Rabat – A new poll has signaled pervasive Islamophobia in the UK’s Conservative Party, showing that 47% of members believe Islam is a “threat to the British way of life.”
Advocacy NGO Hope Not Hate published the findings of the new poll carried out by YouGov, describing the results as “alarming and depressing.”
According to the poll, 21% registered a “very negative” attitude against the country’s Muslim community. Approximately 57% of the UK’s Conservative Party members expressed a “negative” attitude towards followers of Islam.
The findings show that the number is “more than twice” the figure for members who have negative attitudes towards Hindus and Jewish people.
“The fifth of respondents with very negative attitudes [towards Muslims] compares with just 3% who felt the same about Jews, Hindus, and Sikhs,” the inquiry shows.
Approximately 58% consider that “there are no-go areas in Britain where Sharia law dominates and non-Muslims cannot enter.”
The number increased to 66% among those who supported Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the UK’s 2019 election.
One-third of the party’s members thought Islamist terrorists “reflect a widespread hostility to Britain amongst the Muslim community.”
Approximately 53% thought it was “wrong to blame all Muslims for the actions of a violent minority.”
The poll found that the ruling party’s members hold “significantly” more negative attitudes towards Muslims than the general public.
Hope Not Hate cited another poll conducted by YouGov, saying that 30% of the general public thought Islam was a “threat to the British way of life.”
The poll shows that most of the members in the ruling party reject admission that there is a problem with Islamophobia within the party.
The inquiry shows that 79% believe that there is no problem and only 9% think there is.
“Among Johnson supporters this grew to 86% and fell to 4% respectively.”
According to data, the number of Islamophobic hate crimes in the UK increased in recent years.
The UK registered 1,115 Islamophobic hate crimes between 2015/2016, and 1,264 in 2016/2017. The numbers represent a 13.3% year-on-year increase.
Earlier this year, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) called for an independent inquiry into accusations of hateful prejudice against Islam in the UK’s Conservative Party, BBC reported.
The MCB accused the ruling party of “reluctance” to address a “systemic” issue.
