British people are more likely to have a negative view of Islam than Christianity – but are less likely to feel comfortable criticising it
The massacre of ten journalists and two police officers in Paris over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed, printed by satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo, has forced the world to confront, in the harshest of ways, the issue of criticising religion. France has a long and venerable tradition of satire, going back to the scandal sheets that denounced Marie-Antoinette prior to the French Revolution, but this week’s events have made journalists weigh freedom of speech against terror.
Only a handful of newspapers have printed the Charlie Hebdo Muhammed cartoons, and commentators have questioned whether reluctance to criticise Islam has left the few who do more vulnerable to attack.
New YouGov research finds that British people are less likely to feel comfortable criticising Islam than Christianity, despite feeling significantly more negative about it. [YouGov] Read more
