Survey reveals most Britons support racial profiling of Muslims

More than half (55 per cent) of Britons support racial profiling of Muslims for security reasons, according to a new poll.

The survey of 2,142 adults conducted by YouGov on behalf of Saudi publication Arab News also revealed that six in 10 UK nationals believe Arabs who have migrated to Europe have failed to integrate with Western societies.

Other findings of the poll include that 69 per cent believe the country show take fewer refugees from Syria and Iraq, rising to 91 per cent among those that voted for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.

However, 81 per cent of respondents admitted to knowing little or nothing about the Arab world and 41 per cent said they would never travel to the region.

The survey indicated rising Islamophobia in Britain, with 72 per cent suggesting this was the case and 70 per cent saying anti-refugee statement from politicians and others risk sparking more hate crimes.

Yet, despite these views, 53 per cent of respondents believed the UK should recognise Palestine as a state.

The results also showed that 57 per cent of respondents believed the UK’s foreign policy in the Arab world had proven ineffective at upholding human rights and promoting global security.

More than half of respondents support the country’s military intervention against ISIL but eight in 10 believe its role in the Iraq war in 2003 was wrong.

“The poll results strongly suggest that the UK public is dissatisfied with British diplomatic intervention in the Arab world, but that Brits also lack knowledge about some of the complexities of the region,” said Faisal Abbas, editor in chief of Arab News.

“The Arab world is home to some of the poorest countries in the world, yet nearly a third of Brits associate it with being wealthy. One may ask what impact such perceptions might have on aid decisions made by Western governments.”