Headlines:
- In the U.S. and Western Europe, People say they Accept Muslims, but Opinions are Divided on Islam
- Turkey Threatens EU Critics with Open Border as Syria Conflict Intensifies
- Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Declared ‘Muslim Man of the Year’
In the U.S. and Western Europe, People say they Accept Muslims, but Opinions are Divided on Islam
The vast majority of people across 15 countries in Western Europe and in the United States say they would be willing to accept Muslims as neighbors. Slightly lower shares on both sides of the Atlantic say they would be willing to accept a Muslim as a family member. The vast majority of non-Muslim Americans (89%) say they would be willing to accept Muslims as neighbors, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
The same survey finds that most people (79%) say they would be willing to accept Muslims as members of their family. In Western Europe, most people also say they would be willing to accept Muslim neighbors. However, Europeans are less likely than Americans to say they would be willing to accept Muslims as family members. While about two-thirds of non-Muslim French people (66%) say they would accept a Muslim in their family, just over half of British (53%), Austrian (54%) and German (55%) adults say this. Italians are the least likely in Europe to say they would be willing to accept a Muslim family member (43%). In both the U.S. and Europe, the surveys find higher acceptance of Muslims among those with more education. In the U.S., for example, 86% of adults with a college degree would be willing to accept a Muslim into their family; among Americans without a college degree, this share falls to 75%. Similarly, in Germany, a majority of those with a college education (67%) say they would be willing to accept a Muslim in their family, compared with roughly half (52%) among those without one. The same pattern is present in other countries, such as the UK (71% vs. 44%) and Austria (67% vs. 51%). On both sides of the Atlantic, attitudes toward Muslims are tied to politics, even after taking education, age and other demographic factors into account. In Western Europe, those who lean toward the right of the European political spectrum have less accepting views than those who lean toward the left. Likewise, in the U.S., those who identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party are more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to say they would be willing to accept a Muslim family member (88% vs. 67%). Still, majorities among both Democrats and Republicans say they would be willing to accept Muslims in their lives. Additional analysis of how other demographic factors (such as religion) are correlated with these kinds of attitudes in Europe can be found here. While majorities of Americans and Western Europeans have accepting views toward Muslims, they are more divided on whether to accept Islam in their societies. Europeans in several countries are about as likely to say, “Islam is fundamentally incompatible with [their country’s] culture and values” as they are to take the view that “there is no fundamental contradiction between Islam and [their country’s] culture and values.” This is the case, for example, in Germany – where 44% of Germans see a fundamental contradiction between Islam and German culture and values, compared with 46% who do not see a contradiction. In the UK, public opinion also is divided on this question. [Source: Pew Research Org]
Given the negative publicity concerning Islam and Muslims, the figures are not bad. Imagine what the figures would look like if the world witnesses a flourishing Islamic state on the model of Khilafah Rashidah (rightly guided Caliphate)?
Turkey Threatens EU Critics with Open Border as Syria Conflict Intensifies
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended Turkey’s actions following worldwide condemnation of the offensive. Claiming his critics “are not honest”, he told a meeting of his AK Party he would open the door to Europe for 3.6 million Syrian refugees, currently in Turkey, if European countries label Turkey’s military incursion in Syria as an occupation. There are fears the chaos caused by the fighting in the region could lead to the re-emergence of so-called Islamic State (ISIS). The EU has condemned the Turkish offensive, along with a number of other countries. The French foreign ministry has summoned Turkey’s ambassador to a meeting later on Thursday, a diplomatic source told Reuters, amid a wave of international criticism of Ankara’s decision to send troops into northern Syria. The offensive comes after US president Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of US troops from the area, a move widely criticised as allowing Kurdish forces – who have been instrumental in the defeat of ISIS – to be abandoned by their ally, the USA. Talking to PBS on Wednesday evening, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that “the United States didn’t give Turkey the green light” to launch its offensive. He added however that “the Turks have a legitimate security concern” and that “they have a terrorist threat to their south, we’ve been working to make sure that we did what we could to prevent that terror threat from striking the people in Turkey.” [Source: Euronews]
The Europeans can no longer rely on the US for their security, it is better for them to break free from NATO and develop their own security architecture. As for Turkey, it should not be fighting fellow Muslims, instead Turkey should annex Syria expelling all foreign powers in the process. This is only viable if Turkey re-establishes the Khilafah and safeguards the security of its Muslim and non-Muslim citizens.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Declared ‘Muslim Man of the Year’
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been declared as Muslim Man of the Year 2020 by Jordan’s Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. Imran won the title in the recent list of the most persuasive Muslims in the world issued by the Centre. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran has also become the sixth most popular world leader on Twitter, boasting 10.5 million followers on the social media platform. The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISSC) is an autonomous research entity with the Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Jordan. “If ‘The Muslim 500’ was in print back in 1992 and I was the Chief Editor then, I would have nominated Imran Khan as our Muslim Man of the Year because of his brilliant performance in cricket when he won the 1992 Cricket World Cup for Pakistan,” said Professor S. Abdallah Schleifer, a professor emeritus of journalism at the American University in Cairo, who chose both the winners for the titles. Professor Schleifer said Imran’s role in cricket was not the only criteria for him being bestowed with the title. He said he was also impressed with Imran for launching a successful fund-raising campaign to establish a hospital devoted to both the care of cancer patients and its research. He said that it was also Imran’s desire for peace with neighbouring India which earned him the title. [Source: Gulf News]
It is strange to find accolades awarded for mere intentions only—after all, there is no peace between India and Pakistan. Khan’s award is similar to the noble peace prize given to Obama for making idealistic speeches only to wage war in the Muslim world.