How high are these numbers once those who are telling pollsters what they know they want to hear are removed from the data? And even if one takes these findings at face value, they lead to a serious question: why is what we are constantly told is a misunderstanding of Islam so prevalent among Muslims in Australia? Why do more than one-fifth of Muslims in Australia believe something that we are told is a twisted version of Islam held only by ISIS?
“New survey sheds light on the depth of extremist beliefs among Muslim Australians,” by Shane Satterley, The Conversation, March 11, 2021:
According to the survey, which was completed by 1,034 Muslim Australian citizens and permanent residents in late 2019, 23% of respondents agreed that establishing a caliphate (a form of Islamic government) is a religious obligation.
Nearly one in five respondents (19%) said they defined jihad as an “offensive” concept rather than something that is done only in self defence, while 10% agreed that countries with sharia law are more just and fair than Australia.
The findings are part of recent research I conducted with colleagues at Griffith University. The study is one of the most comprehensive attempts to measure Islamist extremism within a population, and is the largest of its kind to deeply examine Islamist extremism in Australia….
Not all Islamists are violent extremists. Some will use the ballot box and institutions of the state to advocate for an Islamic system of government based on sharia. Why non-violent Islamists are still considered concerning is due to how some intend to govern once in power, dispelling notions of a liberal democracy.
Importantly, we must emphasise that a large majority of our fellow Muslim Australians do not agree with an extremist Islamist interpretation of the religion and strongly condemn the use of violence.
For instance, nearly 90% said Islam never allows violence against civilians, while 60% said they believe countries with sharia laws are not more just and fair than Australia and 51.3% would not want to live in countries where sharia laws are in force.
Previous research has contended that factors such as social marginalisation, alienation and isolation are breeding grounds for radicalisation.
Our survey found some evidence of this, but only in relation to the family unit.
Those who broadly supported Islamist views were more likely to feel strongly connected to the local mosque and Muslim community compared to the other respondents. The responses did not indicate social marginalisation or isolation from Australian society — quite the opposite.
However, those who agreed with more extreme views around martyrdom and attacking civilian targets were much more likely to have experienced a loss of connection to family. These respondents, though, still maintained a connection to other areas of society, particularly the local mosque.
When it came to gender, the male participants in our survey were far more likely to agree with Islamist views.
For example, 31.5% of the men we surveyed agreed that a caliphate is a religious obligation.
This number is quite striking, as it explains how a group like Islamic State (IS) was able to use this notion to mobilise tens of thousands of recruits around the globe, including many from Australia in 2014 and 2015.
It also shows continued support for this idea of a caliphate, even though IS has largely been defeated in its Middle East stronghold and lost control of its self-declared caliphate.
While there was sizeable support for the idea of a caliphate in our survey, this didn’t necessarily extend to more extremist views. Just 8% of all respondents expressed support for an Islamic political order and sharia law being implemented by force.
And when we asked whether Islam regards civilians as legitimate targets for armed conflict, only 5% of all respondents indicated it was generally or sometimes permissible.
To better understand where those with extremist views got their ideas, we also asked participants what they considered to be the most influential sources of Islamic knowledge from a lengthy list.
Those with Islamist beliefs were more likely to indicate the Quran and social media than others in the survey. And they were much more likely to indicate imams, the mosque, the hadith and scholarly books as very influential sources of Islamic knowledge….
Jayell says
23% want to live in a caliphate. So why don’t they just pack up their things and go and live n one? And whilst Jihad may or may not be offensive, islam is most definitely offensive – but I notice they didn’t ask that one.
