Washington, DC – A new poll, conducted on behalf of Muslim Advocates, shows that, despite increased anti-Muslim rhetoric in politics, the vast majority of voters hold a favorable opinion of American Muslims.
Probolsky Research, a Republican-owned firm, conducted the national multi-mode survey of 1,000 voters (520 by telephone and 480 online) from March 29 – April 10, 2018, yielding a margin of error of +/-3.2 percent. The poll was conducted partially online to ensure accuracy and identify differences among respondents based on mode.
The poll concluded that:
- Just 11% of voters hold a negative impression of Muslims;
- 57.3% of voters say hate speech and violent crimes against Muslims in America are on the rise. This comports with recent Pew Center research documenting a major surge in anti-Muslim hate violence as well as Muslim Advocates own tracking of hate crimes and incidents targeting American Muslims;
- The vast majority of voters say they would either support or have no opinion about a proposal to build a mosque in their neighborhood; and
- 41.4% of voters could not name a well known American Muslim and, with 25.3% of respondents, Muhammad Ali is by far, the best known American Muslim, followed by Malcolm X at 6%. No American Muslim woman was named in the top ten answers by survey respondents.
Click here to download the full memo about the findings.
According to Scott Simpson, public advocacy director of Muslim Advocates, “Despite a years-long effort to demonize American Muslims, the Trump campaign and administration have not convinced voters to adopt their hostility toward Muslims. The numbers are clear: anti-Muslim policies and campaign rhetoric only reflect the attitudes of an extreme, isolated, and small minority of Americans.”
Muslim Advocates is a national legal advocacy and educational organization that works on the frontlines of civil rights to guarantee freedom and justice for Americans of all faiths.