The Henry Jackson Society, a counter-extremism think-tank, and J.L. Partners conducted the largest survey of British Muslims since the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israeli civilians.
The survey revealed that only one in four British Muslims believe that Hamas committed rape and murder in October, and just under half of those surveyed, 46 percent, said they sympathize with Hamas.
Over half of those surveyed, 52 percent, want to make it illegal to show a picture of the Prophet Mohammed, with over a third supporting the implementation of Shariah law in the UK.
The Daily Mail reports:
Fiyaz Mughal, founder of Muslims Against Antisemitism and the interfaith group Faith Matters, told the Sunday Telegraph that the findings are “shocking but also not shocking.”
He said: “The sense that Hamas did not conduct massacres and rapes in Israel is atrocious because it shows a closed-off mentality of anything emanating from Israel.”
The survey, carried out by polling company J L Partners, also found that 46 per cent of British Muslims say Jews have too much power over UK government policy (compared to 16 per cent of the general public) while 41 per cent said Jews have too much power in the media and 39 per cent said Jews have too much power in the UK’s financial system.
Mughal said the findings confirm that “a lot of work needs to be done to inform, challenge, and address old antisemitic tropes,” adding that a failure on the part of the government to invest in better guidance for teachers and education establishments risks “a social cohesion problem.”
In a disturbing trend of radicalization among youth, younger and well-educated Muslims appeared the most likely to think Hamas did not commit atrocities that day.
Only a few weeks after October 7, tens of thousands of protesters marched in London against Israel.
Watch:
‘This is highly depressing. I hope we can be brave enough to have the necessary conversation around these findings.’
Madeline Grant reacts to a recent survey revealing that one in four British Muslims believe Hamas committed murder and rape. pic.twitter.com/lHrbCNN2dp
— GB News (@GBNEWS) April 7, 2024