Eur says
that percentage is not real. If you ask any Muslim, they will answer that the caliphate is the ideal society. 100% of Muslims would like to live in a caliphate but obviously they are not in favor of the killings, rapes … and those atrocities that we have in recent memory with Isis. Even Muslims who are active in European political parties speak positively about the first caliphates, for them a caliphate dictatorship is synonymous with justice because it is a society based on the Koran. All of them, 100%, are theocratic people.
mortimer says
Disagree with Eur. Before ISIS, a strong majority of Muslims wanted a caliphate, but when they saw ISIS in action, they realized that ISIS is REAL ISLAM … and they RECOILED in horror. As a result of ISIS, many Muslims are no longer active, practicing Muslims.
PRCS says
EUR says: All of them, 100%, are theocratic people.
That IS correct. To not be, is to not be a Muslim.
The issue: what they actually know about Islam and to what degree they comply with the sharia (Islamic law).
How many, having recoiled at the Islamic State’s strict compliance, may have adopted a “Muslim in name only” posture, though possibly true–is unknown.
toomanyhobbies says
then why are they there….. easy they are there to conquer not integrate…
Hank says
Sorry, but Australia is in the same suicidal league with Canada and Sweden (EU). It’s all grievous, self-inflicted wounds and bruises. These countries allowed or rather willingly invited Islam to come and pitch its tent there. The people love it so, as they keep voting for the same people who want Islam to pitch its tent in their midst. It reminds me of a quote by Storm P: “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.” Think about it the next time you cast your vote.
Rob Porter says
Jayell – To think that Australia, like a host of Western countries, was so stupid as to allow Muslims to immigrate. This ignorance has brought upon Australia endless Muslim conflict with, as we know, endless efforts to impose Islam and sharia. It is so astoundingly stupid that I marvel at the stupidity. Any government that cares about the well-being of its people would inform Muslims, ‘You either assimilate, embrace Australian laws and customs, or you leave’.
Michael Copeland says
Daring conclusion:
The “extremist Islamist interpretation” is the same as ordinary Islam.
mortimer says
Most Muslims have no intention of conducting jihad, even though they know the Koran says ‘it is good for you.’
Most Muslims currently live in severe cognitive dissonance. They know what they SHOULD do according to the Koran and hadiths, but adamantly REFUSE to do it because they don’t want to live in a Muslim society.
Michael Copeland says
Memo to Shane Satterley:
Find out the core teachings of Islam.
Try http://www.thereligionofpeace.com or
https://gatesofvienna.net/2018/01/instructing-radicalisation/
PRCS says
New survey sheds light on the depth of extremist beliefs among Muslim Australians
Do so-called journalists assign the extremist beliefs label to Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists…..
Michael Copeland says
Does the survey explain the NON-“extremist” “interpretation” of “Kill them wherever you find them”?
Michael Copeland says
Islamism … according to the U.S. 9/11 Commission Report, “is defined as ‘an Islamic militant, anti-democratic movement, bearing a holistic vision of Islam whose final aim is the restoration of the caliphate.'”
Abigail R. Esman
https://www.investigativeproject.org/8755/macron-is-right-islamo-leftism-is-a-threat
This is also quite a good description of Islam.
The word “Islamist” does not appear in the Manual of Islamic Law, “Reliance of the Traveller”. It was invented for use in the West to deflect attention away from Islam, and to continue to nourish the deception that Islam is peace.
Raja says
Mike,
You are right about Islamism being a deceptive term to “protect” Islam and its horrors.
The man on the street might not know the the the deceptive Left has coined the word Islamism.
Walter Sieruk says
The people under a real Caliphate are subject to the rule of Sharia law. It should be made known that the actual origin of Sharia law is revealed in a Time –Life book with the title MESOPOTAMIA: THE MIGHTY KINGS copyright 1995. The point is this history book about the ancient pagan world of Mesopotamia informs the reader that “many Islamic laws resemble the Babylon and Assyrian forebears.” .page 150.
There is the above and other references imply that such pagan teachings were incorporated into the religion that Muhammad manufactured and then started.
Thus this further reveals that a lot of ancient paganism is part of the whole religion of Islam.
