It is not surprising that Jaweed Kaleem and the Huffington Post would assume that this unfavorable view stems from ignorance of Islam, or from the poll respondents’ not knowing a Muslim personally. No doubt this will be spun as an example of the success and influence of the nefarious (and fictional) “Islamophobia industry,” which supposedly churns out hate propaganda to turn Americans against Islam — for what motive, no one has explained. But in reality, Americans who have an unfavorable view of Islam do so because they see events such as the Boston Marathon bombings, and the perpetrators’ mother screaming that America “WILL PAY FOR MY SONS AND THE SONS OF ISLAM.” The Americans who have an unfavorable view of Islam do so because they see Muslims all over the world on a more or less daily basis committing acts of violence and explaining and justifying them by pointing to Islamic texts and teachings. They see one of the most brutal, barbaric and bloodthirsty polities in the history of the world call itself the Islamic State, and claim to represent Islam in its purity and fullness. They see all this happening and then people like Jaweed Kaleem and leading Muslim spokesmen in the U.S. whining about “Islamophobia,” rather than calling for genuine soul-searching and honest reform within the Muslim community. No amount of propaganda blaming all this and more on “Islamophobes” will convince most Americans to believe Jaweed Kaleem and the HuffPo in preference to their lying eyes.
“More Than Half Of Americans Have Unfavorable View Of Islam, Poll Finds,” by Jaweed Kaleem, Huffington Post, April 10, 2015:
More than half of Americans say they have unfavorable views of Islam, and six in 10 either aren’t interested or don’t know whether they want to learn more about the faith, according to a new poll.
Younger Americans are the most likely to have positive views on Islam, be interested in learning about the religion and have Muslim friends.
The findings, detailed in a HuffPost/YouGov poll on Americans’ views of Muslims released Friday as part of HuffPost Religion’s week-long Muslim Life in America series, show a nation of fractured opinions and experiences when it comes to Islam, with stark differences among age groups and political affiliations.
Overall, 55 percent of Americans had either a somewhat or very unfavorable view of Islam, while one in four said they were not sure how they viewed the faith. Just 7 percent said they had a very favorable view of the religion, and 14 percent said they saw it somewhat favorably.
While a majority had negative views, few seemed to base those judgements on knowledge or on relationships with Muslims. Just 13 percent told HuffPost/YouGov that they “understand the Islamic religion” either extremely well or very well. Thirty percent said they know the faith “moderately well.” Meanwhile, 16 percent of Americans said they work with Muslims and nearly one in four said they they have a friend who is Muslim.
The survey, conducted March 5 through March 9 among 1,000 U.S. adults using a sample selected from YouGov’s opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population, also asked if Americans had ever been to a mosque, and if people would be interested in learning more about the faith.
One in 10 said they had been to a mosque, and 39 percent said they would be interested in learning more about Islam. A higher share, 44 percent, said they would not want to learn more, and 17 percent said they were unsure.
When broken down by age and political affiliation, younger Americans and Democrats were more likely to feel goodwill toward Islam and to want to learn about it. Democrats were 16 percentage points more likely than Republicans to hold favorable views, and 13 points more likely to say they would be interested in learning more.
Forty percent of those ages 18 to 29 had an unfavorable view of Islam, compared with 63 percent of those ages 45 to 64, and 58 percent of those 65 and older. People under 29 were more likely to have Muslim friends, and were 20 points more likely than any other age group to say they would want to learn more about Islam.
HuffPost Religion associate editor Antonia Blumberg, who spearheaded the Muslim Life in America series, said negative perceptions of American Muslims partly inspired the effort to write about diversity among America’s 2.75 million Muslims. HuffPost’s stories this week have included features on the experiences of Muslim American college students, including a Muslim fraternity; Muslims in Hollywood; a Muslim filmmaker; social justice organizing within Muslim communities; and a counselor who started the Muslim Wellness Foundation….
“The bottom line is, too many Americans have never even (consciously) met a Muslim person,” Blumberg said. “They have no context for understanding the faith outside of what’s in the news. The aim of the Muslim Life in America series is to lift up the voices and stories of Muslim Americans from all walks of life to contextualize and humanize the faith for other Americans. When you realize the incredible diversity of the Muslim American community, stereotypes just won’t make sense anymore. “
Westman says
If a religion’s doctrine instructs its members, when having sufficient numbers or control, to kill all the non-members who won’t join, and many of its members are “nice” people, then we should realize the doctrine is of no importance because no member will want to kill us???
58% of the oldest, wisest, most informed older Americans have a negative view of Islam. No kidding!
Alissa says
Written by a British housewife to her daily newspaper.
Highly politically incorrect but how true and courageous!
Thought you might like to read this letter to the editor of a British national newspaper. Ever notice how some people just seem to know how to write a letter?
Here is a woman who should run for Prime Minister!
Written by a British housewife, to her daily newspaper:
‘Are we fighting a war on terror or aren’t we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores in July 2002, and in New York Sept 11, 2001 and have continually threatened to do so again since?
Were people from all over the world, not brutally murdered that day in Washington, and in downtown Manhattan, and in a field in Pennsylvania?
Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn’t they?
And I’m supposed to care that a few Taliban were claiming to be tortured by a justice system of the nation they come from and are fighting against in a brutal insurgency.
