The study, which was conducted before the largest counter-terrorism raids in Australia in September 2014, involved 800 Muslims from both genders that varied in age and backgrounds, including Pakistanis, Syrians, Indonesians and South Africans, The Guardian reported on Monday.
It found that nearly 75 percent of the respondents felt that counter-terrorism measures unfairly targeted them while a majority of them said they feel “under siege.”
Almost half of the participants said they intentionally have altered the way they dress in an attempt to keep away from inspection, and nearly as many have avoided certain mosques. A large number also said their travel, too, has been changed.
Referring to the image of Muslims in media, less than one-third of the respondents said they believed the media treat Muslims in a fair manner.
The authors of the study warned that Takfiri groups may use the types of experiences that the Muslims questioned in the study reported as they could provide “fuel for a key narrative they (the extremists) use to justify their actions: that Muslims are a suppressed and victimized minority.”
This is while the study also showed that nearly nine in ten of those polled agreed that “terrorist groups distort the true meaning of Islam.”
The national terrorism alert level in Australia was raised to high in mid-September 2014, as the government was concerned about some Australian citizens with ties to Takfiri groups.
Last month, Canberra announced that nearly 100 Australians have been fighting alongside and backing terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria and have had their passports revoked.
The Takfiri militants control swathes of land in Iraq and neighboring Syria.
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