Most
in Poll Back Outreach to Muslims
By Jon Cohen and
Jennifer Agiesta
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, April 6, 2009; A10
Most Americans
think President Obama's pledge to "seek a new way forward" with the
Muslim world is an important goal, even as nearly half hold negative views
about Islam and a sizable number say that even mainstream adherents to the
religion encourage violence against non-Muslims, according to a new Washington
Post-ABC News poll.
There is still a
broad lack of familiarity with the world's second-largest religion -- 55
percent of those polled said they are without a basic understanding of the
teachings and beliefs of Islam, and most said they do not know anyone who is
Muslim. While awareness has increased in recent years, underlying views have
not improved.
About half, 48
percent, said they have an unfavorable view of Islam, the highest in polls
since late 2001. Nearly three in 10, or 29 percent, said they see mainstream
Islam as advocating violence against non-Muslims; although more, 58 percent,
said it is a peaceful religion.
Muslims make up
about 1 percent of all U.S. adults.
Majorities of
Americans with sympathetic and unsympathetic views about Islam said it is
important for the president to try to improve U.S. relations with Muslim
nations, with those holding more positive views much more likely to call those
moves "very important." In his inaugural address, Obama extended an
offer to leaders of unfriendly Muslim nations that the United States "will
extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." Overall, nearly
two-thirds said Obama, who arrived yesterday in Ankara, Turkey, will handle the
diplomatic mission "about right." Nearly a quarter, though, said he
will probably "go too far." Nine percent said it is more likely he
will not go far enough.
Nearly half of
Republicans said Obama is apt to overreach in his efforts to advance U.S.
relations, while large majorities of Democrats and independents said they think
he will walk the right line.
Republicans are
also more apt than others to hold negative attitudes toward Islam, with six in
10 having unfavorable views, compared with about four in 10 for Democrats and
independents. Among conservative Republicans, 65 percent view Islam
unfavorably; liberal Democrats, in contrast, are 60 percent positive.
This partisan
divide is also apparent on the question of whether mainstream Islam encourages
hostility toward non-Muslims, with Republicans about twice as likely as
Democrats to say it does. Nearly half of conservative Republicans see centrist
Islam as a promoter of violence.
Perceptions of
Islam as a peaceful faith are the highest among non-religious Americans, with
about two-thirds holding that view. Among Catholics, 60 percent see mainstream
Islam as a peaceful faith; it is 55 percent among all Protestants, but drops to
48 percent among white evangelical Protestants.
There are deep
divisions in perceptions of Islam between younger and older Americans as well:
More than six in 10 younger than 65 said Islam is a peaceful religion, but that
drops to 39 percent among seniors.
As in previous
surveys, unfamiliarity breeds skepticism: 53 percent of those who profess an
understanding of some Islamic teachings view the religion favorably, compared
with 31 percent of those who said they do not have that fluency. Those who have
such a background are also significantly more likely to see the religion as
peaceful. Similar patterns exist for those who know a Muslim. And views of
Islam are more positive among those with more formal education.
In a Pew poll in
March, 11 percent of Americans mistakenly identified Obama as a Muslim, about
the same proportion to do so during the presidential campaign.
The Post-ABC
poll was conducted by telephone March 26-29 among a national random sample of
1,000 adults. The results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus
three percentage points.