I’ll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere belief of which is a crime punishable by beheading in Afghanistan.
I’ll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking off Nick Berg’s head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat.
I’ll care when the cowardly so-called ‘insurgents’ in Afghanistan come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques and behind women and children.
I’ll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of Nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.
I’ll care when the British media stops pretending that their freedom of speech on stories is more important than the lives of the soldiers on the ground or their families waiting at home to hear about them when something happens.
In the meantime, when I hear a story about a British soldier roughing up an Insurgent terrorist to obtain information, know this:
I don’t care.
When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take this to the bank:
I don’t care.
When I hear that a prisoner – who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and ‘fed special food’ that is paid for by my taxes – is complaining that his holy book is being ‘mishandled’, you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts:
I don’t care.
And oh, by the way, I’ve noticed that sometimes it’s spelled ‘Koran’ and other times ‘Quran’. Well, believe me!! You’ve guessed it ………………..
I don’t care!!
If you agree with this viewpoint, pass this on to all your E-mail friends. Sooner or later, it’ll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behaviour!
If you don’t agree, then by all means hit the delete button. Should you choose the latter, then please don’t complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great country! And may I add:
‘Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. Our soldiers don’t have that problem.’
I have another quote that I would like to add, AND……… I hope you forward all this.
Only six defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The British Soldier.
3. The Canadian Soldier.
4. The US Soldier
5. The New Zealand Soldier, and
6. The Australian Soldier
One died for your soul, the other 5 for your freedom..
YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON, AS MANY SEEM TO FORGET ABOUT ALL OF THEM
AMEN!’
GIVE THIS LADY A STANDING OVATION ~ SHE HAS INDEED TICKED ALL THE BOXES.
Isn’t it interesting that so many people in the Western World feel this way, but not one of our politicians, who are supposed to represent us, ever have the guts to state the situation like it is?
We do not have strong politicians in any of the political parties, just weaklings that bend in the wind.
Brian Hoff says
That house wife is than Islamoprobic racist bigit.
Alissa says
That was sarcasm….right? right Brian?
Marco says
No brian you are. After all your the one who wants to murder everyone who isnt muslim
gravenimage says
“Brian Hoff”—really, “DefenderofIslam”—wrote:
That house wife is than (sic) Islamoprobic (sic) racist bigit (sic).
…………………………
What race is Islam? Moreover, what race is freedom? Neither has any connection to race.
This is especially ludicrous since “DefenderofIslam” claims to be an American “revert” to Islam—thereby proving that race was not a factor in his case.
And notice that “DefenderofIslam” openly admits that he believes that opposing suicide bombings and beheadings is “Islamoprobic”—showing that he considers these atrocities to be an intrinsic part of his foul creed. *Ugh*.
gravenimage says
Bravo to this patriotic British housewife! And kudos to you for posting it.
Betty says
copied and pasted that lady’s letter on face book.
dumbledoresarmy says
I’d say it’s a meme. It may not be an actual “letter from a British housewife”.
But the fact that it *is* a meme – the fact that it is busily circulating around the social media networks across the anglosphere (and it might be fun to find out whether it’s been translated into other Infidel languages) says something about the Zeitgeist.
And it doesn’t make what it says any less pungently true.
eduardo odraude says
Why blame the politicians. That’s a cop out. It’s not the politicians, it’s everyone, including us. Too many of us speak up only in anonymous internet forums.
The way to fight Islam is by leading with your compassion for Islam’s victims. The effective way to attack islam is not directly, but with compassion for the victims. That is the Left’s modus operandi. Use it. That is the strategy that Bill Warner laid out, and it makes sense in many ways.
To speak out for the victims, you don’t need to know anything about Islam. You don’t need to say anything about Islam. But by focusing on helping people who happen to be victims of Islam, focusing on how people can help those victims, the information about Islam can get out indirectly. You no longer have a target painted on your back for the jihadi to attack, or for the Leftist to attack, for that matter. You no longer have to feel like you are merely AGAINST something. No, you are FOR the victims. While you are getting aid for the victims, you can let slip, as if incidentally, how it is they are in difficulties.
Demsci says
Thank you, beautiful approach! I am all FOR it.
We can even make a “user story”. Comes a victim of Islam to …. Helper. Helper takes up case of”Victim of Islam” and asks for more help. And this can be done for “potential victims” perhaps also.
Nr 1 is to “fantasize” the user story towards some happy end. Nr 2. is to recognize the problems that are sure to pop up with trying to help the victim, including that damn general ignorance about Islam. Nr 3. is to design good strategies to help (potential) victims of Islam.
Nathan says
I’ve never met Satan, and hope that I don’t. Doesn’t mean he’s not a murderous, women hating paedophile, does it?
Oh no that’s islam, it’s so easy to confuse them…. Ones a sick backward cult of hate, death, paedophilia and depravity and the other is the worship of the Devil.
Hey ho!
mariam rove says
Just 7 percent said they the have favorable opinion. Part or all of that 7% are most likely Muslims themselves. m
somehistory says
I was thinking that same thing.
FredvanH says
ONLY just over 50%? The other 50% are retarded degenerates?
mariam rove says
No they are not retarded. They are PC liberals and most of them live in the east coast like NJ where I live. m
Jaladhi says
Same thing, M!! LOL..
