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Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

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Roughly 1% of the U.S. adult population are Muslims. The political and social scrutiny focused on this small group has led to major political figures advocating discriminatory practices based on religion alone. In Wave 3 of the Chapman University Survey of American Fears, we explored how Americans as a whole view Muslims.
A Lack of Trust and a Push for Institutionalized Discrimination
Our results show that a large proportion of the adult American population distrusts Muslims and believes extra security measures should be employed against them.

To examine how Muslims are viewed relative to other segments of society, we asked about trust for six broad groups of Americans. Only "strangers" were more distrusted than Muslims.

We included five questions that directly measured opinions regarding Muslims. Three questions focused on whether there should be increased social monitoring of Muslims compared to other groups. These asked whether Muslims should be subjected to increased screening at airports, if police presence should be increased in Muslim neighborhoods, and whether America should cease all immigration from Muslim countries. The other two questions focused on general attitudes toward Muslims, the first asking if Muslims are more likely than others to be terrorists and the second asking if respondents would be comfortable with a mosque being built in their neighborhood. Results for the whole sample are shown in the chart below.

The results mirror our items on distrust of social groups. Nearly half of Americans, 48.8%, report that they would not be comfortable with a Mosque being built in their neighborhood. One third, 33.1%, report that Muslims are more likely to engage in terrorism. The same percentage agree or strongly agree that the U.S. should halt all immigration from Muslim nations.

This climate of suspicion has led many Americans to believe that Muslims should receive extra attention from law enforcement, with a majority of Americans, 58.7%, agreeing that Muslims should receive extra security screening at airports (though it should be noted that 76.1% reported that they would be willing to submit to more screening themselves if it reduced terrorism). Roughly one-third of Americans agree that Muslim immigration should be halted (33.1%) and that Muslim neighborhoods should have an increased police presence (36.3%). For a nation that touts its commitment to religious liberty, the prevalence of these beliefs should be disturbing.
Correlates of Islamophobia
Distrust of Muslims and support for religious discrimination is broadly distributed in American society but it is not distributed equally. We examined whether differences existed based on region of country, gender, race, age, education, and political party affiliation. All of these correlates were significantly associated with Islamophobia.
Region
Social scientists have often looked at regional differences by comparing the Northeast with the Midwest, South, and Western areas of the country. Examined this way, there were small but insignificant differences in beliefs about Muslims. What was striking, though, was the difference between people living in metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan Americans. Urban residents are much less likely to distrust Muslims or support institutionalized discrimination.
Gender
Men are more likely than women to hold anti-Muslim opinions.
Race
We compared non-Hispanic whites to the rest of the American population to see if there were racial differences in anti-Muslim sentiments. Whites show significantly higher levels of Islamophobia than non-whites. A further examination of the non-white group showed that African-Americans reported significantly lower anti-Muslim sentiment than other minorities.
Age
Younger adults are less likely to hold anti-Muslim views than older Americans. Although all age groups were split roughly in half on whether they would be comfortable with a mosque in their neighborhood, those over 60 were significantly more likely than all groups to express support for enhanced security measures against a religious group and to believe Muslims are more likely to be terrorists.
Education
Previous research has shown that higher levels of education are related to lower levels of prejudice toward minority groups. Our examination of American attitudes toward Muslims supports this conclusion. Those with a college degree or higher were less likely than any other group to support enhanced security measures against a religious group. They were also the only group where a majority reported they would be comfortable with a mosque being built in their neighborhood.

The relationship is less clear at the lowest levels of education. Those with no high school degree were less likely to express anti-Muslim views than those with a high school degree but no college. However, they reported more anti-Muslim views than respondents who had some college or a college degree.
Political Party Affiliation
There is a strong relationship between political party affiliation and anti-Muslim views. Republicans expressed the highest levels, Democrats the lowest, and independents were in the middle.
Summary
Results from the Chapman University Survey of American Fears show significant portions of the U.S. population distrust Muslims and believe the nation is justified in singling out one religious tradition for increased law enforcement scrutiny. Those with Islamophobic views are more likely to be rural, male, white, older, and lacking a college education.