In other words, ancient paganism makes up much of Islam. Therefore Islam is a hoax.
mortimer says
From previous, similar questionnaires, I believe those numbers are close to the real result. Most people say what they really think in an anonymous survey. But they may not actually KNOW what they think at the time of the survey.
Approximately, 15% of Muslims worldwide, HABITUALLY say that they support terrorist jihad groups. This is a credible number. The 19% of Australian Muslims who support jihadic terrorism is slightly higher than the average. This should concern the Australian security services.
On the other hand, it looks like Muslims in Australia are no longer enamored with the idea of a universal CALIPHATE. Before ISIS came along, about 60% of Muslims worldwide wanted a caliphate. The Australian Muslims DON’T want a caliphate now. They also DON’T want Sharia law by over one-half (51%).
Muslims in Australia are HALF-HEARTED Muslims except there are many jihad supporters among them.
The question is whether those half-hearted Muslims would turn in the jihadists to the authorities if they saw or heard of a jihad-terror plot.
Raja says
Mortimer,
A Muslim is programmed to distinguish the world into 2 orders as you always content. One, that is the enemy allah and another that is of allah, Ummah. His ideal is the later and hence he is odious of secular governments.
If some Australian Muslims launch a “Australia for Sharia” I doubt the percentage would be as little as this survey depicts or as revealed by you.
If some Islamic state springs up virtually or in some remote part of Australia, the local Muslims supporting this cause will almost be universal.
If a Sep 11 takes place in Australia, some Muslims may dance in streets, while most might “condemn” it, they might pass on congratulatory wishes to each other.
Conversely, if the Australian govt decides to deport all Muslims in the face of many major terror attacks in quick succession, the Muslims may have candle light vigils for the victims.
This is the reality of Islam, globally. They are the “best of the peoples” for all seasons because they have no standards, no morals, plain Chameleons..
Cornelius says
Well let’s see folks…..
According to the latest stats, 2.6% of Australia’s 25 million people are Muslim….which would be roughly 650,000 people. Of those, roughly 20% (according to the article above) are extremists….which would be roughly 130,000 people. If only two percent of those extremists were predisposed to Jihadist violence, that would mean that there are 2600 potential terrorists running around Australia at this minute. So let’s not over-estimate the threat folks. After all, how much carnage can 2600 people possibly do?….(I just felt a cold chill when I remembered that 19 high-jackers brought down the twin towers, killed 3000, and changed America forever).
But it’s the other 127,400 extremists who are also problematic. How many of them who are not predisposed to terrorism will become honor killers? Female genital mutilators? Propagandists and teachers who inculcate the Muslim youth with hatred of infidels and of their own country?
And what about the remaining 520,000 Muslims living in Australia who are NOT extremists? How many of them will eventually become so after political or personal circumstances that might induce a greater religiosity?
Yep….all in all, I’d say the problem is very manageable. By all means, Australia should bring in hundreds of thousands more Muslim migrants….after all, what could possibly go wrong?….(cough, cough)
b.a. freeman says
upon reading the first few pages of his research paper, it becomes apparent that shane satterley is either a leftist, or somebody who has been deceived by leftists, as he mentions “islamophobia” as if it were a real thing in the very first paragraph. usually, leftists write bulls**t, but this time, even though he puts the “islamist” and “extremist” tags on pious muslims, his data seem believable. the very fact that satterley *IS* a leftist puts an extra shine on the facts, with which leftists are usually reluctant to part, especially when dealing with those who have not bothered to check things for themselves.
given the horrifying statistics satterley presents, i would *love* to ask him how he explains such large percentages of muslims not understanding their own religion. is he trying to be racist, or what? [/sarcasm]
tim gallagher says
b.a. freeman, I live in Australia, but would never look at anything in The Conversation. I’m sure it would be left wing because it is written by university academics and, in Australia (and most other countries I suspect) academics are mostly leftist, politically correct types. You won’t find many conservatives employed in our universities. I don’t believe what they would say, just as I never go near the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), our version of the BBC, because it is very left wing and mostly seeks to put Australia down.
