The results are in: Muslims around the world overwhelming reject violence and terrorism, according to a new Pew opinion survey titled “The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society.”
In the wake of the terrorist bombings in Boston, an increasing number of Muslims — especially those living in the U.S. — stand firmly opposed to violence and terrorism, with roughly three-quarters of the entire Muslim world saying that suicide bombings are “never justified.”
The 152-page Pew report is based upon 38,000 face-to-face interviews conducted in more than 80 languages, in 39 countries and territories. The five-year opinion survey offers one of the most comprehensive polls of Muslim attitudes worldwide to date, underscoring widespread Muslim opposition to terrorism in the wake of the 9/11 attacks roughly 12 years ago.
“I believe for one, Muslims in the U.S. are united in condemning this atrocious act. I can’t speak on behalf of everybody, but I have not met any Muslim in the U.S. who has not condemned the Boston bombings. It’s an atrocious act,” Syed Zaidi, former president of Project Nur at Hobart & William Smith Colleges, told Mint Press News.
Project Nur is a student-led initiative advocating for social justice by empowering responsible leaders to cultivate an environment of acceptance and mutual respect between Muslims and all communities.
According to Pew, only 1 percent of American Muslims surveyed said bombings were “often” justified in defense of Islam, while 7 percent said that they were “sometimes” justified.
Conversely, 81 percent of the roughly 5 million Muslims living in the U.S. said terrorist bombings were “never” justified and 5 percent said they were “rarely” acceptable. The remainder either refused to say or said they had no view.
Report researchers concluded that American Muslims hold views that closely resemble the strong opposition to terrorism among the non-Muslim majority in the United States.
Outside the U.S., there was a strong rejection of violence, with 72 percent saying such attacks are “never” justified and 10 percent who say they are “rarely” justified.
Neha Sahgal, a senior researcher at the Pew forum and one of the authors of the survey, commented on the findings, saying, “The report shows that few U.S. Muslims as well as Muslims around the world consider suicide bombing justified. But we do see a few countries where there is a higher level of support for suicide bombings.”
The highest level of support among Muslims for suicide bombings was found in the Palestinian territories, with 40 percent of respondents saying they are “often” or “sometimes” justified, followed by 39 percent in Afghanistan, 29 percent in Egypt and 26 percent in Bangladesh.
Syed Zaidi, a scholar currently studying Arabic in Jordan, commented on the general Jordanian opposition to the Boston bombings, saying, “The ordinary Jordanian feels sad about Boston, I can say that much. The whole idea of suicide bombing is haraam [sinful]. It is forbidden.”