1 in 4 Americans anti-Muslim

2004-10-04 22:24

Washington - About one in four Americans holds anti-Muslim views, such as a belief that the religion teaches violence and hatred, according to a survey an Islamic advocacy group released on Monday.

The survey by the Council on American-Islamic Relations found a majority of Americans hold positive views of Muslims, while a substantial number have no opinion at all.

Anti-Islamic sentiment surged in the US after the September 11, attacks by terrorists who claimed to be acting in the name of the faith.

Since then, anti-Muslim views have been encouraged by a continuing string of terror attacks, including decapitations, in Iraq, as well as a violent attack on school children in Russia, said Omar Ahmad, chairman of the council's board.

'They have nothing to do with Islam'

"They have nothing to do with Islam. People claim they are doing it for Islam, but it's really in spite of Islam," Ahmad said.

The telephone survey of a random sample of 1 000 American adults found that just over one in four people somewhat or strongly agreed with a series of anti-Muslim sentiments including: the Muslim religion teaches violence and hatred (26% agreed); Muslims value life less than other people (27% agreed); and Muslims want to change the American way of life (29% agreed).

Four in 10 disagreed

More than four in 10 people disagreed with the statements.

In each case, nearly 30 percent said they had no opinion.

Also, more than half disagreed with the statement, "Muslims are dishonest."

Large numbers of Americans also hold a variety of favourable views. More than six in 10, for instance, say Muslims have "family-oriented values".

About two in three said they agreed that "the people who use Islam to justify violence are misinterpreting its teachings."

Southern, white males most negative

The poll found that people most likely to have negative attitudes were male, white, less educated, politically conservative and living in the South.

Hoping to combat these attitudes, the council plans a "Share Ramadan" project, where it will encourage Muslims to invite others to share an evening meal during the monthlong event. Ramadan begins on October 15 or 16 with the sighting of the first new moon in the next lunar year.

The survey by Genesis Research Associates was conducted between June 23 to July 2 and had a sampling margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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Council on American-Islamic Relations

- AP