THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XIII, Issue # 216, August 31, 2011
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
GALLUP'S U.S. MUSLIM SURVEY: NO GREAT BOON TO ISLAMISTS
By David J. Rusin
POLITICAL ATTITUDES, VALUES, & BELIEFS OF MUSLIMS RESIDING IN THE U.S.A. -- THE FINDINGS OF AN EXTENSIVE STUDY
OF POLLING DATA RELEASED BY THE ABU DHABI GALLUP CENTER ON AUGUST 2, 2010: MOST MUSLIM-AMERICANS
YEARN TO SEE ALL MUSLIMS EMBRACE WESTERN VALUES. MUSLIM-AMERICAN SUPPORT FOR ISLAMIST LOBBY GROUPS IS
FEEBLE -- MUSLIMS IN THE U.S.A. SEE THEMSELVES AS THRIVING, WHILE NO OTHER RELIGIOUS GROUP EXPECTS THINGS
TO IMPROVE AS MUCH AS DO MUSLIM-AMERICANS
FULL STORY:
Muslim-Americans: Faith, Freedom, and the Future is an extensive study of polling data released by the Abu Dhabi
Gallup Center (ADGC) on August 2, 2010.
According to the report, Muslims are as likely as any U.S. faith group to describe themselves as "thriving" (p. 14), exceed all
but Mormons in "combined integration-tolerance scores" (p. 42), are "least likely … to justify individuals or small groups
attacking civilians" (p. 31), and surpass Jews (81% to 78%) in their support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Arab
conflict in the Middle East (p. 29). Muslims also claim the most discrimination (p. 40) and are more likely than any other group
to say that Muslims are both loyal to the U.S.A. (p. 35) and reject al-Qa'ida (p. 32). The ADGC's indirect approach on the last
two issues — asking others about Muslims' views and comparing the results to what Muslims say about Muslims — seems
designed to push "Islamophobia" and preempt unwanted findings.
Georgetown's John Esposito and likeminded anti-anti-Islamists have declared the sanguine picture of Muslim-Americans to
be a massive defeat for those rightly emphasizing the threat of radical Islam in the United States. However, anti-Islamists have
little reason to fret.
First, any ADGC analysis should be taken with a rather hefty grain of salt, considering that Dalia Mogahed directs the center.
In addition to her well-documented history of promoting Islamists, whitewashing Shari'a, and beclouding Islamic terrorism, a
2008 book-length study by Esposito and Mogahed was criticized for using creative accounting to downplay Muslim
radicalism.
Second, if the above numbers do reflect reality, they are far from a disaster for foes of radical Islam. Not only would genuinely
good news about Muslim-Americans' moderation be welcomed by anti-Islamists — most of whom yearn to see all Muslims
embrace Western values — but the data also help undermine Islamists and their talking points:
The survey finds that support for Islamist lobby groups is feeble. Just 12% of Muslim men and 11% of women say that CAIR
best represents their interests (p. 25); backing for ISNA, MPAC, and others is even weaker — an excellent opportunity for
governments and media to dump these constituency-challenged radicals in favor of moderate partners.
Depicting the lives of Muslim-Americans as fraught with suffering is the bread and butter of Islamists, but this grim portrait
simply does not square with the data. If Muslims are "thriving" and "no other religious group … expects things to improve as
much as do Muslim-Americans" (p. 13), how bad can life really be for them? Not very bad at all.
Islamists inflate the number of U.S. Muslims to exaggerate their apparent clout, but the study further chips away at CAIR's
oft-cited claim of seven million. Gallup's random polling sample contains only 0.45% Muslims (p. 59), which corresponds to
1.4 million among a U.S. population of 310 million, in the general range of a recent Pew estimate.
Those who rush to wholly pro-Islamist interpretations of the report miss the bigger picture.
----------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2007 - 2011 The Middle East Forum
Republished from the Islamist Watch Blog, August 31, 2011
Reprinted with the Permission of the Islamist Watch Blog
URL: http://www.islamist-watch.org/blog/2011/08/gallup- us-muslim-survey-no-great-boon-to-islamists
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
The Islamist Fifth Column -- America's Internal Enemies:
Disloyalty, Subversion, Sedition, & Treason
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
International Politics & World Disorder:
War, Peace, & Geopolitics in the Real World:
Foreign Affairs & U.S. National Security
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Counterterrorism & U.S. National Security
U.S. National Security Strategy
Dr. David J. Rusin is the Director of Islamist Watch, the Middle East Forum's project to expose and combat stealth jihad, that is,
the lawful and non-violent, but still disloyal and subversive, political activities of Islamists operating in the U.S.A. and other
Western states. Previously, Dr. Rusin served as a research associate at Islamist Watch and as an editor for Pajamas
Media. After Al-Qa'ida's terror attack on the U.S.A. on September 11, 2001, Dr. Rusin's primary interest turned from
Astrophysics to Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, Islam, and the Islamist threat to Western Civilization. Rusin holds a Ph.D. in
Physics and Astronomy from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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