(RNS) Close to half of Americans admit to harboring prejudice against Muslims and negative feelings about Islam, a new study from the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies shows.
The level of anti-Muslim prejudice — 43 percent of Americans admitted feeling at least “a little” — is more than twice as high as Americans’ reported feelings toward Buddhists, Christians and Jews.
Fifty-three percent of respondents said their view of Islam was “not too favorable” or “not favorable at all,” according to a 32-page “Religious Perceptions in America” report that was released Thursday (Jan. 21).
“It was interesting to note that Americans admit no more prejudice against Buddhists and Jews than they do against Christians,” said Dalia Mogahed, director of the Washington-based center. “So this isn’t just simply a problem against minority religions. There is a somewhat unique issue with Muslims in particular.”
The report also seemed to debunk the conventional wisdom that greater exposure of individual Muslims can be an antidote to anti-Muslim prejudice. Researchers found that personally knowing a Muslim may “soften extreme prejudice,” but can’t eliminate bias altogether.
“It suggests that you can know a Muslim but if you have a negative opinion of the faith as a whole because of media exposure, you can perhaps explain that this one friend of yours is an exception,” said Mogahed.
The study drew on media studies that have found that prominent television news coverage of Islam tends to be negative and focuses on extremism. That, in turn, fuels anti-Muslim prejudice, Mogahed said.
“The default state for Americans is not having prejudice,” Mogahed said. “Americans really have to learn prejudice by being inundated by negative information.”
Perhaps more concerning is that the 43 percent of self-professed prejudice is likely “an underestimation,” Mogahed said, because people are hesitant to admit it. If the real number is actually higher, that’s “even more alarming,” she said.
Mogahed, who focuses on interfaith dialogue as a member of the White House’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, said she hopes the findings will influence future bridge-building efforts between people of different faiths.
One key finding is that people who are extremely prejudiced against Jews are very likely to hold the same views of Muslims.
“There are more and more parallels between the typical things that are said against Jews and those said against Muslims,” she said, “including conspiracy theories that Muslims are trying to take over the nation and the world, that they’re taking over Europe.”
The report showed a disparity between Americans’ perceived views of Muslims about gender equality and findings by Gallup researchers who studied populations in majority-Muslim countries.
While just 16 percent of Americans think Muslims around the world believe that men and women should have equal rights, majorities of respondents in predominantly Muslim countries — including 85 percent of Saudi Arabians — think so.
“By presenting more accurate, representative information … some of the perceptions can be better informed,” Mogahed said.
In general, researchers found Americans are quite ignorant of non-Christian faiths. While 63 percent had very little or no knowledge of Islam, 72 percent said they had very little or no knowledge of Buddhism and half of Americans said they had very little or no knowledge of Judaism.
The Gallup World Religion Survey, which was used as a base for most of the report’s findings, was conducted in October and November 2009 by phone of a random national sample of 1,002 adults; it has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
By ADELLE M. BANKS
Copyright 2010 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.
Beliefnet
Advertisement
posted January 21, 2010 at 6:57 pm
I expect the Arts, Performing Arts, plays, movies, actresses, actors, singers, etc. will educate Americans about the Muslim people and their faith. They seem to have done this down through the years with others that were not readily known and accepted. It will be challenging.
posted January 21, 2010 at 8:47 pm
I agree that media coverage of Islam is all negative, and that is probably where most people in American get their info to form prejudices. Unfortunate, but that is probably reality. That being said I really don’t see or hear any counter balancing information coming out of the Muslim world that disputes the images we are exposed to in the media. I think if the moderate Islamic leaders would speak up they could do a lot of good in posaitively shaping perceptions.
posted January 21, 2010 at 9:35 pm
These results make sense to me. And I also expect the bias is a good deal higher against all the religions (or non-religious philosophies) that are not one’s own.
It means people of good will will nonetheless have their own biases. The best a person can do, it seems to me, is when pertinent decisions are to be made, stop and ask if your own bias is negatively biasing your decision.
And this doesn’t mean that, for instance, decisions should always be in the favor of Islam or Muslims. It means people should try to be objective about, e.g. Islam and not make gut decisions if they can help it.
posted January 22, 2010 at 12:02 am
polls, did anyone here get a vote? I’m sure we fall somewhere in one half or the other of all Americans but yet I didn’t get a vote, did you?
posted January 22, 2010 at 9:36 am
I have an anti-Muslim bias. They are the 7th head of the beast that is said to trample Jerusalem for 1260 years. And they want to start Ar Mageddon in order to wipe Israel off the map.
posted January 22, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Well interpreter you might want to consider Islam wasw not invented till many, many hundred years after the book of Revelations was written by some guy or guys apparently complaining about Rome as I understand it.
