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Two German policemen stand guard outside a German mosque |
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.
French experts and activists in the field of human rights have warned of the unprecedented escalation of Islamophobia and racism in France during the past two years.
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