Before gauging whether you are in line with most of America in your opinion about Muslim immigrants, here are two things you should know: Firstly, Americans are no more opposed to granting citizenship to Muslim immigrants than Christian immigrants. Secondly, despite no real difference in opinion, Americans are significantly more open about their opposition to a Muslim becoming a citizen. In other words, what is unique is not the extent to which opposition exists, but the extent to which it is out in the open.
About a year ago, in the spring of 2010, with funding from the National Science Foundation's Time-Sharing Experiments in the Social Sciences program, we decided to see if Americans really felt differently about the incorporation of Muslims into American citizenry. Because the U.S. has a long tradition of religious tolerance, we worried that Americans might feel uncomfortable expressing an intolerant view toward a specific religious group. To get around this, we randomly assigned the 2,366 participants in our study to three groups. One group we asked directly whether they supported or opposed giving legal Muslim or Christian immigrants citizenship. A second and third group we asked about these two religious groups separately and indirectly, never forcing respondents to reveal their opinion to the interviewer or anyone. This approach, called a "list experiment," has been used to consider other controversial topics such an affirmative action and same-sex marriage. Its unique insight is not just into the level of opposition, but the degree to which it is hidden.
Here are the facts. A more detailed description of our work is currently in process, but we wanted to share what we know so far. When allowed to express their opinion indirectly, about 30 percent (±6 percent) of Americans oppose granting citizenship to Muslim immigrants. However, this sentiment is not unique. A nearly identical percentage of Americans, 31 percent (±6 percent), also feel that way about Christian immigrants, suggesting that the religion of the immigrant does not play a prominent role in forming public opinion. However, the difference is not the level of opposition, but the openness of its expression. When asked directly about granting citizenship to legal Muslim migrants, about 28 percent (±2 percent) express opposition, which is almost identical to the proportion that express this opinion indirectly. When asked about Christian immigrants, only about 11 percent (±2 perecent) of Americans directly reveal their opposition. In other words, there is nothing politically correct or socially desirable about hiding opposition to extending citizenship to legal Muslim immigrants, quite the opposite, in fact. Citizens are quite comfortable not only opposing it, but also being public about that fact.
We could interpret these results as revealing that Americans, in their heart of hearts, do not see Muslims differently than any other immigrant groups. However, the public expression of this opposition is more important. Given that opposition to Christian immigrants is significantly hidden, Muslim immigrants are justified in feeling that they are being singled-out publicly. The politicization of Islamophobia by some public officials, who vocally and unapologetically create a public forum to express targeted intolerance toward Muslims in the U.S., cannot help. For the day-to-day lives of Muslim Americans, it is not the true underlying sentiment that most directly affects them, it is the degree to which that sentiment is expressed.
Americans have little or no personal experience with which to form an opinion about Muslim immigrants. In May of 2007 the Pew Center projected that about 975,000 first-generation Muslim immigrant adults reside in the U.S. -- about 0.3 percent of the total population. If you made 100 new friends a year, you would be lucky to add one Muslim immigrant to your Facebook roster every three years. If it is not upon personal experience that we base our opinion, why then do we feel more comfortable expressing opposition toward one group and not another? In principle, there is nothing wrong with expressing opposition to citizenship for legal migrants, although the legality of that position is dubious. What is troubling is that despite identical true opposition to Christian and Muslim migrants, Muslims are disproportionately an accepted public target.
Mathew J. Creighton is an assistant professor of sociology at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain. His research focuses on the causes and consequences of human migration.
Amaney A. Jamal is an associate professor of politics at Princeton University. Her research focuses on democratization and political development in the Middle East and the political incorporation of Muslim and Arab Americans.
Amitai Etzioni: Islam Is Like Us
Negative Perception Of Islam Increasing - The Washington Post ...
Poll: Sinking Perceptions Of Islam - CBS News
Panel on perception of Muslims in the United States covers ...
Islamophobia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amaney Jamal, Associate Professor of Politics, Princeton University
I don't care who worships what. What I have a problem with is the imposition of Islamic religious requirements on public domain. Keep Islam private, keep it home, stop praying publicly in streets.
If you work in a grocery store scan my package of bacon. If I hail a cab drive me and my dogs and bottle of wine where I pay you to take me. If you need to pray while at work, do so quietly to yourself. No extra time off, no extra breaks that add to the work burden of co workers.
If it is too difficult for a Muslim to abide by the social norms of my country leave. Dar al Islam has room.
None of them have committed violent jihadi attacks on almost every non other community. The two are incommparable. Why Hindus, Jews etc are not facing this problem?
"why then do we feel more comfortable expressing opposition toward one group and not another?"
Because they drive planes into high rise buildings.
"So, the superpowers that brought those evils upon those people in Palestine and in other parts of the third world or the Islamic world; they are responsible for the terrorist."
Rubbish. US fought the barabary wards to kill the Islamic pirates and there were no Palestine and other excuses.
"Agreed. Fortunately there's a lot of evidence suggesting that most American Muslims don't think this way. Not even a little bit."
How did Fort Hood happen? As long as they read the Book, trouble is bound to happen. I have already quoted the former UK Premier Gladstone on this.
"Couldn't the same be said about reading the Bible?"
Dough, you know you can not. It is true OT contains violent verses but later Jesus comes, NT comes and it virtually replaces the violent verses. In the case of Islam peaceful verses are abrogated in favour of the later day violent verses. Christianity has evolved; no one kills for religious reasons any more. Muslims refuse to move away from 7th cenntury.