DeeDeeKing says
Well, you can count me as a liberal NJ guy who views Muslims extremely UNfavorably. And I’ve known some personally. Just because Ive known a few who weren’t trying to kill me for being an infidel, doesn’t mean the rest of them get a pass.
Frankly, liberals should be EXTREMELY wary of Islam. After all, it’s the least liberal religion in the world. How the hell people have the cognitive dissonance to protest gay rights one day, and then defend a religion that things gays should be stoned to death is beyond me.
So please don’t lump all liberals in as Islamophiles. I know plenty of left-leaning / liberal types who hate a healthy fear / dislike or Islam.
gravenimage says
Bravo, DeeDee!
Jay Airahs says
Technically, the first part of your sentence taken alone is true.
Islam is a bit misunderstood.
— (by those who rely on MSM)
Thankfully websites like Jihad Watch is clearing up the misunderstanding.
Davegreybeard says
@mariam rove
“They are PC liberals and most of them live in the east coast like NJ where I live.”
I think you are mistaken mariam. I’ll see your horde of PC liberals and raise you by half – I think most of them live on the West Coast in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I live.
But I would be more than happy to discuss the matter with you over a bottle of my best California Zinfandel!
gravenimage says
Davegreybeard is right, miriam—I’m afraid I have the clueless neighbors with their Obama and “Coexist” bumper stickers to prove it.
And when Davegreybeard says “my best California Zinfandel”, he is speaking quite literally. This talented guy makes his own wine.
As a connoisseur of spirits, I’m sure you could appreciate this. My husband and I were able to enjoy a bottle after I had a chance to meet him in person not long ago.
voegelinian says
There also exist scads of non-liberals who may be conservative about every issue under the sun (gun rights, anti-abortion, opposed to gay marriage, skeptical of global warming, yadda yadda) but when the issue of Muslims comes up, they suddenly start parroting and regurgitating more or less the same memes which the PC MC mainstream and the liberals do.
dumbledoresarmy says
A few might be. Most just haven’t woken up yet.
Among the younger ones, especially, many *will* wake up.
You don’t need 100 percent awareness.
All you need is to get above 50 percent. Forty percent of the youngest cohort are *already* aware, at some level. So only another ten-fifteen percent need to wake up. That’s not improbable, by any means.
Ricky Black says
Only half?…Around here it’s 100%…Why would the other half have a favorable view? Have they been hiding under a rock for the last 15 years? I don’t know anybody that has a favorable view, if I did I would be the first one to tell them about the teachings of Islam.
JeffS says
Here in the suburbs of NYC, I’m the only person I know who has an unfavorable view of Islam. And everyone whom I tell thinks I’m a right-wing nut.
mariam rove says
So funny Jeff! See my post above! I live in the suburb in NJ and work in Manhattan. They all think I too am a right wing nut! M
Jaladhi says
You are right – that is New York for you!!
mariam rove says
I was at my aunt’s house last week in Philly. There were a bunch of Iranians there. They were mostly Physicians and PC and Obama loving. The nuclear subject came up and after a bit they realized my disdain of Obama, one of them not knowing I was listening said in Farsi: Irani daste rast!!!? Dast means hand, rast means right hence right winger!! He went on to say I have never met an Iranian like this!! Where did he come from?!!! M
Jovial Joe says
It’s not surprising that a clear majority of over 65s are ill-disposed towards Islam – they remember the Nazis.
Westman says
Exactly!
When all the world is Nazis there will be peace; when all the world is Communist there will be peace; when all the world is Islam there will be peace; when all the world is…….
They are all about domination masquerading as peace.
mortimer says
Islam is theocratic totalitarianism or theocratic fascism.
Hindu American says
“The bottom line is, too many Americans have never even (consciously) met a Muslim person,” Blumberg said. “They have no context for understanding the faith outside of what’s in the news….”
So? Yes, most of us had never a “Nazi person” either; only read about ’em and yet we hate them. What is Blumberg trying to prove?
Also, did you note that the survey was conducted on March 6 – 9, a weekend? Hmmm…I usually do not pick up phone calls from survey folks or sales calls. But then, I prefer to dedicate my weekends to my family. I know I should have picked up the anonymous call when the caller ID said – “Huffpo”.
Wellington says
“When you realize the incredible diversity of the Muslim American community, stereotypes just won’t make sense anymore.”
Who of sense should care how diverse a particular grouping of people are if all in the group in question adhere to a totalitarian, hate-filled ideology like Islam? The diversity of any such group is completely irrelevant other than for purely academic reasons. Members of the Nazi Party in Germany were quite diverse as well——lower middle class types, students, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, scientists, etc. So what?
Westman says
Hi Wellington,
Did you notice the switch the article pulled? The Poll questions and percentages were about the perception of Islam, not Muslims. Islam is a Theocratic Ideology; Muslims are people.
Then he said this: ” When you realize the incredible diversity of the Muslim American community, stereotypes just won’t make sense anymore. “
No question was, “What is your perception of Muslims?”
Wellington says
It was quite a switch, Westman. Instructive how that happens with Islam time and time again. Yes, not all Muslims are evil, though all are confused, but Islam itself is malevolent to its core. As Ibn Warraq said, there are moderate Muslims but there is no moderate Islam.
Demsci says
Hey, I did not notice that switch! Sharp of you Westman!
