This shouldn't be a surprise, but Muslims don't like the IS
The Washington Post
November 20, 2015 03:03 MYT
November 20, 2015 03:03 MYT
A Pew survey of global attitudes conducted earlier this year shows that vast majorities of people polled in 11 countries oppose IS.
A Pew survey of global attitudes conducted earlier this year shows that vast majorities of people polled in 11 majority-Muslim countries oppose the Islamic State, the militant group also known as ISIS and ISIL.
Vast majorities said they had an overwhelmingly "unfavorable" view of the group, which is responsible for myriad atrocities within the lands it controls in Iraq and Syria, as well as attacks overseas. The countries where there were conspicuous numbers in favor were mostly places far removed from the Islamic State's ravages and embroiled in their own polarizing struggles over extremism and militancy.
The negative sentiment was shared by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, with Lebanon's various sectarian camps, for example, strongly united in their opposition to the Islamic State.
It's only worth citing this now amid the wider conversation over Syrian Muslim refugees and the presumption that their arrival in the West poses an implicit security threat. Despite the rhetoric of some politicians, an overwhelming majority of Muslims oppose the extremist group, and many refugees are specifically fleeing the Islamic State. Moreover, it has killed more Muslims than people from any other religious community.