Category:[world] [WORLD] [Europe]
LONDON - Most British people feel threatened by Islam, a poll revealed Friday, as the government began a campaign to stem interfaith tensions.

Fifty-three percent of respondents to the poll, conducted on the Internet by YouGov for the Daily Telegraph newspaper, said they were concerned about the impact of Islam, not just its fundamentalist aspects on British society, up from 21 percent in 2001.

The poll was conducted after police on August 10 foiled an alleged plot by British Muslims to blow up U.S.-bound airliners over the Atlantic. Twelve people have been charged in the case, while five have been released. Police continue to question eight other suspects.

The number of people who agreed that "a large proportion of British Muslims feel no sense of loyalty to this country and are prepared to condone or even carry out acts of terrorism," nearly doubled, with 18 percent backing the statement compared to 10 percent after the terrorist bombings in the London subway system last July.

There was a 7 percentage point decrease, from 23 to 16 percent, in the number of respondents who agreed that "practically all British Muslims are peaceful, law-abiding citizens who deplore terrorist acts as much as anyone else."

Ruth Kelly, Britain's communities secretary, conceded earlier this week that the country's multiculturalist approach may have contributed to isolated communities and called for a debate about how best to unite them.

The poll of 1,757 adults from across Britain was conducted via the Internet from August 22-24 and had a margin for error of 2 to 3 percent.

Poll: Majority of Britons feel threatened by Islam(Over)
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