The survey data do not allow us to dig deeply into the sources of anti-Muslim prejudice. Some of the differences discussed above suggest that unfamiliarity with Muslims is a factor, especially the urban-rural comparison. The differences based on political party affiliation suggest that political rhetoric may be associated anti-Muslim prejudice though these data do not allow us to specifically test the causal order. Regardless of the sources, the prevalence of anti-Muslim sentiment is a concern.

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Fear of Muslims in American Society - Chapman University Survey of American Fears

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Roughly 1% of the U.S. adult population are Muslims. The political and social scrutiny focused on this small group has led to major political figures advocating discriminatory practices based on religion alone.

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A chart of behavior of Americans due to Islamophobia

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Check out my latest presentation built on emaze.com, where anyone can create & share professional presentations, websites and photo albums in minutes.

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In the wake of the recent tragic attacks in Paris, Beirut, and Nigeria, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) renews our solidarity with our Muslim neighbors and condemns all attempts to fan fears, xenophobia, racism, and religious bigotry. We welcome Syrian and Afghan refugees and others who come seeking safety and asylum and will assist them in their settlement to the best of our ability.

Just as they did after the tragedy on 9/11, some candidates, government officials, and other demagogues are stoking fears in order to roll back civil liberties in the name of an illusory safety, and to promote an escalation of endless war. We reject the idea that safety lies in increased surveillance and unchecked police and military power. We are angered that refugees are being used as a political football by politicians to serve their own career interests, while putting Muslim communities and Arab communities of all faiths in increased danger throughout the country. We refuse to let fear-mongering drive our decisions, cloud our compassion or hurt our friends and allies.

As Jews from all parts of the world, we are particularly aware of what it means to be refugees and to find sanctuary denied. We remember the hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Nazis, and the many who were denied entry to the U.S. because of anti-Semitism here, expressed in terms that sound eerily familiar today. As Arab (Mizrahi) Jews, we are all too familiar with the stinging injustice of anti-Arab racism. We stand with Arabs of all faiths and nationalities in demanding our civil rights be respected, and that Syrian refugees be treated with a full measure of love and dignity.

In New York City, we are distraught to witness the rollout of the highly militarized Critical Response Command. When this Command was announced earlier this year, Police Commissioner Bratton planned a single unit that would conflate "terrorism" and dissent; he separated the units only following enormous public outrage. At the same time, while Mayor de Blasio has claimed to close the NYPD's notorious "Demographic Unit" that spied wholesale on Muslim communities, the City is still contesting the Hassan v City of New York lawsuit, which seeks to ban such unjustified surveillance. Additionally, reports are coming out of surveillance performed many months after the Mayor's stated closure of the program.

As Muslim New Yorkers, we are horrified by these attacks, but not because of our faith; we are horrified because we are human. There is an expectation that we should apologize and denounce these attacks on behalf of our faith. We denounce these despicable acts of terror because they defy humanity. - Arab American Association of New York Executive Director Linda Sarsour in City & State, 11/19/2019

As we confront these injustices, we are buoyed by the strength and vision of Muslim and Arab community leaders, and by local and national politicians welcoming refugees and standing against bigotry. As Linda Sarsour put it, " This is what New York City is all about: recognition, inclusion and respect for all people." We are heartened by the many powerful expressions of goodwill and support for refugees, Muslim Americans, Arab Americans of all religions, and for the civil liberties we all share civil liberties. As we mourn the dead and wounded of Beirut and Paris and Nigeria, and honor those who risked their lives to save others, we resolve that their suffering must not exploited to create more suffering.
At this time, we ask members of the wider community to support JFREJ's partner organizations who are leading inspiring work on behalf of Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities: DRUM South Asian Organizing Center Arab American Association of New York Muslim Community Network We strongly encourage you to join JFREJ and our partner Jews Against Islamophobia (JAI) in this work and attend our upcoming Anti-Islamophobia Workshop on December 3rd.

