Islam and the West                                                                                                       Back

Towards the end of 2006, Gallup Pakistan conducted an extensive survey to gather information about the people’s perceptions and views regarding the Western world’s attitude towards Muslims and Islam. This survey holds particular importance with regard to the on-going War on Terrorism and the subsequent reaction of the Muslim world.

A vast majority (70%) of the respondents questioned were of the view that the Western world simply does not understand Islam and hence, all its decisions are based on its own version of Islam. 58% of those questioned also felt that there was absolutely no sense of morality in the West while others disagreed with this claim to one extent or the other. 46% of the people were of the opinion that the West is under the impression that democracy does not exist in any part of the Muslim world. 63% of the respondents also felt that there is a clear and distinct division between the Muslim and the non-Muslim world.

When questioned about the present hype about terrorism, 55% of the respondents believed that it is the West’s foreign policy that contributes to increased terrorism.

Similar views were observed when the question of media coverage was raised. 56% of the people felt that the Western media was biased and propagated anti-Islamist views. On the other hand, 31% of the people were of the opinion that the Muslim media was discriminating and opposed to the West.

The people were also asked about the general views that the Western media is thought to proliferate and support. 22% of our respondents were of the view that Islam is a backward-looking religion and needs to be more progressive. While 55% were of the opinion that the Muslims’ primary aim was to convert the whole of the world to Islam, 46% strongly felt that Muslim fundamentalists form only a small minority of the Muslim population. 30% of those questioned felt that Islam treated women as secondary citizens, while the remaining disagreed with this view point.

In spite of such a clear divide between the two worlds, most of the people, i.e. 71% of our respondents, strongly felt that one must learn to respect all religions even if one disagrees with them or fails to understand them. 59% of those questioned were also of the opinion that leaders from both Muslim and non-Muslim countries need to work together and co-operate to solve global issues.

These surveys and polls were conducted by Gallup Pakistan, an affiliate of Gallup International, on a sample of over 1100 respondents in urban areas of all four provinces of Pakistan. This sample was statistically selected across all ages, income groups and educational levels. The error   for a sample of this kind is estimated to be +/- 5% at a 95% confidence level.

The State and Religion                                                                                                  Back

The question of the role that religion should be allowed to play in the functions of the state is one that has been plaguing the country since its inception. Certain factions of the population have always demanded that religion should be made an integral part of the government and the issue has gained even more significance in the year 2007.

Gallup Pakistan asked questions relevant to this topic from its respondents at the beginning of the year 2007. When asked the question, ‘Should religion be separate from politics?’, 53% of the respondents replied in affirmative while 29% of the people thought that religion should not be separate from politics. 18% of the people were not sure. These views are even more strongly reflected when questioned about religious decrees that affect one’s personal life. The respondents were also asked the question, ‘Some people think that the wearing of Hijab by Muslim women should be made compulsory while others are of the view that it is a matter of personal choice and willingness. Should the Hijab be enforced?’. In response, 83% of the people felt that it is a matter of personal choice while 7% felt that the Hijab should be enforced. 10%, on the hand, said that they did not know.

Most of the people seemed to have favorable views about the religious leaders in the country in 2007. When inquired about the character of religious leaders, 25% said that they considered it to be very good and 33% rated religious leaders as good, while 33% thought of them as average. 10% of the respondents considered religious leaders as bad and another 8% thought of them as very bad. However, the majority, standing at 46%, also believed that these religious leaders did not have the right to stop any evil that the come across on their own or punish the wrongdoers as they will. 39% on the other hand, felt that they could do so while 15% did not volunteer a definite response.

This obvious divide amongst the masses on the issue of allowing religious leaders the right to take matters in their own hands comes as a surprise when one considers the fact that the majority actually believes that the impact of religion is increasing in the country. In 2006, 49% of those questioned felt that religion had an increasing impact on the country, 26% felt that the influence of religion was declining while 25% felt that there was no difference. These figures are similar to those observed in 2005. In 2005, 48% thought that the influence of religion was on the rise, 24% felt that its impact was decreasing and 27% thought that there had been no difference.

These surveys and polls were conducted by Gallup Pakistan, an affiliate of Gallup International, on a sample of over 1100 respondents in urban areas of all four provinces of Pakistan. This sample was statistically selected across all ages, income groups and educational levels. The error   for a sample of this kind is estimated to be +/- 5% at a 95% confidence level.