The failed car bomb attacks in London and at Glasgow airport have "given Islam a bad name", new research has indicated.
More than seven out of ten people (71 per cent) questioned in a survey said they thought the bomb plots had given the religion a negative image.
In excess of half (54 per cent) also thought the planned attacks had damaged the overall reputation of religion, thinktank Theos has revealed.
However 60 per cent of respondents said they still believed Islam was essentially a religion of peace, compared to 17 per cent who felt that it was fundamentally one of war.
Scottish people were found to be the most positive, with 69 per cent viewing the religion as peaceful, perhaps indicating that the attempted Glasgow airport attack has had a limited impact on opinions about Islam there.
Just seven per cent of Scots thought that Islam was a warlike faith.
Almost half (45 per cent) of those questioned by the public theology thinktank also stressed that they still believed that religion in general was a force for good within Britain.
"The swift condemnation of the attacks and the active stance taken by Muslim leaders against extremism has clearly helped to build confidence and national solidarity," said Theos director Paul Woolley.
However he warned that greater negativity towards Islam registered among young people needed to be addressed in order to avoid any "clash of civilisations".
Some 28 per cent of 18-24 year olds questioned by Theos said they viewed Islam as a religion of war, compared to just 13 per cent of those aged over 65.
"The trend that will alarm the government and community groups most is that young people, who are generally more positive about spirituality, are so much more negative about Islam than the population as a whole," said Mr Woolley.
He called for "mutual understanding and cooperation" in order to tackle the problem.
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14-07-2007, 14:14
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