39% of Americans admit to being prejudiced against Muslims

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anitram

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New Gallup Poll:

Nearly one in four Americans, 22%, say they would not like to have a Muslim as a neighbor.

..

Almost four in ten, 39%, advocate that Muslims here should carry special I.D. That same number admit that they do hold some "prejudice" against Muslims. Forty-four percent say their religious views are too "extreme."
 
I dont agree with the neighbor part. or the ID but there religous views I do have a problem with, and I do have a problem with Christian and Jewish religious views.


I am sorry to say but in war times Prejudice is always high.
 
And that's just the amount that admit it, given the threads in here and the things I see in my everyday life I would say that number is much much higher.
 
I know a Muslim family here in Winnipeg - nicest people I've ever met...HOWEVER I too am predjudice against CERTAIN Muslims. The radical fundamentalist ones. Having said that I also think that certain members of the so called Christian Right are the spawns of Satan.
 
While Americans tend to disagree with the notion that Muslims living in the United States are sympathetic to al-Qaeda, a significant 34% believe they do back al-Qaeda. And fewer than half -- 49% -- believe U.S. Muslims are loyal to the United States.

Almost four in ten, 39%, advocate that Muslims here should carry special I.D.


Now if Muslims and queers were required to wear their identities on their sleeves— a yellow crescent, and let's say a black triangle, then everybody could know who is who.

It would be for their protection. :shrug:
 
deep said:



Now if Muslims and queers were required to wear their identities on their sleeves— a yellow crescent, and let's say a black triangle, then everybody could know who is who.

It would be for their protection. :shrug:

and revert to Nazi Germany??
 
In every case, Americans who actually know any Muslims are more sympathethic.
The saddest part of these attitudes is that they discourage and intimidate the very people whose speaking up could do most to correct misconceptions and open hearts--American Muslims--from doing so. Very few people are comfortable speaking up--particularly if it's to articulate something nuanced and complex--when they feel their audience is assigning the burden of proving or disproving sweeping assumptions about them as members of some (locally outnumbered) collective to everything they say. And the more distrusted or even loathed that imaginary collective seems to be in the audience's minds, the worse the intimidation factor is. I have heard this over and over from my Muslim students and colleagues, and I have had just enough similar experiences as a Jew to understand exactly what they mean. Actually probably everyone has experienced something, albeit perhaps vaguely, similar to this at some point--which one might like to think would make for more sympathetic listening, but unfortunately that's often not how it works. It's a vicious circle.
 
Re: Re: 39% of Americans admit to being prejudiced against Muslims

toscano said:

I'm predjudiced against anyone who wants to blow up a plane I might be on, regardless of which religion they are

Unless by "blow it up" they mean in a party sense. I'm all for spontaneous breakdancing on long haul flights.
 
Re: Re: 39% of Americans admit to being prejudiced against Muslims

toscano said:


I'm predjudiced against anyone who wants to blow up a plane I might be on, regardless of which religion they are

And what does this have to do with the thread?
 
Re: Re: Re: 39% of Americans admit to being prejudiced against Muslims

BonoVoxSupastar said:


And what does this have to do with the thread?

about the same as some of these posts, less than some but certainly more than your last one did
 
melon said:


Indeed. It's trumpeted as "defending marriage" instead.

Melon

It took THIS long to bring gay marriage into it ??? we're slipping folks !
 
toscano said:
It took THIS long to bring gay marriage into it ??? we're slipping folks !

With the predictable whiny conservative follow-up.

Melon
 
I'm lucky, I actually know some Muslims. I'll be demonstrating with some tomorrow. I'm not surprised at this story. I hear at least one prejudiced statement a day. This stuff really pisses me off.
 
Re: Re: 39% of Americans admit to being prejudiced against Muslims

toscano said:


I'm predjudiced against anyone who wants to blow up a plane I might be on, regardless of which religion they are

What does this have to do with Muslims?
 
I'm not prejudiced against Muslims. I believe every human being has prejudice of some sort, so in that sense I probably am. I try to be as self-aware of it as possible.

I am prejudiced against terrorists, but Muslim does not equal terrorist and obviously therefore not all Muslims are terrorists, not by a long shot. Just like not all Christians are represented by a minority of Christians.
 
What about the prejudices of the terrorist Muslim groups and other ethnic groups? I hear alot of other ethnic groups state all the time how they hate americans! The evening of 9/11 I saw a lot of Muslims and others in Paterson, NJ on televisin celebrating the devistation! Why is it always that Americans are prejudice but no one else is??
 
I have had a number of conversations with Muslims on matters of faith and frankly I have very little respect for most of their beliefs, I have found conservative social opinions stifling and a distaste towards opinions regarding genuine free speech (namely legal blasphemy) and in so far as protecting non-negotiable liberties from what I would describe as moderate religious beliefs I admit a bias and prejudice against their belief - and I have absolutely no problem with that.

People are all more or less the same, and we can get along - but at the collision of liberties and belief there will be heat; provided we avoid talking politics or religion I can get along with people.
 
