Four out of five Victorians do not trust the Islamic faith, alarming new research for the state government has revealed.
A survey, conducted by an international consulting company, has found only 17 per cent of the general population trust Islam and a majority of Victorians believe a face veil “inhibits social inclusion”.
More than 3000 Victorians who were surveyed rated Islam as the least-trusted institution.
Senior figures in the Victorian Government are worried this antipathy towards Islam has helped fuel the rise of extreme right views.
The dislike of Islam and rise of the far right spurred the government to last month launch its anti-racism campaign: “Victorian. And Proud of it.”
Related government research provides the first-ever snapshot of the far right in Victoria, following a survey of more than 900 people with far-right views.
A UK think-tank surveyed Victorians who visited white pride sites, far-right political party websites and alt-right news sites to find that more than 18 per cent of far-right respondents believed violence was acceptable to ensure the right outcome.
They found most of the far right were likely to live in country areas, and were older men who generally had low-paying jobs.
The research seen by the Sunday Herald Sun shows their most defining characteristic was a disaffection and distrust of mainstream politics.
More than 81 per cent of respondents believed the country was not on the right track and believe the system is stacked against them.
The average age of those surveyed were 52 — Victoria’s average age is 40.
Unsurprisingly, the respondents showed a deep apathy toward Islam with more than 80 per cent of far-right respondents wanting to ban Muslim migration and the veil from public places.
The government has committed $600,000 to a deradicalisation program to target individuals who could be persuaded to carry out a right-wing attack.
Pilot programs aiming to deradicalise Muslim youth have already been established.