YouGov, a market research organization, recently teamed up with Arab News and the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) to reveal just how UK voters feel towards Arabs and Muslims.
The study titled 'UK attitudes toward the Arab world' surveyed more than 2,100 people. Only 28 percent of the participants agree that Arab migrants and refugees have benefited Europe and Britain, while 41 percent disagree. The remaining 32 percent answered 'neutral' to the question.
A majority number - 64 percent to be exact - believe Arabs have failed to integrate into Western societies and oftentimes create isolated communities to adapt.
But, how much do the participants actually know about the Arab world?
When it comes to familiarity with the Arab world, 56 percent said they don't really know much about it. Moreover, 25 percent revealed that they don't know anything about the Arab region altogether.
A little over one-third are actually interested in increasing their knowledge of this part of the world - with less than one-fifth expressing interest in traveling to an Arab country.
Due to such limited knowledge, it is only natural to see stereotypical perceptions prevail.
More than half of those surveyed said they associate Arab culture with strict gender roles and Islam.
Also, 23 percent associate the Arab world with extremism and 14 percent with violence.
When asked about Islamophobia, 72 percent said it's a growing issue in the UK
Following the deadly terrorist attack in Manchester earlier this year, which occurred just after American singer Ariana Grande's concert, Islamophobic attacks have increased by more than 500 percent, according to The Guardian.
A total of 224 reports of anti-Muslim hate crimes were filed in the month after the attack compared to the 37 of the same period in 2016.
The bullying of a 14-year-old at Manchester Islamic High School for Girls that happened in the aftermath of the attack is one example.
The girl was harassed with statements such as: "when are you going to stop bombing people?" while on her way to school.
Headteacher Mona Mohamed said that the teenager was "upset and hurt" by the comments, but did not respond at the time.
And it's not just happening at schools. A study published earlier this year revealed that qualified Muslims in the UK are being held back in the job market due to Islamophobia and racism.
Despite acknowledging Islamophobia as a problem, 55 percent said they would support "racial profiling" against Arabs/Muslims
When asked if they would support racial profiling against Arabs or Muslims for security reasons, 55 percent of the participants answered "yes."
24 percent disagreed, while 20 percent remained neutral.
Other key highlights of the survey:
- 7 out of 10 Brits think the UK should take in fewer refugees from Syria and Iraq.
- UK residents have strong feelings about key Middle Eastern issues - including the fight against Daesh (the so-called Islamic State) and the war in Iraq - but 81 percent admitted to knowing little or nothing about the Arab world.
- 53 percent of respondents believe the UK should recognise Palestine as a state.
- Most Brits are dissatisfied with the current UK foreign policy in the Arab world, with 57 percent saying it has been largely ineffective in upholding human rights and promoting global security.
- More than half of those polled support Britain’s current military intervention against Daesh, while 8 in 10 Brits believe going to war in Iraq in 2003 was wrong.
- 22 percent of respondents perceived UK media coverage of the Arab region to be accurate while 39 percent thought it was inaccurate.
Read the full poll results here.
Malik Al Ash-Shaykh contributed to this post.