Is the worldwide war on terror a war against Islam?
More than two-thirds of Muslims living in Britain think so, according to a poll conducted for the BBC.
The survey of 500 people also reveals that over half of British Muslims don’t think Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terror network is to blame for the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
However, 11 percent said they believed further attacks against the U.S. by al-Qaida or similar groups would be justified, and 8 percent said such attacks would be justified against Britain.
As reported by the Associated Press, the survey asked: “President Bush and Tony Blair say that the war against terrorism is not a war against Islam. Do you agree or disagree?”
Seventy percent said they disagreed, 20 percent said they agreed and 10 percent said they didn’t know.
Asked whether they believed the U.S. and its allies were justified in blaming the Sept. 11 attacks on al-Qaida, 17 percent answered ‘yes’ while 56 percent replied ‘no.’
Also, 64 percent said al-Qaida should not have been blamed for the October bombings on Bali that killed 192 people and similar terrorist attacks.
Yet 44 percent said attacks by al-Qaida or similar groups are justified because Muslims are being killed by the U.S. or allies using American-made weapons. Forty-six percent said such attacks were not justified. The survey question did not say where Muslims were being killed.
The British Council of Muslims, an umbrella group representing mainstream Muslim groups, said it agreed with some of the poll opinions, particularly concerning the war against terrorism.
“Many of our affiliates are now complaining that this is turning into a war on Islam,” council spokesman Inayat Bunglawala told the AP.
But Bunglawala said the council disagreed with those who believed the Sept. 11 attacks were justified.
“The vast majority of Muslims [believe] you can never justify the killing of innocent people on Sept. 11,” he said.
Approximately 1.5 million Muslims live in Britain. In the poll for the BBC, 37 percent said there was an increase in hostility toward them or their family by non-Muslims as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks.
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