Exclusive: Most Americans see Muslims like any other group after California shooting - poll
By Ginger Gibson
4 hours ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Just days after two Muslims were
accused of gunning down 14 people in California, a Reuters/Ipsos poll
shows 51 percent of Americans view Muslims living in the United States
the same as any other community, while 14.6 percent are generally
fearful.
The poll has a credibility interval of 3.4 percentage points for all Americans and about 5.5 percentage points when looking at just Republican or Democratic responses.
Republicans were more likely than Democrats to support closely monitoring mosques (64 percent compared with 43 percent) or closing ones with suspected extremist ties (69 percent to 48 percent).
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump drew criticism when he said he would be willing to close mosques where extremists practiced and that a database of all Muslims should be created.
“There still is very much a political divide in each of these responses,” said Lori Peek, a sociology professor at Colorado State and author of the 2011 book “Behind the Backlash: Muslim Americans After 9/11.” “Democrats and the independents are looking more similar, and they generally are more tolerant.”
Many voters said they agree that Muslims are less willing to assimilate than other immigrant groups.
Peek said numerous studies have found that Muslims are more successful at integrating into American society -- obtaining education, voting regularly and living in diverse neighbors -- than any other immigrant group.
In the first
poll on views of Muslim Americans taken in the aftermath of the Paris
and San Bernardino attacks, much of the division is partisan. Among
Democrats, 60 percent said they view Muslims like any other community,
compared with 30 percent of Republicans.
How Americans should
treat Muslims, both those already living in the United States and those
seeking to come to the country as refugees, became a divisive topic
after Islamic State claimed credit for killing 130 people in Paris and a
Muslim couple is believed to have slaughtered 14 people and wounded 21
others in California.
Amaney
Jamal, a politics professor at Princeton, said it's "healthy" to see the
majority positively viewing Muslims, but cautioned about growing fears.
“If
terrorism is designed to create a larger gap between Muslims and
Westerners, unfortunately they’re succeeding,” Jamal said. “The threat
of terror is going to be fought by Muslims and non-Muslims together. You
would like to see those gaps close so people are working together and
not being fearful.”
Of the 1,056 likely voters across the nation
polled online on Thursday and Friday, 34.7 percent said they are fearful
of “a few groups and individuals” in the Muslim community.The poll has a credibility interval of 3.4 percentage points for all Americans and about 5.5 percentage points when looking at just Republican or Democratic responses.
Republicans were more likely than Democrats to support closely monitoring mosques (64 percent compared with 43 percent) or closing ones with suspected extremist ties (69 percent to 48 percent).
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump drew criticism when he said he would be willing to close mosques where extremists practiced and that a database of all Muslims should be created.
“There still is very much a political divide in each of these responses,” said Lori Peek, a sociology professor at Colorado State and author of the 2011 book “Behind the Backlash: Muslim Americans After 9/11.” “Democrats and the independents are looking more similar, and they generally are more tolerant.”
Many voters said they agree that Muslims are less willing to assimilate than other immigrant groups.
Peek said numerous studies have found that Muslims are more successful at integrating into American society -- obtaining education, voting regularly and living in diverse neighbors -- than any other immigrant group.
Many
Americans said they believe Muslims are more likely to put their own
religion above the law -- a point that echoes critics' insistence that
Islamic sharia law is being forced upon non-believers. Forty-nine
percent said Muslims put religion above the law, compared with 33
percent who thought the same of Christians and 23 percents of Jews.
Those
polled also expressed disagreement that American Muslims are doing
enough to report possible extremists, with 23 percent saying they
believe that potential risks are being reported.
Ibrahim
Hooper, spokesman for the Center for Islamic-American Relations, said
while he is pleased that the majority of Americans view his religion
positively, he is concerned by the continued minority that holds
anti-Islamic views.
“We are
seeing I think a more toxic anti-Muslim environment or atmosphere than
we have seen since 9/11,” Hooper said. “In some ways it’s worse because
it’s been mainstreamed by public figures like Donald Trump or Ben Carson
so it’s seen as a natural, normal kind of thing.”
(Reporting by Ginger Gibson and Chris Kahn; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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