Les Européens craignent une plus grande interaction avec le monde musulman

Un rapport publié en janvier 2008 par le Forum Economique Mondial portant sur les relations entre le monde musulman et l’Occident révèle qu’une grande majorité d’Européens considère qu’un accroissement des échanges ("interaction") avec le monde musulman représenterait une menace. Ils sont 79% au Danemark, 68% en Espagne, 67% en Italie, 67% aux Pays-Bas, et 59% en Belgique à exprimer des craintes.

Paradoxalement, 56% des personnes interrogées en Israël pensent, au contraire, que le développement d'échanges avec le monde musulman aurait un effet positif. Ils sont 70% d’Américains et 72% de Canadiens à penser de même.

Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue, January 2008

"An overwhelming majority of the surveyed populations in Europe believe that greater interaction between Islam and the West is a threat. This is in contrast to the US, where the opposite view is held by 70% of its population." (p. 5)

"European Particularism

European populations surveyed are much more likely to believe that greater interaction between the Muslim and Western worlds is a threat rather than a benefit. This appears to reflect widespread anti-immigration sentiment within the European Union.

Clear majorities in all European countries surveyed see greater interaction between the West and Muslim worlds as a threat. This is true of 79% of the population in Denmark, 67% in Italy, 67% in the Netherlands, 68% in Spain, 65% in Sweden and 59% in Belgium. This corresponds to a growing fear among Europeans of a perceived 'Islamic threat' to their cultural identities, driven in part by rising immigration from predominantly Muslim regions.

A recent poll found that only 21% of Europeans supported Turkey’s bid for EU membership. Nicolas Sarkozy’s successful presidential campaign in France included strong opposition to Turkish EU membership. A 2006 poll found that the main reason Germans opposed Turkey’s membership was 'fear of a growing influence of Islam in Europe'.

Although some might expect the United States, Israel and the Middle East to be more likely than Europe to feel threatened by the 'other,' the opposite is the case. In the United States (70%), Canada (72%) and Israel (56%) majorities say that greater interaction is a benefit." (p.p. 24-25)