60% of Arabs say violence permissible in response to "Western interference"; 55% say it's OK in response to "offensive words"

Robert Spencer

You said minority feel and think this way? Think again! Tiny Minority of Extremists™ Update: "Arabs find issue of religious extremism exaggerated: poll," from Gulf Times (thanks to all who sent this in):

A YOUGOV poll commissioned by the Doha Debates has concluded that nearly one-third of all Arabs believe that Saudi Arabia is at greater risk from religious extremism than any other country in the world. Correction: Saudi Arabia is most likely state to create religious extremism in other countries.

The poll adds weight to the vote at a session of the Doha Debates held on March 3 in Doha, where the motion “This house believes that Muslims are failing to combat extremism”, was carried by more than 70% of the audience.

In the YouGov survey, nearly half of all Arabs in the Gulf, Levant and North Africa said they have met someone who holds extreme religious views.

Asked under what conditions violence is permissible, more than 60% cited Western interference in a Muslim country, while 55% said offensive words or behaviour was a trigger.

More than half the respondents also believed that poor religious leadership is to blame for today’s extremism – although seven out of 10 said the size of the problem had been exaggerated....