Widening rift between Islam, West: Gallup poll

January 21, 2008

A poll of people in twenty-one Western and Muslim countries, surveyed by Gallup for World Economic Forum, suggests that most people believe there are widening divisions between the Islamic and the Western world.

The survey also finds that increased interaction with the Muslim world is perceived as a threat by 60% of many European countries, but not so in Israel or America. This belief is strongest among respondents from Denmark. Additionally, the report found that in Muslim and non-Muslim majority nations, there tends to be a wide-spread belief that the "other side" is not committed to improving relations.