The distinction between Islam and Muslims seems crucial to me. Because Islamic texts can be studied and judged, compared to “our own favorite lifestyles” so to speak. Yes, it IS a totalitarian theocratic ideology. And hence abhorred and rejected by many outsiders who know it.
But yes, we can believe there is a great diversity among Islam’s adherents; Muslims. Moreover, their personality is not only influenced by Islam, but by many other factors, perhaps chief among them our Western influence and perhaps our consumerism.
We can also believe that the interpretations of Islam vary. Due to what really amounts to quite faulty basic guiding texts; namely Quran-Hadiths. What seems impossible fo many and speculative for others is if somehow a democracy-compatible INTERPRETATION of Islam can be formulated and promoted. As mayor Aboutaleb of Rotterdam, Asra Nomani, Zuhdi Jasser, Irshad Manji, Tarek Fatah, president Al Sisi too seem to promote this.
voegelinian says
It’s not as if Muslims are unrelated to Islam, however. If Islam were just mildly kooky but otherwise harmless and not evil, it wouldn’t matter much. But given that Islam is worse than Nazism — more evil and more dangerous — anyone who self-identifies as a Muslim is ipso facto suspect, at the very least.
Brian Hoff says
Let me know whjen you get your law degree and where you are going to practive law so I can write to the court there so you will disbar before you even have your first case.
gravenimage says
It is unclear whom “Brian Hoff” is referring to—but the idea that he thinks any American court would disbar a lawyer on the basis of his illiterate and frequently incoherent rantings is quite bizarre.
Western Canadian says
Hi GI…. Actually, I’ve come to appreciate and even look forward to his many posts…. The realization that he is, sadly, typical of the truly devout muslims everywhere, is actually rather re-assuring…. His blindness to anything even close to the truth about islam (RTC), his inability to think, clearly or otherwise, his sadistic butchery of the beautiful English language.. He serves as such a perfect embodiment of all that is Islamic!!
And let’s face it, when we can get the loons and traitors (hufpo, obummer, Cameron etc) out of the way….. They don’t stand a chance!!!!
gravenimage says
Hi, Western Canadian. I agree that “DefenderofIslam’s” semi-literate rantings are quite instructive, and very much represent the Muslim mindset.
As always, I look forward to reading your own comments.
Beagle says
Your knowledge of legal practice is underwhelming.
Hint: courts don’t disbar attorneys.
You get three guesses…
Beagle says
Hint 2: disBAR
Ricky Black says
That Poll must have been done in New York city…. New York city…get a rope. the Huffington post is out of touch with America’s view on freedom.
nabi ZK (pbum) says
Yes, of course, there is great diversity in any community including the mohametans. The nabi, that’s me, yay, has had mohametan friends and has worked closely with mohametans in the past. In general they are not devils but people. The nabi reads the news, but this is not the only place where he contextualizes mohametanism.
The problem is with the belief system and it’s cannon. Granted, as Karen Armstrong would say, that those verses are relating to a specific war and a specific time. But many who self identify as mohametans do not seem to understand that and think that “slay them wherever you find them” means kill anyone deemed not mohametan or even not mohametan enough or not the correct flavor of mohametanism at any time.
Well there is a clear problem with that and the curse is upon the mohametans themselves. ISIS is killing mostly other mohametans although they are apparently happy to kill anyone, even their own recruits. Go figure. . Houthi’s are killing their mohametan sunni “brothers” and vise versa. Infidels are pretty much on the sidelines, in terms of casualty figures, granted that many infidels are harmed or killed. But the bulk of casualties result from mohametan on mohametan violence.
The nabi has a clear understanding of mohametanism and does not need to learn anything more in that regard. The nabi has visited a mosque. Several in fact. The Dome of the Rock. The Blue Mosque And Suliman Mosque.
So let’s see. Had mohametan friends and coworkers. Visited mosque. Fairly knowlegable about qur’an, hadith, and sira. But the nabi is still mohametanophobic. Some other factor must be at play here. If only we could somehow understand why the nabi recoils from a religion which calls for his death and the death of all who will not submit, until religion is for alla only. If only we could fighre out why the nabi finds this distastful. Well then we might be able to get to the bottom of the mohametanophobia craze.
Help the nabi out here. Toss him a bone.
Sincerely
nabi ZK (bbum)
Westman says
( )
l l
l l
l l
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Westman says
Nabi, you characterized the problem with panache.
There are many great Muslims and one, confused, Imam-scholar-ridden, cameleon-theology of Islam.
There is more war between Muslims than with non-Muslims. Such bad manners are distasteful.
Demsci says
Yes, even Muslims themselves tell us that “Extremist Muslims” kill many more Muslims than infidels. So really, Westerners should perhaps not complain so much?
But, hey, that means that Muslim Victims are also mostly killed by other Muslims and not mostly by infidels?
But I daresay Muslims still complain much much more about and against Infidel killers than Muslims killers. It is as if a Muslim killed by infidels, especially Israeli’s, is much more “innocent” and his/ her death much more regrettable than a Muslim killed by Muslims.
