11% of British Muslims believe publications with sacrilegious cartoons ‘deserve to be attacked’

Poll finds that one in four British Muslims sympathise with Charlie Hebdo atatckers' motives

In what may seem shocking, 11 per cent of British Muslims have said that magazines which publish images of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) ‘deserve to be attacked’, a new poll suggests.

A ComRes poll for the BBC carried out between January 26 and February 20 asked 1,000 British Muslims questions rgearding living in the UK after a recent spate of attacks in Europe, The Telegraph reported.

Of those British Muslims who took the poll, one in four felt sympathetic for Charlie Hebdo attackers’ motives.



PHOTO: THE TELEGRAPH

On January 12, two militants stormed into the satirical magazine’s office in Paris killing 12 people and wounding 11 in the worst militant attack on French soil in recent decades. The magazine is notorious for publishing sacrilegious cartoons.

Read: At least 12 killed in Paris massacre

Some 27 per cent of British Muslims said they have "some sympathy for the motives behind the attacks" on the Paris magazine, according to the poll.

A strong majority of 78 per cent of voters found depictions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) ‘deeply offensive’ and almost 32 per cent were not surprised by the attacks on the magazine’s office.

While only 68 per cent of British Muslims said that attacks on the publishers of images of the Prophet are "never" justified, but 24 disagreed.

Interestingly, almost all (95 per cent) described feeling loyal to Britain and believed they should obey British laws (93 per cent).



PHOTO: THE TELEGRAPH

Ninety-four per cent said they would report someone they knew for planning an act of violence.

Further, some 20 per cent said Western society is incompatible with Islam.

Forty-six per cent said British are becoming less tolerant of Muslims and prejudice against Islam makes it "very difficult" being a Muslim in Britain. Of those polled, 35 per cent said they did not feel British people trust Muslims.

The Charlie Hebdo attacks were denounced by Muslims across the world. The Muslim Muslim Council of Britain condemned the murders as "a greater insult to Islam" and urged people to come together "to seek unity and defy the terrorists whose only aim is to divide us".