Christians are generally viewed by Muslims with less hostility than are Jews. In Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Nigeria and all four European nations surveyed by the Pew Research Center, for instance, more Muslims express favorable views of Christians than express negative sentiments. In some places, however, sizeable numbers express negative views of Christians. In Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan and Turkey, for example, majorities say that they have an unfavorable view of Christians. Even in Indonesia, Jordan and Nigeria, where favorable views are more common than unfavorable opinions, roughly one-in-three Muslims share this negative assessment.

Another obstacle to fostering harmonious interfaith relations lies in Muslims’ views of how they themselves are perceived by the West. In Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey and Germany, at least 50% say that “most” or “many” Europeans are hostile to Muslims. Muslims living in other European countries tend to be somewhat less likely than their counterparts in other places to hold this perception, but even in Europe sizeable numbers say they are viewed with hostility by many other Europeans. Americans, too, are viewed as being hostile toward Muslims by comparable margins.

Consistent with these findings, new Pew Research Center polling shows that many people in the Middle East identify religious and ethnic hatred as a serious danger threatening the world today. According to a Pew Research Center survey released in June 2007, two problems dominate concerns across the Middle East: the spread of nuclear weapons, and religious and ethnic hatred. “In nearly every Middle Eastern country surveyed,” the report states, “these issues are either the first or second most frequently mentioned threat facing the world.” The concern with religious and ethnic hatred remains high in the Middle East despite the fact that such concerns have declined in recent years in many parts of the world.

The Washington-based Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan “fact tank” with seven projects that provide information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. This analysis by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life was based on surveys conducted between 2005 and 2007 by the Pew Global Attitudes Project.