But in reality the other Muslims hate the infidels much more than they hate fellow Muslims and that’s why they complain much more about infidels killing Muslims than Muslims killing Muslims
Brian Hoff says
The name of the religion is Islam not what you called so stop insulting Islam.
nabi ZK (pbum) says
Dear Brian
Shut up you mohametan fool. Don’t tell nabi ZK (pbum), your only true nabi, accept no substitutes, especially not the odious founder of the mohametan cult, how to refer to jack. Got it? The nabi will now commune with ZK to see what horrible fate will await you in the hereafter. You freakin’ idiot. You f-in’ dissed your true nabi…smh.Oh wait. ZK says it’s not too bad. You will only have to wear a sign which says “I dissed nabi ZK (pbuh)” while monkeys hurl excrement at you.
Sincerely
nabi ZK (pbum)
nabi ZK (pbum) says
Seriously dude. Could have been a lot worse. Ever merciful is the ZK.
nabi ZK (pbum)
Jay Airahs says
Brian Hoff
It is not possible to insult Islam (more than it insults itself)
Islam = Is + lam — as in (on the lam)
In other words Islam is full of fugitives.
Islam spelled backwards is Malsi = Mal + si
In French ‘Mal’ means sick and ‘si’ is often used as an emphatic — yes
In other words Islam is truly, truly sick (and disgusting)
Beagle says
If I had :visited my local mosque a few years ago I would have met an imam training mujahideen to assassinate US military officers. The next mosque just up the road has a CAIR imam.
I was far more positive about Islam when I knew next to nothing about it. Years of news, jihadi writings, Quran, Hadith, Sira, and sharia study have turned my smile upside down.
When the ISLAMIC STATE is so wonderful, it’s a real mystery why Americans might have a few pointed questions about Islam.
Jay Airahs says
More Than Half Of Americans Have Unfavorable View Of Islam.
Let’s hope they vote 2016
Jaladhi says
Who can be positive about Islam besides Muslims themselves is beyond me. It is as if the worldwide carnage committed by Muslims is not enough for these people to see how evil is this ideology and they need more prof of Islam’s evilness!!.
Jaladhi says
“..proof” and not “prof”
Rob says
1,000 people is not a large enough sample, obviously!
wildjew says
This is encouraging but with President Barack Obama who knows Islam intimately and other apologists for Islam before and after him, I wonder if this is too little too late.
Francis Merde says
Here’s an important distinction. I’ve worked with Muslims, who I have no problem with. Yet, I also hold an unfavorable view of Islam in general. That’s because I realize that my personal experiences ARE ANECDOTAL. When examining a religion, you look at its teachings. Because it is the texts which form the basis of its genome. Using anecdotal data points in isolation, rather than in aggregate, and not examining the Islamic texts themselves while just assuming the usual false equivalence with Judeo-Christian texts are the big mistakes that I always see people make.
gravenimage says
Francis, if you feel comfortable enough with your Muslim coworkers, you might ask them a few questions about Jews, about whether wife beating is OK, about whether they’d like to see Shari’ah as the law of the land, and about whether apostates should be killed. I think it likely that you would find that many of them are not as moderate as you might think…
dumbledoresarmy says
Re the Muslim co-workers (if you are still in a workplace with Musllims),.
You could always try the Israel test.
Get a star of David pendant, and wear it. (If the work dress code and Health and Safety code permit, of course). Or wear a little Israeli flag badge (again, subject to dress code etc). And/ or, every now and again, as opportunity arises, just casually, say something positive about Israel and / or Jews.
And see what happens.
somehistory says
Back in the 80’s, after reading about islam,…in a book that was non-judgmental… I didn’t think I wanted to “know more’ and had a less-than- favorable view. I considered it totally stupid in its origin and teachings.
In the early 90’s, I met muslims and saw firsthand just how evil some of those foolish teachings make people behave. Males abused their wives and children, were rude to non-muslims and seemed ever so ego bloated. The women who went out “alone’ were also rude and bloated in the ego…and quite dishonest in their business dealings.
Seeing the little boys abuse their mothers was really shocking and the fathers were *ok* with the abuse.
I spoke personally with some young muslim women and they told me what would happen if they tried to find out about Christ…the abuse and murder they could expect from their fathers and from their husbands.
I met a young man who was in hiding from his own family because he and his wife had become Christians.
I worked with a couple of muslims and found them rude and overbearing with their judgments of non-muslims.
A young muslim man did his best…or worst…to destroy some of my belongings with which he disagreed with me possessing.
Later, after beginning to study anti-terrorism, and other law related stuff, I found this site and learned just why all of the other things I had observed were taking place. Mr. Spencer and others are so very well-informed on the subject.
My view is: islam is evil and everyone needs to know enough to see the evil and not become enthralled with whatever enthralls those already worshipping the wild beast of satan. islam needs to be avoided as a “faith” even to the pain or risk of death.
mortimer says
I concur with your observations. I had a parallel course to yours of gradual awareness of this Death Cult, beginning with merely dismissing it as primitive superstition to finally learning it was theocratic totalitarianism with a highly codified system of law, customs and governance. Islam is nothing less than a huge prison that incarcerates the lives of a billion people in fear, ignorance, delusion and misery.
William Lucas Harvey Jr. says
It doesn’t require the “Islamophobia industry, which supposedly churns out hate propaganda”, to turn Americans against Islam, all one needs is to see the well Documented Facts as to:
1. Islam’s quest for World Domination.
2. Islam’s refusal to co-exist with any Religion or Philosophy other than Islam.
3. Islam’s Blaspheming and Degrading others, and Religions, not Islam, while complaining about anyone “Blaspheming” Islam.
