A new Pew Research Center study finds both Muslims and Westerners holding unflattering views of the other one.
An excerpt from the BBC story:
The researchers canvassed the opinions of 14,000 people in 13 countries.
BBC Islamic affairs analyst Roger Hardy says a string of events, from last year's London bombings to the more recent row over cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad, appear to have taken their toll on relations between Islam and the West.
Muslim opinions about the West and its people have worsened over the past year and by overwhelming margins
Pew Center reportThe Pew Research Center's survey, published on Thursday, speaks of a "great divide" between the two.
It says that Muslims and Westerners blame each other for deteriorating relations.
Muslim people "have an aggrieved view of the West" and are "much more likely than Americans or Western Europeans to blame Western policies for their own lack of prosperity", the authors contend.
By contrast Western publics say Muslims are held back by "government corruption, lack of education and Islamic fundamentalism", they add.
Hopeful signs?
The report says the "chasm" between Muslims and the West is also seen in judgements about how the other side treats women.
Westerners, by large margins, do not regard Muslims as "respectful of women", while majorities in four of the five Muslim countries said the same about the West.
Despite the divide, attitudes are not uniformly negative.
Solid majorities in France, the US and Britain retain overall favourable opinions of Muslims, while positive views of Muslims have declined sharply in Spain (from 46% to 29%), the survey notes.
It says about eight in 10 people in both Spain and Germany associate Islam with fanaticism - a view that is less prevalent in France (50%), Britain (48%) and the US (43%).
Likewise, Muslim opinion is far from uniform, with Muslim minorities in Europe often attributing positive attributes to Westerners - including tolerance, generosity, and respect for women.
On the other hand, in Muslim countries in the Middle East and Asia large majorities describe the West as "selfish", "arrogant", and "violent".
