Survey: Anti-Jew and anti-Muslim prejudice growing in EU

A new poll conducted by the Pew Research Center reveals that hostile views towards Jews and Muslims are on the rise in Europe, even while fundamentalism and support for terrorism appear to be dwindling in the Muslim world.

The poll was conducted in the spring as part of the Global Attitudes Project, a series of worldwide public opinion surveys on views about the state of the world. 

This time, the focus was on perceptions of Jews and Muslims in the West and self-perceptions of Muslims in the developing world. Researchers collected responses in 24 countries, from samples of about 1,000 in each. 

The analysis revealed that negative views of Muslims and Jews are particularly strong in Europe. Xenophobic sentiments were found to be prevalent in Spain, where Jews and Muslims were rated unfavourably by 46% and 52% of respondents respectively. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, came out on top as the most virtuous European country included in the survey with only 9% of interviewees revealing anti-Jewish prejudice and 23% expressing anti-Muslim sentiment.

Other European countries surveyed came between these two ends of the spectrum, with negative views of Jews appearing stronger in Poland (36%) and Russia (34%), while Muslims’ image was weaker in Germany (50% negative answers).

The survey also showed that opinions about Muslims in Europe are considerably more negative than opinions about Jews. However, while the positioning of Muslims in several European countries has improved over the last two years (Spain, Germany, Russia), views of Jews have become increasingly unfavourable throughout the continent. 

Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis commented on the survey by saying “data from some European countries is particularly worrying”. Analysing the details, he highlighted a notable find: it is the same category of people who host anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim sentiments, namely the older (50+) and the less educated. 

The survey indeed highlights that education contributes significantly to the fight against prejudice. “Education is the most effective way to change this worrisome trend,” Davis concluded. 

Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center, attributed part of the regressive tendency to recent political and economical evolutions. “There may be some backlash toward minority groups going on in Europe as a consequence of the EU’s expansion and globalisation,” he said. “Some of the ethnocentricity is obviously related to attitudes toward immigration,” he added.

More data on Europeans’ attitudes towards migrants and minorities is on its way, with a dedicated Eurobarometer due to be published in November. 

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