/* */

PDA

View Full Version : In U.S., Religious Prejudice Stronger Against Muslims



Uthman
01-26-2010, 03:50 PM
43% of Americans admit to feeling some prejudice toward followers of Islam

Analysis by the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More than 4 in 10 Americans (43%) admit to feeling at least "a little" prejudice toward Muslims -- more than twice the number who say the same about Christians (18%), Jews (15%) and Buddhists (14%). The findings are based on a new Gallup Center for Muslim Studies report, "Religious Perceptions in America: With an In-Depth Analysis of U.S. Attitudes Toward Muslims and Islam," released Thursday.


In a separate question asking Americans to express their overall view about each of the four religions evaluated, Islam is the most negatively viewed. Nearly one-third of Americans (31%) say their opinion of Islam is "not favorable at all" versus 9% who say their opinion is "very favorable." This stands in contrast to Americans' views of Christianity and Judaism, which are far more likely to be "very favorable" than "not favorable at all," while Buddhism draws almost equally positive and negative opinions at the extremes. Gallup conducted the nationwide U.S. survey between Oct. 31 and Nov. 13, 2009, spanning the Fort Hood shooting in which a U.S.-born Muslim military doctor killed 13 people on the Army base on Nov. 5.


The new report further explores variables that are associated with extreme prejudice ("a great deal") toward followers of Islam as well as variables that may be related to lack of prejudice. To download the full report, go to www.muslimwestfacts.com. Key findings from the report will also be released next month in Cairo, Egypt. The Gallup Center for Muslim Studies conducts its Washington, D.C., and Cairo launches with its Muslim West Facts partner, the Coexist Foundation.

Survey Methods


Results for this Gallup Panel study are based on telephone interviews with 1,002 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Oct.31-Nov.13, 2009. Gallup Panel members are recruited through random selection methods. The panel is weighted so that it is demographically representative of the U.S. adult population. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3.4 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Source
Reply

Login/Register to hide ads. Scroll down for more posts
Uthman
01-26-2010, 05:54 PM
WASHINGTON – Americans still largely have a negative perception of Muslims and Islam despite growth in positive Muslim-American political and social activism and interfaith organizations in the past decade, according to a new report from the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. "More than 50 percent of Americans said they had unfavorable opinions of Islam, while 29 percent of those reported a strong degree of prejudice towards Muslims," concluded the report, "Religious Perceptions in America: With an In-Depth Analysis of US Attitudes Toward Muslims and Islam.

It questioned 1002 interview subjects about different aspects of Islam and Muslims over a month-long period last year and married the results with those found in the Gallup World Religion survey, which surveyed Americans’ opinions on Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam and their followers.

Of the faiths, Islam and Muslims elicited the most negative perceptions.
Other findings from the survey reveal that there is a great public prejudice towards Islam as a faith than Muslims as adherents of that faith.

Senior analyst Dalia Mogahed, who is the Executive Director for the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, noted that though more than half of respondents said they knew someone who was Muslim, that didn’t deter from having negative attitudes towards Islam.

"While not knowing a Muslim is significant into falling in that extremely prejudice group," she said, "knowing a Muslims is not enough to keep someone from not being prejudice."

Mogahed said that correlation is indicative of how Americans tend to separate an individual from a group.

"We found that it’s possible to know someone in a group and make them the exception, to say, ‘Sure, so-and-so is a good Muslim. But most Muslims are not like him.’"

Though 70 percent of surveyed Americans said they believe Muslims worldwide want peace, 66 percent said Muslims are not accepting of other religions.

Some 68 percent said there is little in common between Christianity and Islam.

Despite numerous efforts by Muslim American organizations and individuals to inform the public about Islam, a whopping 63 percent said they have either no knowledge (23 percent) or very little knowledge (40 percent) of Islam.

The report is co-produced by the Muslim West Facts Project (part of Gallup) and the Coexist Foundation.

Media Factor

The findings did not surprise Mogahed.

"Though Muslim-Americans are positively involved in the fabric of American life, it’s difficult to see that in light of the media coverage of things like Fort Hood, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the troubles in Pakistan."

But she asserted that all the negativity revealed by the survey was disheartening to see because there has been so much hard work done by Muslim-Americans and Muslims worldwide to inform the non-Muslim public about the beauty of Islam.

"When the public tide can be turned towards having a positive view of Islam, then that will help negate all the prejudices."

The problem stems from media coverage of Islam, according to Media Tenor, a research firm that monitors and analyzes media coverage.

The report stated that not only is Islam the most frequently mentioned religion on the news networks in the US, but "a significant share of this coverage is negative."

An analysis of all statements made by television news between January and August of 2009 revealed that 36 percent of statements on religion is about Islam, and the tone of those statements is twice as likely (40 percent) to be negative than that about Christianity (20 percent).

Gallup’s survey surmised that the media coverage of the "fringe elements" of Islam "may shape Americans’ unfavorable attitudes towards Muslims."

"Muslims are different from one to the next. We live our lives differently, our world experiences are different and that shapes us," Mogahed said.

"But the one and only uniting factor of the group is Islam. And while acts of violence must be covered, perhaps what would help is for the media to pay attention to how it frames those stories."

"Religious Perceptions in America: With an In-Depth Analysis of U.S. Attitudes Toward Muslims and Islam." (Document)

Source
Reply

جوري
01-26-2010, 06:41 PM
lol.. I think they conduct these surveys to see if the rubbish they dispense on the ten o'clock news is taking effect!

I am sure they won't rest until it is 90%
whatever the case it really doesn't matter as we approach WWIII and of their own choosing.

little by little the big balloon of hot air they have created gets deflated, as their economy collapses and their kids losing their necks overseas on wars without purpose.

(9: 36) Behold, those who are bent on denying the truth are spending their riches in order to turn others away from the path of God; and they will go on spending them until they become [a source of] intense regret for them; and then they will be overcome! And those who [until their death] have denied the truth shall be gathered unto hell,

ameen insha'Allah

:w:
Reply

titus
01-26-2010, 06:48 PM
Well, if you look on the bright side the majority of Americans in the first poll do not hold negative views of Muslims.

That being said, there is a lot of work for Muslims to do to improve their perception in the US. Some might get upset and say that Muslims shouldn't have to, but the fact is that they are the only ones that can. The situation won't just magically fix itself.

Also realize that as upset as these numbers may make some Muslim members feel, compare them to the numbers of other countries and the US is revealed to be an amazingly accepting country when it comes to religion, especially when compared to many Muslim majority countries (these results are from 2005):

Reply

Welcome, Guest!
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up
Ali_uk
01-26-2010, 10:07 PM
Interesting poll information.

It is interesting China does not find jewish, nor Christian or Muslim 'favourable' I wonder how this information was gather, what questions were asked?
Reply

Ali_uk
01-26-2010, 10:08 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Ali_uk
Interesting poll information.

It is interesting China does not find jewish, nor Christian or Muslim 'favourable' I wonder how this information was gather, what questions were asked?
I can see what questions were asked now! I didn't look properly
Reply

Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 5
    Last Post: 03-29-2010, 06:10 PM
  2. Replies: 6
    Last Post: 08-16-2006, 08:56 PM
  3. Replies: 10
    Last Post: 08-02-2006, 11:53 AM
  4. Replies: 24
    Last Post: 06-14-2006, 10:53 AM
  5. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 03-20-2006, 08:17 AM
British Wholesales - Certified Wholesale Linen & Towels | Holiday in the Maldives

IslamicBoard

Experience a richer experience on our mobile app!