By: Anne Lu
Source: International Business Times (Australia)
A new poll has revealed that 60 percent of Australians would be concerned if a relative married a Muslim. A university study into Islamophobia has also revealed that more than a third of those surveyed agreed that Muslims pose a threat to Australia.
A Deakin University research has found that 60 percent of the 304 randomly selected Australians would be worried if someone from their family married a Muslim. Thirty-three percent of them, on the other hand, would be worried if a relative would marry a Jew. Only 8.1 percent of them would have reservations if a relative would marry a Christian, and 29.4 percent would have issues with a relative marrying a Buddhist.
The survey, obtained by AAP, shows that 40.4 percent of them agree that “practicing Muslims pose a threat to Australian society. In the same vein, 36.5 percent agree that “practicing Muslims should be searched more thoroughly than others in airports and stations.” Twenty-six percent, meanwhile, want counter-terrorism policies to focus exclusively on practicing Muslims.
The results come a week after an Essential Research poll says 49 percent of Australians support Muslim immigration ban. The respondents were voters of the three major political parties in the country: Labor, Liberal and Greens.
