Poll: 58% Believe Muslims Face Discrimination

posted on: Sep 11, 2009

Eight years after the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks, Americans know more about Islam, which may be helping foster more favorable views about Muslims, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.

At the same time, the survey found Americans believe Muslims in the United States face more discrimination than any other major religious group. Six in 10 adults in the United States say Muslims are subjected to far more discrimination than evangelical Christians, Jews, Mormons or atheists, according to the study, released Wednesday.

In the annual survey, 58 percent of Americans said there was “a lot” of discrimination against Muslims. Jews were seen as the religious group with the next highest level of bias against them, with 35 percent saying they faced a lot of discrimination. Homosexuals were the only group seen as facing more discrimination than Muslims, with almost two-thirds of Americans saying homosexuals are discriminated against a lot.

The Pew results are not surprising to Dawud Walid, Council on American-Islamic Relations — Michigan executive director.

“Discrimination towards Muslims has steadily increased according to our own study, Walid said. “It seems Islam-phobia has drastically increased.”

Walid says his organization is trying to bridge the gap in understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims through a campaign called Share the Quran campaign, which seeks to enhance understanding of Islam.

The survey of 2,010 adults around the country was conducted Aug. 11-17.

In another study released Wednesday, University of Michigan researchers found Arab and Chaldean communities face an unusual degree of discrimination and acceptance in Metro Detroit

Amal Neimer, a Dearborn bakery owner, said she believes the discrimination against Muslims locally is no longer a problem.

“I don’t know about the rest of the country, but people in the area seem to be more open about our culture,” Neimer said.

U-M researcher Wayne Baker, co-author of the book “Citizenship and Crisis: Arab Detroit After 9-11” said, “Discrimination against Arabs and Muslims in America persists because it reflects persisting political struggles and conflicts in the Middle East. “Many Americans link Arab-Americans with the idea that they are, or are identified with, the “enemy.”

Oralandar Brand-Williams
The Detroit News