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JFREJ in Solidarity with Refugees and Muslim Communities

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In the wake of the recent tragic attacks in Paris, Beirut, and Nigeria, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) renews our solidarity with our Muslim neighbors and condemns all attempts to fan fears, xenophobia, racism, and religious bigotry. We welcome Syrian and Afghan refugees and others who

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A chart of Fox's view of Muslims

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How the media sees the Islamic People

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Image of Jewish people protesting Islamophobia

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Mass shootings in the United States have become a frequent occurrence. Every time I find a breaking news story flashing on my cell phone that mentions a mass shooting, my heart skips a few beats. My first concern is not the number of casualties or the setting of the tragic event, but the name and religion of the shooter.
Unfortunately, in this part of the world, those factors define how the news media provides coverage of the event. It was a nightmare come true when I found out that in the recent shootings in California that claimed 14 lives, the shooters were a Pakistani Muslim couple. Although the motives of the killers are not known yet, this Muslim involvement immediately made we worry about the repercussions on my life and that of others around me.

As a psychiatrist, I became interested in the relationship between mass murders and mental health in the United States. While at Drexel University, I did extensive study on the topic and gave a presentation to the Psychiatry Department about my research. Usually people with mental health issues are victims of violence themselves. Some conditions, such as paranoid schizophrenia, can make people violent at times. Most of the time, the perpetrators of mass murders in the US have been young, white males with access to assault rifles. In some instances, people belonging to minority religious groups, cultural or ethnic divisions were the victims of violence because of the bigotry and intolerance of the killer. However, unfortunately, many incidents have involved Muslims and that fact is often highlighted by the news media.

In 2012, the American Civil Liberty Union found that the New York Police Department (NYPD) had a program that involved security profiling of Muslims, simply because of their faith. The NYPD singled out Muslim religious and community leaders, mosques, student associations, businesses, and individuals for pervasive surveillance.

In the spring of 2013, I was preparing to run my first ever 10-mile race in Philadelphia. A couple of weeks before the run, the tragic bombing happened at the prestigious Boston marathon. In the first images, the bombers looked Caucasians and I felt a sense of relief that no Muslim was involved. I was wrong; the culprits behind the bombing were fundamentalist American Muslims. This incident led to heightened security at my run. I ran with an anti-drone attacks message on my shirt, along with a Boston Strong sticker and joined many of the other runners in wearing red socks - the Boston baseball team is named the Red Sox- to show solidarity with Boston. It was an attempt on my part to give a message to my fellow 35,000 runners that even though I condemn American drone attacks, I stand by you when terrorism hits this country.

I have never personally experienced any prejudice or racism, except at airports. I am frequently pulled out of line for minor interrogation, body and luggage examination including body search and some chemicals testing of luggage with the help of sniffer dogs at times. There is no denying that my friends and I frequently feel uncomfortable. One friend told me that she was changing her job because of the on-going ' Muslim bashing ' around her at work.

"I am so tired of hearing about Muslims as terrorist that I am resigning from this job,'' she said.

The challenge for us is what we can do to counter this general Islamophobia in the US. Social media campaigns such as #NotInMyName are effective tools for young educated Muslims to condemn Islamophobia-inducing terrorist attacks across the globe. However, most of the Muslims in America are well integrated in society and are found contributing at many different levels. It is in the context of their daily lives and through their personal stories and not statistics that they and I can help Americans to not fear Islam.

At a recent event on Islamophobia, lawyer and activist Rabia Chaudry said,

''We need more writers who can spread the message of peace and tolerance to others."

Community engagement and integration into in the social fibre of American society is more important than narrating the facts only. Deeds before words, was her message. She quoted a study that stated that introducing yourself as an American Muslim rather than a Muslim American has a huge impact on the perception of you by other Americans.

For myself, I have recently started studying the history of Islam to increase my own understanding and to be better informed in discussions with others. But for me, demonstrating my commitment to peace and religious toleration by taking good care of my patients, establishing healthy relationships with my co-workers and involvement in art and cultural activities in my town are the simple but important ways I can best help counter Islamophobia.

The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of The Express Tribune.

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Mass shootings in the United States have become a frequent occurrence. Every time I find a breaking news story flashing on my cell phone that mentions a mass shooting, my heart skips a few beats. My first concern is not the number of casualties or the setting of the tragic event, but the name and religion of the shooter.

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This a group of Muslims at Trump tower