Relic says
“100% of Muslims would like to live in a caliphate but obviously they are not in favor of the killings, rapes …”
they have something to lose
zero sum men
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhXDyVAnOgo
David Browne says
I just want somebody to provide me with one historical piece of evidence, which can be validated, that shows Muhammad lived in Mecca from 570 CE to 632 CE.or that Mecca existed as a city prior to 750 CE. The more people who ask this question on forums, the more Muslims will wake up that they have been had. No Mecca, no narrative, no Muhammad outside of Abd al-Malik’s little brother then no jihadis and no innocent victims. I was asking these questions on You Tube and was banned. Everybody should be asking these questions. The KSA know it is all a lie. Look at what they are doing with the so-called graveyards in Mecca. Why haven’t they fixed the graves at Medina where the supposed Mothers of Islam were buried? I’ve given you the questions go out and ask Muslims. They will refer to manuscripts but that is bullshit. They have all been doctored to reflect the Hafs Quran. .
Ecosse1314 says
Your facts and dates are correct. The great city founded by Abraham and in the centre of a non existent trade route is a complete and utter myth.
Andrew Blackadder says
So ALL these muslims LEFT an islamic Country to come to a non islamic Country and they did so because they love non islamic Countries more than the islamic County they came from, or they came to these non islamic Countries because they want the non islamic Countries to be islamic…
Have I figured this out correctly.
Basically, if you want to live under sharia then there are 50 plus islamic shithole Countries to choose from, pick one and fuck off already..
RodSerling says
Based on my initial reading, this study was designed with the aim of presenting Australian Muslims in a positive light. Most noteworthy are the questions that weren’t included, namely, about what should be done about “blasphemy” and criticism of Islam, apostasy, homosexuality, non-Muslim men marrying Muslim women, and other violations of sharia. (They do ask about “freedom of expression,” which most Muslims in this sample agree with, but we know from other studies that most Muslims’ concepts of freedom of expression do not include the right to criticize Islam and Muhammad).
As is typical for these types of fluff studies, the use of the words “civilians” and “innocent civilians” pretty much invalidates the questions about the use of violence; even members of ISIS will tell you they oppose violence against “innocent civilians.”
Also very noteworthy is the fact that no form of random sampling was used. This is not a probability sample. So we don’t have a clear idea of how well these responses actually represent the views Muslim Australians. From this study, you can’t say “X % of Muslim Australians say ________”.
Quote: “The survey [… was] disseminated online with the support of Muslim community organizations, groups, and individuals around Australia who shared the link to the survey through email and across social media platforms, particularly Facebook.”
So, at best, these survey results reflect the views of whichever individuals and organizations these Muslim organizations deemed acceptable to survey. We cannot say this represents Muslim Australians generally. We’ve got a kind of Islamic public relations management built into the methods of the survey itself.
Quote: “Importantly, we must emphasise that a large majority of our fellow Muslim Australians do not agree with an extremist Islamist interpretation of the religion and strongly condemn the use of violence.”
And they base this on such findings as… “For instance, nearly 90% said Islam never allows violence against civilians, while 60% said they believe countries with sharia laws are not more just and fair than Australia and 51.3% would not want to live in countries where sharia laws are in force.”
1. Re civilians, obviously jihadists and others who use force against people don’t regard those people, at the time the force is used, as civilians or innocent civilians, otherwise they would not be using force. There is the issue of collateral damage also, but the researchers as far as I’ve seen didn’t address that.
The other problem is that the researchers, in collaboration with the Muslim groups who apparently had decision power, probably including veto power, over questions and question content.
2. Countries that are known to have sharia laws also have other characteristics that might make them less attractive than Australia. Also, Australia, like many western countries, is making significant accommodations for Islam.
Overall impression: this looks like another softball “study” designed in the management of Islamic public relations and image in the West.