Rubbish. Do not blame others for all your faultlines. India was also a British colony for about 300 years; it is a developing country and aspires to be a member of G20. Pakistan, created on the same day, is a failed country. Islam is the problem. Povertry and illeteracy can not be abolished, if muslims refuse family planning and adhere to single child norm. Religion prohibits them.
Also, since most of these people belongs to the lower caste, they stand very little chance moving up the ladder to a better live.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCrI-KRqDnU
"As the dust settles in Afghanistan after sustained protest over a Florida pastor’s Quran burning, many residents in Kandahar are facing an unpleasant truth: More Qurans were burned in the course of their protests than by Terry Jones. The demonstrations, which started peacefully, quickly turned violent, killing at least nine people and injuring scores in Kandahar City alone. And as protesters vandalized a girls’ school and set fire to shops, Qurans also inadvertently went up in flames. “If they burn a shop, there is a Quran in every shop, so this is a big problem,” says Azizullah Aziz, a perfume and soap salesman in Kandahar City. “People don’t know how to protest.”
Again, authors, do you wonder that many Americans think that immigrants of this ilk will not benefit our country? They can't even figure out what is a death-deserving insult and what is just a mistake, nor can they figure out that you don't kill your own people to avenge an insult from someone 7,000 miles away.
At that rate, there will be millions of Taliban by next week!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_the_United_States#Demographics
Superpowers are Responsible for Terrorism & Extremist; not Islam
By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
"….And people have been made to believe that our religion is a religion that condones extremism. We have terrorist that's put before us and they are called extremist. And we are made to believe that our religion is a religion that is giving birth to these extremist. That is wrong.
What gives birth to these extremist, these guerrilla fighters, or these freedom fighters, or liberators trying to liberate Palestine, or whatever they are trying to liberate. What gives birth to them is the evils that are put upon them by the superpowers.
The superpowers have taken away their life; have made it impossible for them to live the only life they know. They have taken away their land, their home and everything. And destroyed families, and killed their babies and their old people.
So, the superpowers that brought those evils upon those people in Palestine and in other parts of the third world or the Islamic world; they are responsible for the terrorist. They are the makers of terrorist. They are the makers of extremist. Not our religion…."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Language-Commentaries-of-WDeenMohammed/message/707
From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Suicide-bomber-hits-Indonesian-mosque-wounds-26/articleshow/7988894.cms
"In the last year, however, militants seeking to carve out an Islamic state have said the country's moderate [Islamic] leaders and security forces would be their next target.
West Java police chief, Maj Gen Suparni Parto, said that the attack was the work of a suicide bomber, whose mangled corpse was found at the scene.
The suspect was apparently wearing a suicide vest beneath his black Islamic robes and sitting among dozens of worshippers when he set off the bomb, said Agus Riyanto, a police spokesman."
From: http://tribune.com.pk/story/144205/is-the-west-darul-harb-for-muslims/
"There is a perception amongst some Muslims that the countries other than the ones with Muslim majority populations, especially those whose rulers are non-Muslims, are Darul Harb — countries at war with Muslims — and Muslims should therefore consider themselves in a state of belligerence with them."
"The idea has come from the understanding of Fiqh (the formal legal understanding expressed by the earlier jurists) which basis its opinion on the perception that Islamic faith has come to dominate the entire globe. That understanding is based on a peculiar interpretation of a few Qur’anic verses and the attitude of the first-generation Muslims who went ahead to present the message of Islam by asking the rulers of non-Muslim populations to accept Islam, forfeit their right to rule in favour of the conquering army, or face them in the battlefield."
Oh no, wait...
You will hear that islam is misunderstood and the quran is taken out of context because just from reading your post I can see you have no understanding of the religion and therefore will have no understanding of the context in which verses were revealed. The prophets wars were DEFENSIVE wars and he did not rape or enslave. The muslims were persecuted at this time so they had to defend themselves. I really dont know where you are getting your information from.
Also, i will NOT take responsibility for any acts committed by muslims other than myself and i am not going to dismiss youre "criticism" as islamophobic or racist but will dimiss it as ignorant. Islam is not an "extremely political ideaology".....It was a religion that developed initially as a minority in mecca than as the majority in medina (so yes, they did develop a political system/laws/rules as they were forming their own nation).
There are plenty of examples of every country, group or religious ideals that help spread propaganda of every kind. Americans are bashed, (some of it deserved, but not all). Muslims are bashed (some deserved, but not all) and it is on going. There are even people in America and in other countries that post here emotionally condemning America and Muslims that only have on side of view, and are so emotional about it that they cannot let go enough to actually look hard at what they are doing.
It would be pretty good idea to have more information about our American Muslims ideals. There are those who do lie, but most of them are afraid. There are Americans (take you pick from whatever immigrant nationality) who are duped into believing everything that is repeated over and over again. They want to feel safe, and some don't care what they spread.
If there was ever an example of an anti christ, it is in the manipulation of religion to control others. Fear allows that to happen. I think it is most important that those who are not Muslim should try to get to know those around who are, and those who are Muslim should also do the same. I have had the fortunate circumstances to get to know some who are, and in some instances it was difficult at first because of us both of us being very aware of predisposed perceptions. "What are they thinking" kind of awkwardness.
Some of the comments below are basically saying it is fine to discriminate against Muslims because in Muslim countries, none Muslims are discriminated against. Since when two wrongs make it right?