4. Islam’s attempting to force “Blasphemy Laws”, with Legal Punishments”, on the World for anyone”Blaspheming” Islam, or Islam’s Prophet.
5. Islam’s belief that Islamic Law should “Supersede” the Internal Laws of any Country.
6. The Bloody Butchery that Islam is doing in the World today, as the Muslims are Instructed to do by their Qur’an, Mohammed, and their Leaders, which is also well Documented.
Jaweed Kaleem and the Huffington Post is actually attempting to Brainwash us with. Islam is the “Religion of Peace”, so “Believe the Taqiyya and Kitmakn Islamic Lying and Deception”, but “Don’t believe what you actually see and hear with your ‘lying’ Eyes and Ears”.
Mitch says
This poll asks “How well do you feel you understand the Islamic religion?” and “Are you interested in learning about Islam?” and other questions designed to paint Americans who have an unfavorable view of Islam as ignorant and bigoted.
However: Any adult American who knows little about Islam is a shirker; their opinion on the religion is worthless.
A poll that determined whether one actually WERE knowledgeable about Islam would show that the Americans with an unfavorable view of Islam are the ones who know the most about it (Islamic scripture, history, law, current events).
kangi_nunpa says
How can they be shirkers? They probably don’t know what shirk ( شرك) is!
/sarc
Mitch says
Ha ha – unintended pun 🙂
voegelinian says
Overall, 55 percent of Americans had either a somewhat or very unfavorable view of Islam, while one in four said they were not sure how they viewed the faith. Just 7 percent said they had a very favorable view of the religion, and 14 percent said they saw it somewhat favorably.
Assuming that breakdown accurately reflects America at large, the more important concern for the Counter-Jihad is to clarify with more precision where these various groups so imprecisely described are situated. And to do that, one may need to re-interview / re-question the respondents with more precise questions. Those more precise questions, in turn, need to be crafted by people who themselves have a sure sense of the various ways and degrees by which people can range on a spectrum from one extreme to the other.
From there, the Counter-Jihad could better determine the following:
1) how many Americans are amenable to ongoing persuasion and education on the LCPOI (the Learning Curve of the Problem of Islam)?
2) how can we fine-tune our persuasion/education efforts to reflect the different types of Americans in terms of where they situate themselves on a spectrum?
Finally, if this latest HuffPoll accurately reflects the younger demographic as being more favorably disposed to Islam, this indicates what I have been arguing for years, that the biggest war-of-ideas problem the Counter-Jihad has is the “cool factor” – which in turn bifurcates into two closely related trends:
a) for a certain apparently significant demographic, it remains “cool” to be favorably disposed to Islam (as a non-Western, perceptually “ethnic” culture) and to Muslims (as non-Western, perceptually “ethnic” and therefore culturally “diverse” peoples) – largely out of the irrational Reverse Racism meme of PC MC
b) more subtly, it remains “cool” to be not anti-Islam — which is not necessarily directly to be pro-Islam – because, apropos of (a) above, it remains “cool” to be not bigoted, and one overwhelming meme of the dominant and mainstream PC MC continues to paint the Counter-Jihad as “bigoted”.
This whole dynamic of cool is one enormous, important part of the Problem of the Problem, and it will require more (and more frustrating) work in the battle space of the war of ideas. It would really help if just a few ostensibly “cool” celebrities began to break ranks and slowly, glacially got the snowball rolling.
Wellington says
“Coolness,” voegelinian, is just one more error of youth (unless one is talking about true coolness in a James Bond kind of way) and so I would not be too concerned here. Many of the young will eventually, I submit, repent of their take on Islam as they will on their take of so much else as they cease being young.
On a larger scale, I wonder if you look upon the statistics mentioned here in this article as a positive or a negative. Speaking for myself, I do see a true positive here. I view the glass half full and not half empty. Anyone asserting otherwise, I would ask of them what such a poll about Islam would have shown a mere twenty-five years ago. I doubt that even 25% would have said then they had a negative view of Islam. And so I assert this: A negative view of Islam by Americans, or those of any Western nation, will NEVER go down. At worst, it will only remain where it is. Frankly, I would argue that it is virtually inevitable that it will continue to go up. What say you? As I have written to you before, once Islam is no longer excused away, once it is no longer looked upon as something not iniquitous, thereafter the West at its best will combat this loathsome ideology most effectively. To push my point further here, even though Western elites in the political sphere, academia and the media still continiue to shill for Islam, nonetheless at least a simple majority in America (and I’m sure one other Western nation after another), have a negative take on Mo’s creed. I’m encouraged. Are you?
voegelinian says
“On a larger scale, I wonder if you look upon the statistics mentioned here in this article as a positive or a negative. Speaking for myself, I do see a true positive here. I view the glass half full and not half empty.”
I had an epiphany when I was about age 14 about that phrase. I realized that, of course, it’s not either half full or half empty — it’s BOTH. Rhetorically, of course, the phrase is used to try to argue that the “half full” aspect is more important, or more cogent, than the “half empty” aspect. But that’s kind of fiddling with the metaphor. It would be more coherent to just say what’s really being implied — that the situation is of a “glass 3/4 full”.
