Most Bavarian Muslim Refugees Hold Anti-Semitic Beliefs, Study Shows

More than half of Muslim refugees in the German state of Bavaria hold anti-Semitic sentiments, according to a new study by the Hanns Seidel Foundation and reported by the Jerusalem Post.

Their poll of 800 asylum seekers found that Muslim refugees exhibited "clear tendencies of an anti-Semitic attitude pattern."

Respondents were asked whether "Jews have too much influence in the world." 52 percent of Syrians, 53 percent of Iraqis, and 60 percent of Afghans agreed with the assertion, while only 5.4 percent of Eritreans surveyed believed in this anti-Semitic worldview. Eritrea is a Christian-majority country.

Among the overall German population, 20 percent agreed with the anti-Semitic statement.

The investigators conclude that religion is "the decisive factor that explains anti-Semitic opinions." In addition, education in the refugees' homelands facilitates "antisemitism in all age groups and educational background of Muslim asylum seekers."

"We are importing Islamic extremism, Arab antisemitism, national and ethnic conflicts of other peoples as well as a different societal and legal understanding," concludes a 2015 German intelligence report concerning migrant integration. "German security agencies... will not be in the position to solve these imported security problems and thereby the arising reactions from the Germany's population."

The Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism and Policy (ISGAP) published a study in 2015 showing that Muslims are responsible for a "disproportionate" number of anti-Semitic attacks and incidents in Europe over the last 15 years.

That study examined several surveys related to European Muslim attitudes conducted since 2006 and compares results from various European countries, with an emphasis on the United Kingdom and France. Most of those surveys focused on respondents' views toward Jewish stereotypes, asking subjects whether they agree with statements such as, "the Jews have too much power in politics" and "the Jews have too much power in the media." In each country under study, the number of Muslims agreeing with those anti-Semitic statements far exceeded that of non-Muslims.

For example, a 2014 French study showed that 25 percent of the general public agreed with the statement "Jews have too much power in the economy and the financial world," compared with 67 percent of the Muslim population.

Though the ISGAP report acknowledged that surveys comparing Muslim and non-Muslim beliefs are subject to criticism, "the sum of available studies to date provides strong evidence that the level of anti-Semitism is indeed particularly high among Muslims."

Related Topics: IPT News, Muslim anti-Semitism, refugees, Hanns Seidel Foundation, Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism and Policy

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