Many commentators are assuring us today that sympathy in the Muslim world for the kind of terror attack that took place in Paris yesterday is incredibly small. But last year a Pew Research survey in Muslim countries found disturbingly high support justifying violence against civilian targets to defend Islam. For example, 19% of Nigerian Muslims said violence against civilians to defend Islam is often or sometimes justified. In Bangladesh the figure was 47%. In Egypt, 24% of Muslims agreed that violence was justified to defend Islam. In Lebanon 29% agreed as did 18% in Turkey. In real numbers, those percentages conservatively translate into approximately 118 million Muslims in just five countries who are willing to kill civilians in order to defend their faith. Figures about Muslims living in non-Islamic countries are harder to come by. We do know that in a 2012 study done in the U.S., nearly half of Muslims surveyed said they believed that Americans who are critical of Islam or make fun of it should face criminal charges. And 40% believed that Muslims in the U.S. should be governed by Sharia law, not the Constitution or American law.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 21:39:40 +0000
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