Poll finds some Europeans support ISIS

[MD]

I read this article the other day:
http://rt.com/news/181076-isis-islam-militans-france/

At first I thought it was some sort of propaganda piece. Then I found the poll done by ICM research

http://www.icmresearch.com/data/media/pdf/New EU Members-Combined-July 2014-V3.pdf

ICM Research - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


If you go to page 2, according to the poll, over 30% of those polled in France held a somewhat favorable to a very favorable view of ISIS. The percentages are 14% in the UK and 4% in Germany. ICM research doesn't seem to be a shady polling system, it's a member of the British Polling Council.

I still am having a hard time believing that this can be true. It would mean that ISIS has a substantial support base in Western Europe.

Anyone more familiar with statistical analysis and bias in studies could comment here please? I mean there is a lot of room for selection bias and such, but are the results of this poll totally off? Or is it partially valid?

 

[Sabour]

I would really like to listen for the reasons.

What are reasons one can think of for holding such an opinion?

 

[Phil25]

I read this article the other day:
http://rt.com/news/181076-isis-islam-militans-france/

At first I thought it was some sort of propaganda piece. Then I found the poll done by ICM research

http://www.icmresearch.com/data/media/pdf/New EU Members-Combined-July 2014-V3.pdf

ICM Research - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


If you go to page 2, according to the poll, over 30% of those polled in France held a somewhat favorable to a very favorable view of ISIS. The percentages are 14% in the UK and 4% in Germany. ICM research doesn't seem to be a shady polling system, it's a member of the British Polling Council.

I still am having a hard time believing that this can be true. It would mean that ISIS has a substantial support base in Western Europe.

Anyone more familiar with statistical analysis and bias in studies could comment here please? I mean there is a lot of room for selection bias and such, but are the results of this poll totally off? Or is it partially valid?

No surprise there as France has one of the largest Muslim population in Europe. If this continues there would be soon an Islamic State of Europe.

sidenote- Before I am accused of Islamophobia, I want to state that most of support for ISIS comes from Muslims. I mean do you honestly think that a Yezidi or a Christian will support ISIS.

 

[Revoltingest]

I'm not expert enuf with statistics to evaluate their work.
But the high approval numbers suggest that there are
many Islamist immigrants in those countries...a whole lot!

 

[xkatz]

I read this article the other day:
http://rt.com/news/181076-isis-islam-militans-france/

At first I thought it was some sort of propaganda piece. Then I found the poll done by ICM research

http://www.icmresearch.com/data/media/pdf/New%20EU%20Members-Combined-July%202014-V3.pdf

ICM Research - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


If you go to page 2, according to the poll, over 30% of those polled in France held a somewhat favorable to a very favorable view of ISIS. The percentages are 14% in the UK and 4% in Germany. ICM research doesn't seem to be a shady polling system, it's a member of the British Polling Council.

I still am having a hard time believing that this can be true. It would mean that ISIS has a substantial support base in Western Europe.

Anyone more familiar with statistical analysis and bias in studies could comment here please? I mean there is a lot of room for selection bias and such, but are the results of this poll totally off? Or is it partially valid?

It's 16%, not 30% according to the poll. I think "of those polled" are mainly people in the Muslim community. I have a feeling that 100% of French Jews, Christians, and atheists don't support ISIS in any way. And it looks like ICM didn't even use that big of sample so it could very well be smaller. There is probably elements in the Muslim communities of Europe that are pro-ISIS (which seems be obvious though), and European govts need to take serious action IMO. What do you (shahz) think should be done to counter this?

That said, I generally take anything from RT w/ a grain of salt. The BIGGEST grain of salt...

 

[MD]

It's 16%, not 30% according to the poll. I think "of those polled" are mainly people in the Muslim community. I have a feeling that 100% of French Jews, Christians, and atheists don't support ISIS in any way. And it looks like ICM didn't even use that big of sample so it could very well be smaller. There is probably elements in the Muslim communities of Europe that are pro-ISIS (which seems be obvious though), and European govts need to take serious action IMO. What do you (shahz) think should be done to counter this?

That said, I generally take anything from RT w/ a grain of salt. The BIGGEST grain of salt...

16% had a highly favorable view. But the rest of the 16% had either a favorable or somewhat favorable view. So it's around 32% in France.

RT might be Putin's propaganda machine, but the poll was conducted by a reputable organization.

 

[MD]

One in six French people say they support ISIS - Vox

 

[XIII-Legion]

I read this article the other day:
15% of French people back ISIS militants, poll finds — RT News

At first I thought it was some sort of propaganda piece. Then I found the poll done by ICM research

http://www.icmresearch.com/data/media/pdf/New EU Members-Combined-July 2014-V3.pdf

ICM Research - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


If you go to page 2, according to the poll, over 30% of those polled in France held a somewhat favorable to a very favorable view of ISIS. The percentages are 14% in the UK and 4% in Germany. ICM research doesn't seem to be a shady polling system, it's a member of the British Polling Council.

I still am having a hard time believing that this can be true. It would mean that ISIS has a substantial support base in Western Europe.

Anyone more familiar with statistical analysis and bias in studies could comment here please? I mean there is a lot of room for selection bias and such, but are the results of this poll totally off? Or is it partially valid?

But those "Europeans" who support ISIS can't be white. Only people of the Muslim faith would support ISIS. The vast majority of Muslims are from N. Africa, Middle East, Afghanistan, and the Sub-continent.

You will seldom find a black who supports the KKK; likewise, you will hardly find any whites who would support a radical Islamic organization such as ISIS.

 

[mycorrhiza]

But those "Europeans" who support ISIS can't be white. Only people of the Muslim faith would support ISIS. The vast majority of Muslims are from N. Africa, Middle East, Afghanistan, and the Sub-continent.

You will seldom find a black who supports the KKK; likewise, you will hardly find any whites who would support a radical Islamic organization such as ISIS.

So white people can't be Muslim and non-whites can't be European?


I'd also say it's a rather small sample size for a population of 60, 66 and 80 million people. It also was conducted mostly by landline, something that isn't that common anymore, especially not among young people. The people who still have it may very well be more conservative. There is no need to panic over one small study...

 

[mycorrhiza]

With a very generous count, 10% of the French are muslims. It doesn't seem likely at all that all muslims and then several percent above that would support ISIS.

Washington post points out that people might have understood it as what their attitude towards Iraq was and that landlines (as I pointed out) might skew the results.

Do 1 in 6 French citizens really support Islamic State? - The Washington Post