So yes, its good that so many Americans have a negative view of Islam. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the situation couldn’t be better. If we concede that the situation could be better, the question then becomes, how important is that “better”, and how deleterious is the inability to be better…? Anyway, my verdict is that it’s good, but it could — and should — be better, and it’s way too slow; so we need to push more and not let up. One way of letting up is to relax and say “well, this is good news, and why is voegelinian complaining so much, let’s all just relax now!”
“A negative view of Islam by Americans, or those of any Western nation, will NEVER go down. At worst, it will only remain where it is. Frankly, I would argue that it is virtually inevitable that it will continue to go up. What say you?”
This way of formulating it as I have said before indicates that Wellington is looking at the problem as a static thing, and the factor that will change is not Islam, but the West’s movement from ignorance to knowledge about Islam. While of course Islam itself is not changing, Muslim behavior is changing — it’s getting worse. This implies it was better. So then the analysis focuses on why or how was it “better”? Was this comparative better behavior essential, or only accidental, due to circumstance & context unrelated to Islam? The reasonable answer, after digesting the mountain of data we have, is that Muslims only behaved comparatively better in recent history for accidental reasons, and that their normative baseline is to try to destroy our civilization through violence. When we factor that in, and measure the distance between their relative disadvantage now to be able to do that, given our astronomic superiority and their inability to mount a military invasion of parity; and then when we factor in the lengths their fanatical resolve will go to, in order to try to rectify that lack of parity, using any and all kinds of violence and subterfuge and advantage they can — we then conclude that obviously they are going to get worse, horribly worse. And unless one has a curious lack of faith in one’s fellow Western man, obviously the West is going to respond & react intelligently in kind to this horribly worse trajectory of behavior.
But that’s what seems to be missing from Wellington’s analysis: it’s reasonable to assume that the vast majority of people in the West are going to get intelligently fed up with Muslims for one reason, and one reason only, a reason that is eminently reasonable to suppose: Muslims are going to get horribly worse.
voegelinian says
Also, about the “cool” factor. I don’t dismiss it as much Wellington does. Certainly, it’s a flimsy phenomenon intellectually speaking; but, unfortunately, it’s enormously influential socioculturally and therefore sociopolitically, Sure, it would be nice if our societies behaved as superlatively as Plato envisioned the ideal Republic in his dialogue of the same name; but unfortunately, various degrees of mediocrity are an unavoidable — and sometimes influential — part of the life of the public.
As I argued in an older essay on my blog, the amazing sociocultural (and hence sociopolitical) process of smoking becoming uncool. Smoking had been so cool for so long, nobody could have predicted such a major change in smoking habits in society without totalitarian measures. As George Will noted in the 90s, the cultural reversal was really amazing. Certainly, there are pockets in culture that continue to promote an alterative cool aspect of cigarette smoking (e.g.., a few Hollywood actors and rock stars), but those are the exception that proves the rule. The point is that the reversal didn’t seem to have happened because people were reasonably persuaded by the facts through patient arguments reiterated in various media over the decades — but mainly through becoming “uncool”.
http://hesperado.blogspot.com/2014/08/id-walk-mile-for-camel.html
Wellington says
If I did not make myself clear before, voegelinian, I will now. When I say it’s virtually inevitable that a greater percentage of Westerners will increasingly get fed up with Islam, it will be due in part to Muslims acting even more “Muslim-like” as the years roll on. I have mentioned this many times at JW, usually by indicating that Muslim can’t help showing Islam more and more for the heinous ideology which it is.
voegelinian says
“If I did not make myself clear before, voegelinian, I will now. When I say it’s virtually inevitable that a greater percentage of Westerners will increasingly get fed up with Islam, it will be due in part to Muslims acting even more “Muslim-like” as the years roll on.”
The problem remains; “in part” is not a reasonable way to put it. We look at the phenomenon of nearly 15 years now of more than sufficient data that by now should have moved people in the West virtually unanimously to condemn Islam. The fact that the change in opinion has been so glacial — and as I said in my original post — in surveys like this they are not fine-tuned enough to ascertain whether the responders are really anti-Islam or whether in a mealy-mouthed passive-aggressive way they just don’t want to seem pro-Islam and so the questions allow them to hedge their bets (not to mention there is a whole constellation of related issues by which we could better determine if they are only against “extremist Islamism” and not mainstream Islam per se — an ambiguity that can be masked by inept questions and/or the lack of intelligent follow-up questions) — is sufficient evidence to make the reasonable assumption that if Muslims from this point forward remained static in their behavior (neither getting worse nor getting better), the mainstream Western populace would also remain relatively static. And even I would agree that they probably should remain static if Muslims are not going to get worse, because not getting worse would only necessitate the Business-as-Usual of our various Western governments.
But again, the mountain of data we already have and the ocean of dots that require a mental pencil to connect, indicate the reasonable inference that Muslims are going to get horribly worse. There’s no reasonable “If” about it — unless one has not sufficiently digested that mountain of data and that ocean of dots, that is.
ApolloSpeaks says
Barack Obama is “Mr.Cool.” And no bigger fool has ever chilled the White House.
voegelinian says
And even Obama has quit smoking!
