LONDON (Reuters) - Two in three British Muslims oppose the U.S.-led strikes on Afghanistan, although an overwhelming majority of them consider themselves loyal citizens, a survey published on Thursday showed.
The MORI survey, published in the weekly Eastern Eye newspaper, also said nearly two-thirds of the country's Muslims believed their fellow countrymen were wrong to have gone to Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban.
Estimates suggest that up to 200 British Muslims may have gone to Afghanistan to take up arms for the Taliban.
``Among Muslims alone 87 percent say they are loyal to Britain, even though 64 percent opposed the U.S.-led strikes,'' the survey said.
The face-to-face poll of 554 Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians conducted as the Afghan capital Kabul fell to the Northern Alliance last week echoed an ICM poll conducted at the same time for the Guardian newspaper.
The MORI poll said half the people interviewed believed British Muslims fighting for the Taliban should be tried for treason if they returned to Britain.
But Eastern Eye news editor Abul Taher told Reuters the proportion was higher among Hindus and Sikhs and lower among Muslims.
The MORI poll, like the ICM poll, said many Asians had noticed a deterioration in race relations since the September 11 airliner attacks on New York and Washington that triggered the reprisals against the Taliban.