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Shocking poll reveals most Europeans want Trump-like Muslim bans
Most Europeans support bans on immigration from Muslim-majority countries, a shocking newly released poll has revealed.
Fifty-five percent of people polled in ten European countries said they were in favour of an end to all further migration from Muslim countries, according to a study released by Chatham House on Wednesday.
The poll of 10,000 people shed light on the widespread level of public anxiety over Muslim immigration with only 20 percent of people disagreeing with Muslim immigration bans.
The poll was conducted before US President Donald Trump tried to instate an executive order barring entry to refugees and nationals from seven mainly Muslim countries.
The poll revealed that opposition to migration by Muslims was especially intense in Austria, Poland, Hungary, France and Belgium.
In Britain, 47 percent of people polled agreed with a ban, 30 percent were neutral and 23 percent disagreed.
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The findings showed that opposition mainly came from older and less educated people with people under 30 years of age and university degree holders being notably less anti-Muslim immigration.
These developments have been exploited and often exagerrated by resurgent far-right groups and politicians across Europe, to peddle their anti-immigrant and Islamophobic agenda.
Trump issued a decree last month that denied entry to all refugees for 120 days, and travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. Refugees from Syria were blocked indefinitely.
On Friday, Trump's ban was suspended after two US states sought to have it overturned on grounds of religious discrimination and because it had caused "irreparable injury."
A recent poll, the results of which were posted on Twitter by Trump, showed that 55 percent of US citizens questioned in the study approved of the Muslim ban.