Pollsters says more Italians afraid of Islam, fear attack

(ANSA) - Rome, January 9 - The number of Italians who said they are afraid of Islam and terrorists jumped this week after the attacks on a Paris magazine that killed 12 people, according to two opinion surveys released Friday.
    Polling institute Ixé found that as many as 62% of those people surveyed on Wednesday, the same day as the Paris attack, said they were afraid that terrorist violence could occur in Italy. That survey, conducted for RAI 3 television program Agora, included 1,000 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1%.
    It also found that 28% of those people surveyed said they were not concerned about safety in Italy and 10% said they did not know.
    Meanwhile, marketing pollster SWG said that fear of Islam rose by nine percentage points in 2014 compared with 2013, with 59% of people surveyed last year saying they agreed with the statement: "The Islamic religion constitutes a danger for everyone".
    The polling firm said that in 2003, 36% of people surveyed agreed with the same statement and by 2010, the number rose to 50%.
    When asked if Muslims in Italy should have the right to observe and practice their religion within schools, 36% agreed in 2014, a drop from 45% in 2013 and considerably lower than 56% in 2004.