The Pew Forum recently published a study titled, "Little Support for Terrorism Among Muslims". Among other things, the study revealed that "Very few Muslim Americans hold a positive opinion of al Qaeda -- only 5% give the terrorist organization a favorable rating, while 68% express an unfavorable view, including 58% who describe their view as very unfavorable. About one-quarter (27%) decline to offer an opinion." Okay, so kudos to those who rated it "very unfavorable". Obviously they are the majority. But, really? 5% gave it a favorable rating, and 27% aren't willing to offer an opinion, and these results are supposed to be comforting? I find it disturbing that there are even that many. That's one in twenty who support Al Qaeda!
According to the website, the most likely to endorse terrorism are the young, African Americans, and the highly devout.
I was also a little surprised to note that while three-quarters of US Muslims say violence against civilian targets is never justified, Pakistan actually beats us in that category by about 10%. Less disturbing but still unacceptable is this one: "fewer than half of Muslim Americans -- just four-in-10 -- accept the fact that groups of Arabs carried out the Sept. 11 attacks. Roughly a third (32%) express no opinion as to who was behind the attacks, while 28% flatly disbelieve that Arabs conducted the attacks."
What does one do with information like this? Obviously I think that panic, anger, and bigotry are inappropriate responses. Those reactions will only aggravate the situation. But how do we improve these numbers? Or should we just ignore them, and go about our normal business?
9 comments:
Yeah 5% might sound small, but there were only 19 al-Qaeda members directly involved in the September 11 attacks.
I read a really good book called The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright that had some good information in it. One of the things he called for was to stop making martyrs out of terrorists we catch. If we throw them in prison it's much less glorious of a fate.
I also think we're spending far more resources overseas than we should be here at home.
“But how do we improve these numbers? Or should we just ignore them, and go about our normal business?”
I think the answer lies in the survey itself, Chris:
“And the survey found that younger Muslims in the U.S. are slightly more accepting of Islamic extremism than are older Muslims. Those under age 30 are more than twice as likely as those age 30 and older to believe that suicide bombings in the defense of Islam can often or sometimes be justified (15% vs. 6%). This pattern is consistent with findings from Europe -- Muslims under age 30 in Britain, France, Germany and Spain are slightly more likely than those in older age groups to endorse suicide attacks.”
Give them some time to grow up, though even that isn’t always a guarantee.
Overall, I think the picture looks relatively good for the US, and here’s why:
“Most (72%) say their communities are good or excellent places to live, and most believe in the American dream -- 71% say that in the U.S., most people who want to get ahead can make it if they are willing to work hard.”
You may be right, Ray. The first thing I thought when I read the 5% figure was, "those must be brand new immigrants from North Africa or the Middle East, who just haven't had time to acculturate yet." But that's not the conclusion the Pew people drew. Instead, it's the young, African-Americans, and the highly devout. Acculturation (i.e. growing out of it) may still be the answer, but it would be faster and easier if it was only new immigrants we were talking about, here.
Certainly the young will probably tend to grow out of it. With any luck, the highly devout may grow out of it, too, within a couple generations. African-Americans are a somewhat different case, since their violence stems from a history of race-conflict in this country. With any luck, the race gap will get smaller, and that community will grow out of it, too.
I have to agree with Happy Lost Sheep, though. It only takes a few bad apples to blow up the whole bunch. The "wait-and-see" method may be the best one available, but I don't have to like it!
“I have to agree with Happy Lost Sheep, though. It only takes a few bad apples to blow up the whole bunch.”
If that was applied to Mormonism the result would be the same, IMO (and let’s not forget that Mormons and Muslims are not far apart in the popularity stakes in America, which is quite low). I doubt any would agree that a few bad “Mormon apples” equates to the whole religion. At least that’s what I would like to believe. Maybe I’m wrong. Mormonism has also evolved quite a lot since the early 19th century beginnings, to becoming what Quinn called “more American than Americans”. I think we may expect to see a similar “evolution” with Islam in the West.
For my views about Islam in Australia: http://thoughtsfrmwrongside50.blogspot.com/
However, I’m not complacent, and it is of concern to me that serious abuses are still perpetrated in countries that take a more literal interpretation of the Qur’an and Islamic traditions.
Ray, I wasn't saying that a few bad apples negate the value of the whole religion. I was saying that a few bad apples can construct a bomb capable of killing a large number of people. This doesn't apply to Mormonism because the bad apples in Mormonism just don't go around blowing stuff up. :-)
Okay Chris, I wasn’t clear on that. And it did happen in the UK.
Still, do 13 million Mormons compare to 1 billion Muslims?
What are the chances of nutters coming out of 1 billion people?
Are the FLDS violent nutters?
The FLDS and their violence are extremist Mormons, at least that’s how outsiders would view it, without making the necessary distinctions, which we should also do with Islam.
Frankly, I don’t see any other solution than secularisation, by degrees, if necessary. Or more “liberal” forms of religion. But I can see the worms crawling out of the can of this suggestion. There is some violent Mormon rhetoric “out there”, even if it’s not (as yet) put into practice.
Hi Ray,
Would even the FLDS say that violence against civilians is sometimes or often acceptable? I mean, there are nutters in every religion, sure. But there is no Mormon equivalent to Al Qaeda, and if there were, I highly doubt that one in twenty Mormons (of any splinter group affiliation) would support it.
But again, the point here isn't to trash Islam. I do think that the content of Islamic sacred texts is part of the problem. So is the widespread cultural influence of Saudi Arabian scholars on the global faith. But a democratic and non-violent interpretation of Islam is as possible as it is in any other religion. The question is simply one of how to help ensure that that's the interpretation that prevails among our Muslim neighbors here in the West.
Peace,
-Chris
Chris wrote:
“I do think that the content of Islamic sacred texts is part of the problem. “
Without a doubt.
While not as obvious, cutting off someone’s head to preserve religious texts isn’t exactly benign. Nor is the idea of blood atonement. Nor is the idea that “Blacks” are descended from Cain. Nor is the idea that “sinful people” inherit a dark skin, anywhere, in any age, except in Christian mythology. Mormons have had to either ignore or downplay past teachings to maintain credibility with “the world”. So Mormon “sacred texts” are not without some problems. This is what stuck in Mitt Romney’s throat, and it will continue to “stick” as long as any Mormon runs for president (I can guarantee that). The reality is that Americans view Mormons as only slightly better than Muslims. In my experience most Muslims do not take the Qur’an seriously, or only filter out the more “inspirational” parts.
What needs to be done now, IMO, is to stem the possible tide of future extremism. “Nightlion” may not be the typical Mormon, but he could well represent that 5% of future insanity, when, if, Mormons reach the 1 billion mark.
We could not do it with Islam, because there was no Internet, but we now have the opportunity to oppose every form of potential rising extremism, and should we fail, then we may rest assured that the meek will not inherit the earth.
Here is a speech by Lawrence Wright, the author I mentioned above. This speech was given at Princeton University in 2007. Some of the most insightful information on Al Qaeda I've ever heard.
Lawrence Wright - Al Qaeda: Past, Present and Future
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