Gallup | Analysis by Gallup Center for Muslim Studies | 21 January 2010

In U.S., Religious Prejudice Stronger Against Muslims
43% of Americans admit to feeling some prejudice toward followers of Islam

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Religious Perceptions in America
With an In-Depth Analysis of U.S. Attitudes Toward Muslims and Islam
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Religious Perceptions in America: With an In-Depth Analysis of U.S. Attitudes Toward Muslims and Islam is a study of Americans’ opinions regarding a number of world religions with a special focus on Islam and Muslims. The results are based on the Gallup World Religion Survey, which explores Americans’ opinions of four major religions – Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism – and their followers. This analysis examines Americans’ self-reported level of prejudice toward members of those faiths.

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.

Source: Gallup

Press Coverage:

The Salt Lake Tribune | By Jonathan D. Salant (Bloomberg News) | 21 January 2010
Many Americans take dim view of Islam, poll shows
Religion » But 63% in U.S. say they know little about the faith.

“Arab- and Muslim-bashing is the one bigotry that’s acceptable.”
— James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute.

Washington »  A majority of Americans have an unfavorable impression of Islam, alone among major religions, a new poll finds.

The survey by the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies found 53 percent of Americans view Islam unfavorably compared with 42 percent who view the religion favorably. Majorities view other major religions favorably: 91 percent for Christianity, 71 percent for Judaism and 58 percent for Buddhism.

The negativity comes even as 63 percent of Americans said they know little about Islam.

Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup center, said that, while other religious extremists are portrayed as being outside the mainstream, Islamic terrorists are described as representatives of their religion.

“Where a deranged person of a certain faith commits a crime in the name of their faith, we look at these incidents as someone misinterpreting faith,” Mogahed said. “When a terrorist commits an act of violence in the name of Islam, it is often times framed as being devoted to the faith rather than being deviant.”

That view is fed by commentators voicing anti-Islamic rhetoric in a way that would cause them to be called bigots and kept off the airwaves if they talked the same way about other minorities, said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute.

“Arab- and Muslim-bashing is the one bigotry that’s acceptable,” Zogby said.

Although much attention was given to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is charged with trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines airliner, little attention was paid to a Muslim-led demonstration outside the courthouse where Abdulmutallab was arraigned, Zogby said. The protesters condemned those who would commit terrorist acts in the name of Islam.

The telephone poll of 1,002 adults was taken Oct. 31 to Nov. 13, 2009, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

Other Interesting Results:

Another interesting finding is that

“The strongest demographic variable associated with self-reports of non-prejudice against Muslims is identifying as nonwhite, though race identification does not emerge as a significant variable related to reporting “a great deal” of prejudice.

The other demographic variable associated with self-reports of no prejudice is attending a religious service more than once a week. Those who report attending a religious service this frequently are more than twice as likely to report feeling no prejudice toward Muslims. It is interesting to note that a significant variable associated with extreme prejudice is not attending a religious service weekly.”

In other words, “white” “non-church-going” Americans are the most prejudiced against Muslims.

Related Reading:

1. Talking to Terrorists: Why America Must Engage with its Enemies by Mark Perry
2. Muslims in the West after 9/11: Religion, Politics and Law (Routledge Studies in Liberty and Security)
3. American Raj: America and the Muslim World
4. The 21st Century Harem: Muslim Women in Post 9-11 America: A voice from inside
5. World Religions in America, Fourth Edition