One fifth of Europeans do not want Muslim neighbours, says new study

Europe has experienced an increase in the influx of Muslim refugees in the recent time, but are the Europeans comfortable in welcoming them?

Read: British Muslims take a stand against Islamic State group

A recent study has revealed one fifth of European citizens do not want to live next door to followers of the Islamic faith.

The survey was conducted by Bertelsmann Stiftung-- an independent foundation under private law, based in Gütersloh of Germany-- as a part of Religious Monitor 2017 project. Around 10,000 people from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and the UK, which is home to some 14 million Muslims, were interviewed.

20 percent don't want Muslim neighbours

The project aimed to investigate the integration and acceptance of Muslims in Europe.

The results revealed that 20 percent of them do not want Muslims as their neighbour. According to the survey, Austria topped the list among those who do not want Muslim neighbours with 28 percent while France showed lowest level of concern with 14 percent.

In fact, the survey also found out that around 31 percent of people from these five countries didn't want to live near any refugees in general, regardless of their religion.

Muslims get paid less

The survey also looked into the aspect how people from the Islamic community are doing in the job market.

The foundation has revealed that ardent followers of Islam find it more difficult to seek a job in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France despite being more qualified as compared to the less devoted Islam followers.

The UK was the only country which defied the finding.

According to the survey, Muslims earn significantly less indicating they are more often employed in low-wage positions.

On average, Muslims in Europe are more religious than other faith communities and maintain close ties to their countries of origin. This religious and cultural difference cause uneasiness among the local population, said the survey.