Talking freely about Islam ‘feared more than any other religion’
Britons more cautious about expressing views on the faith than they are on doing so about Christianity, research suggests
People are more fearful of speaking freely about Islam than any other religion, a survey has found. Almost twice as many adults feel they have to hold back on expressing their views about the faith as they do for Christianity, according to research by the Commission for Countering Extremism, which advises the Government. The study, to be published on Thursday, also found that Islam was the only religion that more people felt was protected “too much” than “too little”. A quarter of those who held back on speaking out on religious topics said they did so because of fears about their safety. Some 46 per cent said they had done so to avoid causing offence or starting an argument. The study, based on interviews with 2,500 people, was conducted by Ipsos UK for the Commission for Countering Extremism.
The research comes as the Government works on drawing up a new definition of Islamophobia in the wake of a surge in anti-Muslim abuse following the Oct 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.
Critics have claimed that it could have a “chilling” effect on free speech, stifle criticism of Islam as a religion and act as a de facto blasphemy law.
It also follows controversies such as the 2021 protests against a teacher in Batley, West Yorkshire. The teacher received death threats and went into hiding after showing pupils a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed from Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine, during a religious studies lesson.
Some 38 per cent of those surveyed felt they had to hold back on expressing their views about Islamic topics including the Prophet Mohammed, the Koran, and the teachings and beliefs of Islam.
This compares with 25 per cent who held back on Jewish topics and 17 per cent who felt constrained on issues surrounding Christianity.
Researchers found differences in attitude between age groups. Some 50 per cent of older, white males without a university education said they held back when speaking about Islam, compared with 38 per cent of respondents overall.
Muslims were also more likely to think that people should be careful not to offend when talking about Islamic topics. Some 71 per cent felt people needed to be sensitive when they spoke about the religion, compared with 31 per cent of all those surveyed.
When asked about major religious beliefs, around half of people or more thought that Christianity, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism had about the right amount of protection in Britain today.
Around two in five thought that Judaism had about the right amount of protection, while 39 per cent said Islam was protected too much, compared to 18 per cent who thought it was too little.
Of those surveyed, around half thought that freedom from threats, abuse and discrimination was the least protected freedom in Britain, compared to free speech, which a third said lacked protection.
SPEAK OUT AGAINST ISLAM UK 🇬🇧
Talking FREELY about Islam ‘feared
MORE than any other religion’ ☪️👿