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POLL: MAJORITY OF U.S. MUSLIMS SUFFERED
POST-9/11 BIAS
More than three-in-four also experienced acts of kindness
(WASHINGTON, DC - 8/21/02) - According to results of a poll released today
by a national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group, a majority (57
percent) of American Muslims say they experienced bias or discrimination
since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and almost all respondents (87 percent)
said they knew of a fellow Muslim who experienced discrimination.
But that same poll of 945 individuals, conducted by the Washington-based
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in late July and early August,
indicates more than three-in-four American Muslims (79 percent) also
experienced kindness or support from friends or colleagues of other faiths.
That kindness often took the form of verbal reassurances, support during the
anti-Muslim backlash following the attacks and even offers to help guard
local mosques.
Surveys were faxed, mailed and e-mailed to Muslim individuals and
organizations nationwide. Less than 1 percent (.7 percent) of respondents
indicated they were not Muslim.
"The results of this survey show that while we have all gone through a
traumatic year in our nation's history, there is hope for the future if
Americans who support and practice tolerance challenge the vocal minority
who seek to divide our nation," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.
Other survey results include the following:
* 48 percent of respondents said their lives changed for the worse in the
year following the attacks.
* Those who said their lives changed for the better (16 percent) often cited
a deepened knowledge of Islam made necessary by requests to explain their
faith to others.
* The most frequent forms of bias experienced by the respondents were verbal
abuse, religious or ethnic profiling and workplace discrimination.
* 67 percent of respondents said the media have grown more biased against
Islam and Muslims.
* 45 percent of respondents said Fox News was the media outlet that
exhibited the most biased coverage.
* PBS, the BBC and ABC were named as media outlets worthy of praise for
their coverage.
* 70 percent of respondents were registered to vote or will register before
the next election. (Seventy-seven percent of respondents were eligible to
vote.)
When asked to name the political party that best represents the interests of
the American Muslim community, more respondents named the Democratic Party
(16 percent) and Green party (5 percent) than the Republican Party (3
percent). Yet 36 percent of Muslim respondents said they voted for George W.
Bush in the last presidential election. (Thirteen percent voted for Ralph
Nader and 9 percent voted for Al Gore.)
That seeming anomaly may be explained by the number of respondents (66
percent) who rated the Bush administration's post-9/11 interaction with the
American Muslim community as 3 or lower on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 was
poor and 10 was excellent. (Eighty-one percent rated CAIR's performance
during the past year as 7 or higher.)
Muslims from more than 40 different states (and the District of Columbia)
responded to the survey, with the most responses coming from California,
Texas, Virginia, New York, Michigan, Maryland, Ohio, Florida, New Jersey,
Illinois, and Pennsylvania. (In descending order.)
There are an estimated seven million Muslims in America and some 1.2 billion
worldwide. Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in America.
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CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL: cair@cair-net.org
; Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 703-861-7294, E-MAIL:
hhassan@cair-net.org
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
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