In the years since the September 11 attacks on the United States, much has been said about the Muslim world, but little, it is argued, has been gathered on what Muslims truly think of the West.

Now Gallup, the global polling group, has conducted research in 35 Muslim countries, interviewing more than 50,000 people over a six-year period, to come up with what it is calling the first comprehensive survey of Muslim world opinion.

The results, published in a book called Who Speaks for Islam? What a billion Muslims really think, provide often surprising clues as to how Muslims perceive the West and how misunderstanding on both sides — often perpetuated by politicians and the media — can fuel suspicion and conflict. “The conflict between Muslims and Western communities is far from inevitable,” co-author Dalia Mogahed said on Monday, laying out one of the fundamental conclusions she and John Esposito, a professor at Georgetown University, drew from the reams of data.

“It is more about policy than principles... Despite widespread anti-American and anti-British sentiment, Muslims around the world said they in fact admired much of what the West holds dear”, including freedom of speech, democracy, technological progress and access to knowledge.

“Muslims do not see the West as monolithic — their perception of different nations falls along policy, not cultural or religious lines,” she said. The US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, where it is closely backed by Britain, have done much to colour the perception of the two in the Muslim world, where they are widely regarded “unfavourably” and described as “aggressive”.

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