Islamophobia is rising in the UK—do Muslims need to reach out more?
Photo: London, UK - September 29, 2017: People are seen walking by restaurants of the South Bank in London. Sterling Images / Shutterstock.com
The majority of Britons agree with racial profiling of Arabs and Muslims, and 69 percent think the UK should take in fewer refugees from Syria and Iraq, according to a poll by Arab News and YouGov.
The “UK attitudes toward the Arab world” poll, which was conducted in mid-August, illustrates a disparity in UK public opinion on the Arab world. Conducted among 2,142 adults, it found that UK residents have strong feelings about key Middle East issues, including the fight against Daesh (the so-called Islamic State) and the war in Iraq, but 81 per cent admitted to knowing little or nothing about the Arab world.
One of the main findings of the poll, which was conducted in conjunction with the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu), was that 55 percent of Britons agree with racial profiling against Arabs and Muslims for security reasons.
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Alicia Buller