Friday, March 17, 2006

Islam is Evil. That isn't news.

The Washington Post is doing whatever it can to paint over its putrefying fascade of dhimmitude. Below we will see how they try to blame the media other than themselves for racism and islamophobia while suggesting that those who don't followthe dhimmi party line as set down by the Washingtomn Post are somehow evil and stupid.

Honestly, I do want to choke some of these people. I know that's illegal. I know that it's immoral. I know it's ultimately a bad thing to choke them till they grab my wrists and try to pull my hands away, trying to get my thumbs off their throats, till their eyes bulge and they thrash and jerk and twitch. Uh, yeah, bad.
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Negative Perception Of Islam Increasing
Poll Numbers in U.S. Higher Than in 2001

By Claudia Deane and Darryl Fears
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, March 9, 2006; Page A01

As the war in Iraq grinds into its fourth year, a growing proportion of Americans are expressing unfavorable views of Islam, and a majority now say that Muslims are disproportionately prone to violence, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The poll found that nearly half of Americans -- 46 percent -- have a negative view of Islam, seven percentage points higher than in the tense months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, when Muslims were often targeted for violence.

The survey comes at a time of increasing tension; the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq show little sign of ending, and members of Congress are seeking to block the Bush administration's attempt to hire an Arab company to manage operations at six of the nation's ports. Also, Americans are reading news of deadly protests by Muslims over Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad.

Conservative and liberal experts said Americans' attitudes about Islam are fueled in part by political statements and media reports that focus almost solely on the actions of Muslim extremists.

According to the poll, the proportion of Americans who believe that Islam helps to stoke violence against non-Muslims has more than doubled since the attacks, from 14 percent in January 2002 to 33 percent today.

The survey also found that one in three Americans have heard prejudiced comments about Muslims lately. In a separate question, slightly more (43 percent) reported having heard negative remarks about Arabs. One in four Americans admitted to harboring prejudice toward Muslims, the same proportion that expressed some personal bias against Arabs.

Though the two groups are often linked in popular discourse, most of the world's Muslims are not of Arab descent. For example, the country with the largest Muslim population is Indonesia.

As a school bus driver in Chicago, Gary McCord, 65, dealt with many children of Arab descent. "Some of the best families I've ever had were some of my Muslim families," he said in a follow-up interview. "They were so nice to me." He now works for a Palestinian Christian family, whose members he says are "really marvelous."

But his good feelings do not extend to Islam. "I don't mean to sound harsh or anything, but I don't like what the Muslim people believe in, according to the Koran. Because I think they preach hate," he said.

As for the controversial cartoons of Muhammad, he said Arabs seem hypersensitive about religion. "I think it's been blown out of proportion," he said.

Frederick Cole, a welder in Roosevelt, Utah, acknowledged: "As far as being prejudiced against them, I'd have to say maybe a little bit. If I were to go through an airport and I saw one out of the corner of my eye, I'd say, 'I wonder what he's thinking.' " Still, Cole, 30, said, "I don't think the religion is based on just wanting to terrorize people."

A total of 1,000 randomly selected Americans were interviewed March 2-5 for this Post-ABC News poll. The margin of sampling error for the overall results is plus or minus three percentage points.


The Washington Post - ABC News Poll: Views of Islam
The Washington Post - ABC News Poll: Views of Islam
Associated Press Photo; Graphic by The Washington Post - March 09, 2006
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/08/AR2006030802221.html
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4 comments:

Barsawad said...

Very informative, but frightening for me! I knew we were not favorable in the minds of some Americans - but not that unfavorable!

Pastorius said...

Omar,
I feel for you, my friend. I worry about what will happen to good people/decent Muslims like you if America gets hit by a really big terrorist attack.

I also worry about what will happen to America. Many people have said we have lost our emphasis on human rights. I don't think that is true. But, I would imagine we have just as much potential for pack behavior as any other group of humnas, when we are threatened.

The best thing good people/decent Muslims can do, in my opinion, is make sure they are established within the larger community of Americans. Make your views clear, that you are a Muslim who believes in the American system.

If Ahmadinejad and Khameini do what they say they are going to do, there is going to be big trouble across the globe.

Pastorius said...

Dag,

How do you think history will record the behavior of the American press circa the early 2000's.

Dag said...

I think you sum it up nicely with that image, Callie.