Arabs and Muslims: No Love Lost in the US

Arabs and Muslims are the least liked minorities in the United States. So revealed a study led by the Arab American Institute (AAI). This is not all that surprising considering how great the mistrust toward them has been since 9/11. Two months away from the American presidential election, this unfavorable image of Muslims has been mostly exhibited among the Republican electorate, whereas Democrats — pro-Obama — hold a much less negative view of them.

“The American Divide: How we view Arabs and Muslims” was the title of a study conducted by the Arab American Institute. On August 15 and 16, 1,052 people were polled, with the aim of finding out what image they have of Muslims and Arabs.

Compared with other religious communities, the results are distressing. Forty percent of Americans declare they have a positive view of Muslims, against 41 percent who claim to be opposed to this community. It is the only religion in the study for which the number of people declaring themselves against it is higher than that of people in favor of it. Indeed, 74 percent of people polled declared themselves in favor of Jews, compared to only 11 percent against this population. Catholics get 72 percent favorable opinions and 17 percent negative opinions.

Muslims and Arabs, a Negatively Judged Community

The gap between the religions is severe. Muslims are clearly suffering from a bad image. Even though the favorable opinion score obtained by Sikhs is close to that obtained by Muslims (45 percent favorable opinions against 24 percent unfavorable), it must be noted that one American out of five did not declare themselves either way because they affirm they do not know this community well enough.

Along with Muslims, there is another group held in a bad light by Americans: Arabs get 41 percent favorable opinions against 39 percent unfavorable. American Arabs, obviously helped by their nationality, are slightly better liked, with 49 percent favorable opinions and 31 percent unfavorable. American Muslims also have a slightly better image (48 favorable against 33 unfavorable).

This feeling toward Muslims and Arabs, who are victims of negative prejudice, is stronger among the white population, the study notes. Its results show the divide that has historically been keeping the white population separate from ethnic minorities. Sure enough, “Favorable attitudes toward Arabs, Muslims, Arab Americans, and American Muslims are significantly higher among African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans,” the AAI notes. Only 36 percent whites declare themselves favorable to Muslims, whereas half (50 percent) of minorities express a positive opinion towards this community.

Equally discriminated against, they necessarily feel closer to Muslims, who are the current target in the United States. There has indeed been a rise in Islamophobic acts by almost 50 percent between 2009 and 2010; lately, cases have revealed that the army was offering Islamophobic courses to soldiers and that the New York police were spying on the city’s Muslims.

Muslims: The Pet Peeve of Old Republicans

Heightened by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, this stigmatization is much stronger among the Republican electorate. While pro-Obama voters are mostly favorable to Arabs (51 percent for, 29 percent against) as well as Muslims (53 percent for, 29 percent against), voters who support Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate, are conversely mostly unfavorable to Arabs (30 percent in favor versus 50 percent against) and even more so to Muslims (25 percent for, 57 percent against).

This divide between two opinions is also found when looking at the age of the respondents. Young people aged 18 to 29 have, on the whole, a positive image of Arabs and Muslims (over 50 percent for), while the answers of people 65 and over show that they are far from liking Muslims and Arabs. Muslims get from them only 30 percent favorable opinions. “Younger Americans (18-25) rate Arabs and Muslims up to 17 points higher than the older generation,” the study reveals.

Every generation brings a new dawn. More open-minded and tolerant, young people are found in higher numbers among the electorate of Democrat Barack Obama, the current American president; older people, keen on conservative ideas, identify more with the discourse of Mormon Republican candidate, Mitt Romney.

Those voters who keep a jaundiced eye on Muslims and Arabs dare to think that were they to be elected to the government, they would not be able to do their job properly and they would let their culture or religion influence their decisions. Only 21 percent of Mitt Romney supporters (against 54 percent of Obama voters) claim to believe Muslims could do their job well in this position, while 57 percent believe they would be influenced by their religion.

A Presidential Campaign Against Muslims?

The Republican camp has not hesitated to play on this fear of Islam, which has been feeding on many polemical debates. The construction of Islamic center Park 51 near Ground Zero, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood, has thus largely contributed to the spreading of anti-Muslim sentiment.

The Washington Post quotes professor Jack Levin, co-director of the Center on Violence and Conflict at Northeastern University, saying that he thinks the protests against the building of this center in 2010, when the distrust of Muslims was at its highest, will fade in time. At the time, amidst fierce debate, a study by the AAI revealed that 55 percent of Americans had a unfavorable opinion of Muslims and only 35 percent had a favorable opinion. That year, a law aimed at banishing sharia (the Islamic law) in several states of the country had also amplified the stigmatization of Muslims.

With the presidential campaign in full swing and election day coming up on November 6, jabs at the Muslim community are picking up again. Recently, it was Huma Abedin, the Muslim aide to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who bore the brunt of it. Former candidate for Republican nomination Michele Bachmann and four other Republican members of Congress accused her of being tied to the Muslim Brotherhood and of plotting to influence American foreign policy.

This sort of attack tarnishing the Muslim image plays on the perception which a portion of the population may have of Muslims. And yet, many of them (59 percent) claim they know neither Arabs nor Muslims, in the AAI’s survey. When they do, their perception of them is rather more favorable: Close to six out of 10 have a positive image of them. When they do not mix with them, however, the judgment of Americans is harsher, and so we get, for instance, only 46 percent opinions favorable to Muslims.

Their ignorance does not allow them to overcome their prejudice. An effort in this direction is needed on behalf of the American population, even as we are just finding out that 17 percent of them believe their president, Barack Obama, is a Muslim.