilization, a new survey
unveiled.
A
survey of 3000 people of different ages and educational and social
backgrounds found that 65 per cent totally reject Islam, claiming that
its precincts are not harmonious with the atmosphere in the West.
Some
25 per cent of the respondents oppose allowing new Muslim immigrants
into the country, while 59 per cent believe the number of foreigners
has increased beyond limits, showed the study conducted by University
of Bielefeld’s Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict
and Violence.
Furthermore,
30 per cent call for deporting foreigners if unemployment rates hit
record highs and job opportunities for Germans turned scare.
Asked
whether they would like to live in districts heavily populated by
Muslims such as Kreuzberg, 50 per cent answered in negative and 65 per
cent had doubts about their Muslim neighbors.
Some
30 per cent felt alienated in the society due to the heavy Muslim
presence in the country, according to the study.
Surprises
The
results of the survey revealed several surprises, including the rising
anti-Islamic sentiments among middle-class Germans, rather than being
limited to right-extremist groups.
The
second is the readiness to express these biased views in public, while
the third surprise was a clear conclusion that negative Muslim
stereotypes are widely spreading among Germans regardless of their
various social stripes.
People
who had expressed theses views explicitly were encouraged by a section
of society that had overcome hesitation and fear to do so, the
pollsters said.
The
Institute put at five million the number of Muslims against 82 million
of the whole population.
The
study also took the blame to some politicians, who helped raise public
sentiments against foreigners and minorities to chalk up remarkable
gains.
Observers
said Islamophobia also witnessed an increase in other European
countries.
