Half of Americans say the next president should be careful not to criticize Islam as a whole when speaking about Islamic extremists, while four-in-ten want the next president to speak bluntly about Islamic extremists even if the statements are critical of Islam as a whole.
A new Pew Research Center survey finds that blunt talk is preferred by two-thirds of Republicans and those who lean toward the Republican Party (65%), while seven-in-ten Democrats and independents who lean Democratic express the opposite view, saying the next president should speak carefully about Islamic extremism so as not to criticize Islam as a whole.
The study also shows that many Americans think a substantial segment of the U.S. Muslim population is anti-American. While four-in-ten adults say “just a few” Muslims in the country are anti-American (or that none are), roughly half of the public believes that at least “some” U.S. Muslims are anti-American, including 11% who say “most” or “almost all” U.S. Muslims are anti-American and 14% who think “about half” the U.S. Muslim population is anti-American. [Pew Research Center] Read more
Should the next US president be offensively blunt about Islamism? Republicans think so, Democrats don’t
Should the next US president be blunt about Islamist terror even if it means offending Muslims as a whole? Nearly half of Americans think so, while half want him or her to be more careful – but there’s a marked difference between Democrat and Republican voters.
The findings come in a Pew survey that reveals widely differing attitudes towards Islam among Americans. Two-thirds of Republican voters – 65 per cent – believe the next president should be blunt about Islam, while 70 per cent of Democrats and Independents say the president should “speak carefully about Islamic extremism so as not to criticise Islam as a whole”.
The study also found around half of Americans think at least some Muslims are anti-American, including 11 per cent who say “most” or “almost all” are.
The survey also shows most people think the problem with religious violence is concerned with the people rather than the religion, with 68 per cent saying some violent people use religion to justify their actions. Only about a fifth (22 per cent) say the bigger problem is that the teachings of some religions promote violence. [Christian Today] Read more
Islam Surveyed 