“Contexts” Magazine (a publication of the American Sociological Association) reports that:
“Recent national polls find that four in 10 Americans have an unfavorable view of Islam, five in 10 believe Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence, and six in 10 believe Islam is very different from their own religion. All this despite the fact that seven in 10 admit they know very little about Islam. And yet Americans rank Muslims second only to atheists as a group that doesn’t share their vision of American society.”
Two erroneous assumptions about Muslims are behind these attitudes:
“First, that there’s only one kind of Islam and one kind of Muslim, both characterized by violence and anti-democratic tendencies. Second, that being a Muslim is the most salient identity for Muslim Americans when it comes to their political attitudes and behaviors, that it trumps their social class position, national origin, racial/ethnic group membership, or gender—or worse, that it trumps their commitment to a secular democracy.”
These characterizations are not true, and yet they fuel hate crimes and prejudice, and have even evolved into a handy way to instill distrust in a person (by accusing him or her of secretly being a Muslim.)
This article presents some basic facts about Muslim Americans to help dispel some of the misinformation about them. For example, most are not Arab. Muslim Americans also tend to be highly educated, politically conscious, and fluent in English. On average, “Muslim Americans share similar socioeconomic characteristics with the general U.S. population: one-fourth has a bachelor’s degree or higher, one-fourth lives in households with incomes of $75,000 per year or more, and the majority are employed. However, some Muslims do live in poverty and have poor English language skills and few resources to improve their situations.”
Context also reports that “One of the most important and overlooked facts about Muslim Americans is that they are not uniformly religious and devout. Some are religiously devout, some are religiously moderate, and some are non-practicing and secular, basically Muslim in name only, similar to a good proportion of U.S. Christians and Jews.”
Read the entire article, with data on Muslim attitudes, values, and variations, here.
Attitudes Toward Muslims in America
“Contexts” Magazine (a publication of the American Sociological Association) reports that:
“Recent national polls find that four in 10 Americans have an unfavorable view of Islam, five in 10 believe Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence, and six in 10 believe Islam is very different from their own religion. All this despite the fact that seven in 10 admit they know very little about Islam. And yet Americans rank Muslims second only to atheists as a group that doesn’t share their vision of American society.”
Two erroneous assumptions about Muslims are behind these attitudes:
“First, that there’s only one kind of Islam and one kind of Muslim, both characterized by violence and anti-democratic tendencies. Second, that being a Muslim is the most salient identity for Muslim Americans when it comes to their political attitudes and behaviors, that it trumps their social class position, national origin, racial/ethnic group membership, or gender—or worse, that it trumps their commitment to a secular democracy.”
These characterizations are not true, and yet they fuel hate crimes and prejudice, and have even evolved into a handy way to instill distrust in a person (by accusing him or her of secretly being a Muslim.)
This article presents some basic facts about Muslim Americans to help dispel some of the misinformation about them. For example, most are not Arab. Muslim Americans also tend to be highly educated, politically conscious, and fluent in English. On average, “Muslim Americans share similar socioeconomic characteristics with the general U.S. population: one-fourth has a bachelor’s degree or higher, one-fourth lives in households with incomes of $75,000 per year or more, and the majority are employed. However, some Muslims do live in poverty and have poor English language skills and few resources to improve their situations.”
Context also reports that “One of the most important and overlooked facts about Muslim Americans is that they are not uniformly religious and devout. Some are religiously devout, some are religiously moderate, and some are non-practicing and secular, basically Muslim in name only, similar to a good proportion of U.S. Christians and Jews.”
Read the entire article, with data on Muslim attitudes, values, and variations, here.
Filed under: Commentary, Politics | Tagged: Commentary, Politics