Last edited:
A_Wanderer said:
I have had a number of conversations with Muslims and frankly I have very little respect for most of their beliefs, I have found conservative social opinions stifling and a distaste towards opinions regarding genuine free speech (namely legal blasphemy) and in so far as protecting non-negotiable liberties from what I would describe as moderate religious beliefs I admit a bias and prejudice against their belief - and I have absolutely no problem with that.



actually, i tend to agree with this.

i know several Muslims, have spent time with a Moroccan family when i was traveling there, and have nothing but nice things to say about them as human beings (and Morocco was the best travel experience i have ever had). however, i have a tough time respecting the various ways in which Islam is expressed in various societies (not so much in the US, though) much in the same way that i have a tough time respeting the various ways in which Christianity is expressed in some societies (very much in the US). if a Muslim draws great strength from Islam and this helps them be a better person, that's great. the same with Christianity. but it's when the religion becomes dogmatic, fundamentalist, and politicized -- not when a Christian or Muslim is political, but when Christianity or Islam becomes a political viewpoint -- then i have a problem with it no matter what, who, or where.

so i find the poll misleading and horribly lacking in nuance.

do i have issues with Islam? of course.

do i have issues with Muslims? not in the slightest.
 
Re: Re: Re: 39% of Americans admit to being prejudiced against Muslims

verte76 said:


What does this have to do with Muslims?

In this latest case, they're the ones trying to blow up planes on a route I frequent about 4X year


In previous cases:

In 1968 who assassinated Robert Kennedy?
(a) Abbe Hoffman
(b) Tiny Tim
(c) Charles Manson
(d) Muslim male extremist between the age of 17 and 40

In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred
by:
(a)Olga Corbutt
(b)Sitting Bull
(c)Arnold Schwartzeneger
(d)Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


In 1979,the U.S. embassy in Iran was taken over by:
(a) Lost Norwegians
(b) Elvis
(c) A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
(a) John Dillinger
(b) The King of Sweden
(c) The Boy Scouts
(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


In 1983, the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:
(a) A pizza delivery boy
(b) Pee Wee Herman
(c) Geraldo Rivera making up for a slow news day
(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.


In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked, and a 70 year old
American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard by:
(a) The Smurfs
(b) Davy Jones
(c) The Little Mermaid
(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40.


In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a U.S. Navy diver
was murdered by:
(a) Captain Kid
(b) Charles Lindberg
(c) Mother Teresa
(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
(a) Scooby Doo
(b) The Tooth Fairy
(c) Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid with dynamite left over from
the train job.
(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:
(a) Richard Simmons
(b) Grandma Moses
(c) Michael Jordan
(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


In 1998, the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
(a) Mr. Rogers
(b) Hillary, to distract attention from Wild Bill's women problems
(c) The World Wrestling Federation to promote its next villain:
"Mustapha the Merciless"
(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


iN 1999, The USS Cole was attacked and more than 15 American Sailors
were killed by:
(a) David Letterman
(b) Shaquille O'Neil
(c) The Cookie Monster
(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


In 2001 Phillipene Missionaries Gracia and Martin Burnham were
kidnapped, held for over a year, and Martin subsequently killed by:
(a) Mr. Rogers
(b) Scooby Doo & Shaggy
(c) Ronald Reagan
(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked and destroyed and thousands
of people were killed by:
(a) Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd
(b) The Supreme Court of Florida
(c) Mr. Bean
(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:
(a)Enron
(b)The Lutheran Church
(c)The NFL
(d)Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:
(a) Bonny and Clyde
(b) Captain Kangaroo
(c) Billy Graham
(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


On July 4th 2002, 2 Innocent Airline Passengers Were Killed, And 3
Others Injured at the ticket counter of El Al Airlines in the LAX
International terminal by:
(a) Hulk Hogan after losing the WWF Title
(b) The cast of Monty Python
(c) Senator Lil' Tommy Daschle
(d) Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 41
 
Hmm, my boyfriend is a male Muslim between the age of 17 and 40. Last time I checked he was more peaceful and open-minded than a good majority of the people who post on this forum. :eyebrow:
 
I think that by the numbers this forum is more progressive and open minded than the average Muslim population in Western countries, there was a very good documentary on Channel 4 on the degree of sepratism in British Muslims just the other night which was not so much eye opening as it was reinforcing the attitudes that have consistently shown up in polls. I think that discrimination against such seperatism is the only way to integrate, if a group of believers simply reject the society then they can either try to make it on their own or find the advantage in integration.

Islam is not a race or ethnicity, it is a belief system and it deserves scrutiny and criticism; if their beliefs disrespect the gays and the unbelievers as people then we should be under no obligation to give respect.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: 39% of Americans admit to being prejudiced against Muslims

toscano said:


about the same as some of these posts, less than some but certainly more than your last one did

I would say less than most.

And your multiple choice post; juvenile and ignorant.
 
sulawesigirl4 said:
Hmm, my boyfriend is a male Muslim between the age of 17 and 40. Last time I checked he was more peaceful and open-minded than a good majority of the people who post on this forum. :eyebrow:


I'm sure he is, maybe if you feel comfortable doing so you could tell us more about him :) I don't know if it would ever get through to some people but it's worth doing nonetheless.

It's so much easier I suppose to lump people all together and to stereotype them thus dehumanizing them. Requires much less thought process and openmindedness. We might actually like people who are supposedly ALL our "enemies" and our preconceived notions and entrenched beliefs might be crushed-and oh my God, the whole house of cards would crumble. Muslim people aren't the only ones who fall victim to that in this forum of course, but of course it doesn't make it any less offensive.
 
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