ISIS apparently has broad support in Eurpoe

[khwaidee1 196]

TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2014

One in six French people say they support ISIS

Updated by Max Fisher on August 26, 2014, 8:30 a.m. ET @Max_Fisher max@vox.com

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Two polls released this week both ask a question that you would hope wouldn't need asking: how many people support the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)? Unfortunately, in all four countries surveyed, the answer is greater than zero, and by a lot.

Here is a chart of the results of the polls. The first, by ICM Research, asked people in Germany, France, and the UK whether they had a favorable or unfavorable view of ISIS. The second, by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, asked Gazans whether they support or oppose ISIS. Here are the results.

First, a caveat: while the polls of Gazans and Europeans are similar, they are not totally identical. They were conducted by different polling agencies using different methods, and the different question could skew responses, as "support" is stronger than "favor." So keep that in mind when comparing the Gaza results to the others, although it is hard to ignore that ISIS could have a higher approval rating in France than in Gaza.

In any case, the big, scary, surprising, number here is France: 16 percent of those surveyed say they support ISIS. That's an awful lot. And that number gets even larger as the demographics get younger, as shown in this by-age breakdown published by Russia Today (the poll was commissioned by Russian state media, almost certainly to tar and/or troll Western countries, but that doesn't make the findings any less disturbing):

(Russia Today)

This is alarming, in part because a growing number of Europeans, often from predominantly Muslim immigrant communities, are not just expressing their support for ISIS in polls: they are traveling to Syria and Iraq to join up. The ISIS fighter who killed American journalist James Foley on video last week spoke with a strong London accent. European governments are rightly worried about the implications of this for their own national security.

But there's more going on here. It's no secret that far-right politics have been on the rise in Western Europe, which includes a growing willingness to embrace extremism and greater intolerance of all kinds. It is ironic but by no means impossible that far-right Islamophobia would rise in Europe alongside a greater approval of the Islamist group ISIS. Extremism is often reactive and ideologically contradictory.

The growth of European intolerance has brought a rise in hate toward Jews in Europe, as well as Muslims. It's more complicated than extremism festering within predominantly Muslim immigrant communities. "There is no clear correlation in Europe between the level of popular anti-Semitism and the size of the Muslim population," the British writer Kenan Malik explained recently in the New York Times. He went on:

The rise of identity politics has helped create a more fragmented, tribal society, and made sectarian hatred more acceptable generally.

At the same time, the emergence of "anti-politics," the growing contempt for mainstream politics and politicians noticeable throughout Europe, has laid the groundwork for a melding of radicalism and bigotry. Many perceive a world out of control and driven by malign forces; conspiracy theories, once confined to the fringes of politics, have become mainstream.

The good news here may be the Gaza poll numbers. While 13 percent is exactly 13 more than what it should be, 85 percent of polled Gazans said they oppose ISIS. That's awfully high, especially considering that Europeans were much less likely to say they held an unfavorable view of the group:

Though Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been arguing that ISIS is indistinguishable from Hamas, the Palestinian group that rules Gaza (he is wrong for a number of reasons), it turns out that at least Palestinians in Gaza see a strong distinction. While the Gaza poll did not ask for Hamas approval/disapproval, it did return favorable-sounding results on two questions: "Was the Palestinian resistance prepared for this aggression [by Israel against Gaza]," to which 58 percent said yes; and "do you support disarming the Palestinian resistance," to which 93 percent said no and 3 percent said yes.

Again, Gazans and Europeans were asked slightly different questions by different polling agencies, but it is still awfully striking that more Gazans gave the anti-ISIS response than did Western Europeans.

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[GBCW 397]

VWP for EU nations will end over the next decade.

And then NATO will unravel, as well.

America will stand alone. And America will win.

Rand Paul 2016.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Poll conducted by icmresearch for a Russian news agency. The poll was done via the phone with three questions being asked:

Q.1 Do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose the admission of new members such as Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to the EU?

Q.2 From what you know, please, tell me if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable opinion of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant otherwise known as ISIS?

Q.3 Which of the following comes closest to your view:

The instability in Iraq is the result of military action in Iraq (about 30% across all three countries)

The instability in Iraq is the result of general political development within Iraq (47% GB and France, 59% Germany)

Don't Know (the rest of them)

[Curmudgeon 227]

The conclusion that can and should be drawn? The journalist that concocted this bizarre piece of journo junk is easily alarmed.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Not much of a conclusion to be drawn.. 7% find them favorable in the UK, even less in Germany. I don't find those alarming numbers. The wording is not terrible but when they say the full name with "Iraq" before ISIS that cost a couple of percent right there.. We don't don't know how it was worded in French - 16% is a bit high and if other polls continue to find they measure that high then I might be a bit concerned.

Also.. this poll was done before the beheading so any illusions some people had about this group are gone.

[GBCW 397]

Not much of a conclusion to be drawn.. 7% find them favorable in the UK, even less in Germany. I don't find those alarming numbers. The wording is not terrible but when they say the full name with "Iraq" before ISIS that cost a couple of percent right there.. We don't don't know how it was worded in French - 16% is a bit high and if other polls continue to find they measure that high then I might be a bit concerned.

Also.. this poll was done before the beheading so any illusions some people had about this group are gone.

the beheading of foley isn't in the top 10 of the worst things ISIS has done so far.

[lostinblue 1,989]

the beheading of foley isn't in the top 10 of the worst things ISIS has done so far.

I would say forcing folks to join their idea of a perverse religious order on the threat of death and slavery.

The 1 Simple Word That Triggered ISIS Mass Killing Spree

First they wanted us all to convert to Islam, and we said yes just to save our lives. We were all very afraid," said Khodede from a hospital bed in the town of Dohuk in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.Then our sheikh said, 'I won't convert to Islam.' And then they gathered us inside the village school," he said.

The men were taken to the first floor and the women to the second after the villagers' money and gold jewelry were seized, probably to fund the group made up of Iraqis and other Arabs as well as foreign fighters.

Then the Yazidis were loaded onto minibuses in groups of 10 to 20 and transported outside the village after being told they would be taken to Sinjar, the ancient homeland of the sect.

The vehicles stopped abruptly and the militants opened fire without warning. "They started shooting at us randomly. They had heavy guns like machine guns. I was hit in my leg and on my pelvis," said Khodede, showing where he had been wounded.

http://www.charismanews.com/world/45079-the-1-simple-word-that-triggered-isis-mass-killing-spree

ALL must submit....or die. Total submission from every person ... one person refuses ..a.death sentence for all but the young and pretty women .....The slave trade is alive and well ..

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

the beheading of foley isn't in the top 10 of the worst things ISIS has done so far.

Visials in the west are all important and are on peoples mind and has defined the group for many.

[GBCW 397]

Visials in the west are all important and are on peoples mind and has defined the group for many.

yes, but they were evil before foley's decap.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

"Decap" eh? Is that what we're reduced to here? Talking about a man's horrible death as if it happened in a cartoon?

[GBCW 397]

"Decap" eh? Is that what we're reduced to here? Talking about a man's horrible death as if it happened in a cartoon?

it simply is not an important part of the isis story.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

yes, but they were evil before foley's decap.

We are talking about the results of a opinion poll across the entire population of a country that is not involved with ISIS on a daily basis. The murder got them (ISIS) attention and shocked people and got them to talking and taking the threat seriously. My point was not if ISIS is worse or better now - it was what would the polls show and I think the murder in everyone's face got them a lot of press in the west and the poll numbers would be down.

A moot point since we will probably never know.