Czechs view the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) radicals as a security threat that is bigger than that posed by the geographically closer developments in Ukraine, according to a fresh poll conducted by the CVVM agency.
A total of 72 percent respondents said they consider IS a threat to the Czech Republic, and 64 percent said the same about the Ukrainian conflict.
Fifty-seven percent of those polled said they show interest in developments concerning IS.
Fifty-two percent said they follow the developments in Ukraine.
People’s interest in activities of IS exceeds the interest they ever showed in the developments in other areas, except for their similarly high interest in the Arab Spring movement of March 2011 and the Russia-Georgia conflict over South Ossetia in September 2008.
Men follow the IS radicals’ activities and developments in Ukraine more closely than women, and people’s interest in the events rises with age, education level and mainly their interest in politics in general.
According to a June poll by the STEM agency, Czechs consider Islamic fundamentalism, international organized crime and terrorism the biggest dangers to the Czech Republic.
In the STEM poll, Islamic radicalism was labeled a big danger by 82 percent of the respondents, compared with 57 percent in a similar poll four years ago.