People with crazy ideas like yours in all three Abrahamic religions can get us into a world of hurt, but not Armageddon as you imagine it.
posted January 22, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Ignorance is easy, and fear is the result. So this is news that people prefer ignorance over actually learning something or getting to know someone different than themselves?! Jokers like FOXsnooze don’t help either – but journalism takes work – opinions can be spun like cotton candy.
posted January 22, 2010 at 11:50 pm
On both sides there will be variances not just learned positions who proposes to have a more educated view of the culture on one side and just ignorant rumors and prejudices on the other. One the one side they may feel enlighten and have enjoyed a majority of good experiences with Muslims. the other side although perceived by the self proclaimed enlighten group as ignorant may have negative experiences with Muslims and loss of love ones by Muslim extremist or know someone who has. So to take side polarized sides is non-productive because one cannot force the other to deny their personal experiences which bring them to their separate positions. The name calling of ignorance and prejudice is non-productive and not always accurate.
posted January 23, 2010 at 1:22 am
ck
Your point would be well taken if all of it were true. Thankfully most of the people in this country have not had painful direct contact with Moslems of any sort. Sadly, they believe the bilge pumped by FOXsnooze is an accurate and meaningful resource for forming their opinions. For those whose lives have been sadly influenced by Moslems not acting in accordance with the Quran, I am sorry and hope they will accept the support that is offered them to deal with their sorrow. For the others who prefer ignorance over reality, WAKE UP! Anyone who sells hate as an act of faith is feeding you toxins and bile. Push them away and spit out what they have taught.
posted January 23, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Your point would be well taken if you could prove the poll is accurate and which side of the poll most people favor. If you want most people to follow you and reject FOX then you should have more to offer than what you have shown here. By the way how does CNN fair with you?
posted January 29, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Anyone care to guess which political direction the prejudice leans?
Who is our pro-war party? And why?
The prejudice is the result of terror and the pro-war propaganda waged against the American public in order to wage two unjust wars. According to US military psychologists, war must be portrayed as ‘just and necessary’ in order to ‘bullet proof’ the soldiers mind.
Demonising the enemy causes prejudice, hate, racism, and fear, in a deliberate attempt to overcome our natural objection to killing one another.
Need a clue? Try Google News(location:USA Islamo ) Search Now!
Careful. If you’re not in control of your emotions, chances are someone else is. Sometimes the other person doesn’t even know it, sometimes they do.
Read this quote from the man who taught us how to ‘demonise the enemy’, and think about how this effected our Democracy during the last century. From the 1928 book Proaganda…
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society.” ~ Edward Bernays
I really like the honesty there. It doesn’t make the manipulation and unjust wars any better, but at least we have some honesty to work with. Read the next line.
“Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country…” ~ Edward Bernays
It’s important to note that the GOP is not the main source of the propaganda as many believe, but rather a product of it. The core of the GOP is held together by one common tread; the susceptibility to propaganda.
Remember. If you’re not in control of your emotions, chances are someone else is. Once you understand the puppet, pulling the strings is just a free market opportunity.
Got prejudice? Get off the propaganda. It’s being exposed.
About those ‘bulletproof minds’… hows that working out when the propaganda wears off? Suicide rates among veterans? PTSD?
posted February 3, 2010 at 7:53 pm
I am not surprised; it means that brainwashing in this country has been working perfectly and people unknowingly are being pushed at any direction their government & media is moving them…
At first they tell them that they are living in a real free and number one country. They tell them Germany & Germans are the worst people (during 1930′ & 40s), in 1960s, 70s and 80s Russians and Communism was the worst and evil and now Arabs and Islam is bad…
Unfortunately this so called free press never tells or gives them the real truth. Nobody tells them that US is an Empire and has been planning to control the world. They never tell the real causes of wars or terrorism. They never, ever tell them about the atrocities and illegal acts that Israeli government has committed against the Palestinians and never connect them to the roots of wars and problems in the Middle East… They never tell them the amount of the money that US has been sending to Israel every year.
Unfortunately many people in this country are suffering but don’t know the source or roots of their problems which is poverty, unemployment and wars… and finally our media connects all the problems to Arabs & Middle East and unfortunately majority of people believe it…
Alex