Champ says
I’m an American and no one called me with this poll question ..anyone here, who’s also American, receive a phone call? I hear about polls that are taken for various reasons and no one ever calls me, lol!
somehistory says
I never get polled either. The only calls I get other than from people I know are either wrong number dialings or scams or telemarketing for things I don’t need or want. Never asked my opinion on anything for any polls.And I’m glad!
Michael Copeland says
Islam – the ideology, that is, not muslims themselves – has an unfavorable view of the West.
As Pat Condell says, “I am opposed to Islam because Islam is opposed to me”.
Dee says
Know them by their fruits.
FACTA NON VERBA
mortimer says
Dee, You miss that point that most Muslims are non-observant. They are not doing the pious deeds of jihad. Only 15% are supporting jihad or participating in jihad. The rest are disobeying and neglecting the individual duty of conducting war against the disbelievers. So 85% of Muslims are not ‘good’ Muslims.
You must learn the DOCTRINES of Islam and read the LIFE OF MOHAMMED to know what Islam is. Mohammed is the only expert on Islam. If a Muslim does not imitate the atrocities, lying, pedophilia, polygamy, slavery, savage punishments and warfare (once every six weeks) of Mohammed, then that Muslim is a ‘bad’ Muslim.
Most Muslims by that standard (of imitating Mohammed) are actually BAD Muslims and their understanding of Islam is probably very selective or even rudimentary. A jihadist is a ‘good’ Muslim according to Mohammed.
jewdog says
So what. I’m sure that the great majority of people in the countries conquered by Muslims initially disliked Islam, probably far more intensely than is evident here, but eventually, due to the coercive, discriminatory and intimidating nature of Islam, they found it far simpler to just convert to Islam to avoid all those hassles. If it happened elsewhere, it could happen here. Just give it time.
Dee says
Everyone knows they’re the most destructive and unproductive scourge in history.
Rebellion is mandatory.
Demsci says
Wise comment, Jewdog. It struck me as persuasive, especially when you pointed out the past.
In my view this was in the past true, in a way because the Muslims, well, they knew what they wanted and they had the power, and in both ways more than their opponents.
So, can there be more than just an abhorrence of Islam, an attitude of ABI (Anything But Islam) but also some ideology different from Islam that a part of the people can be very much FOR? Which then grows, at the cost of all those “neutrals”, Muslims, and yes, even the ABI’s?
Second; how much time can we assess that (primitive, medieval) Islam has left? What with the galloping speed of developing technology and the possible threat of either highly intelligent machines or highly powerful infidel companies, like Google, Apple?
Porky The Crusader says
It will never happen to me Jewdod, i can assure you of that.
mortimer says
Associate editor Antonia Blumberg conflates the canonical DOCTRINES of Islam with the jihadist, the strict, the jihad-supporting, the moderate, the secularized or the non-practicing Muslims who we are supposed to meet in order to understand Islam.
Whenever Muslims speak about Islam to dirty kafirs, they are supposed to lie about Islamic doctrines in order to deceive them.
Speaking to Muslims about Islam is like speaking to a used car salesman.
mortimer says
What does Associate editor Antonia Blumberg actually know about Islam. She’s met many Muslims? So what? Are they knowledgeable about Islam? Are they truthful about Islam or are they mendacious taqiyya-artistists?
What has Associate editor Antonia Blumberg actually studied about Islam? Has she studied Sharia law? Or Islamic history? Or the hadiths? Or the Sira? Or the canonical commentaries? Or the Koran? Does she know any of the basic doctrines? Does she know the madhabs? Does she know the usul ud-deen (the essentials)? Does she actually know anything at all about Islam?
Tom W Harris says
Islam ain’t nuthin’ but chit. Why would anyone want to know more than that?
Sam says
I wish the poll were true however I can not believe it. Because all the savagery from Islam and Moslems are sugar coated everywhere and we have an intellectually lazy populace who , for some reason, can not ask basic questions about Islam. They do not want to know.
This afternoon I was listening to Robert against an idiot liberal on Michael Medved show and I could not listen to the idiot liberal equating Islam to Christianity. Robert I have tremendous respect for you. How can you handle these idiots, liers and ignorant people fighting you (instead of helping you) about Islam day in day out? You are a true hero of liberty. Thank you!
Brian Hoff says
It is the Islamistoproblic industry of Islam Hater like Robert Spencer who is causeing all the problen in the world.
Nathan says
“Islamistoproblic” is that even a word? How can you blame Robert for a word you just made up?
I know he has a hard fight to fight against the islamic scum of the world… But that’s just not fair!
Westman says
ISIS is killing and raping sex slaves because of people like Robert Spencer revealing the actual doctorine of Islam? With such an illogical mind, Islam must be very appealing.
Please expand on your logic of how these things are related. Also could you tie in Boko Haram?
gravenimage says
“Brian Hoff” wrote:
It is the Islamistoproblic industry of Islam Hater like Robert Spencer who is causeing all the problen in the world.
……………………………….
Good to know that “DefenderofIslam” doesn’t consider sex slavery, blowing up churches (and mosques), beheadings, stonings, and genocide to be “problens”.
But why would he? These are all perfectly Islamic…
Ice Star says
The more people learn about Islam the less they like it.
This has to do with the teachings of Mohamed and the behavior of fundamentalist Muslims who unless they are trying to convert/revert unbelievers will NOT be friends with unbelievers.
There is a difference between knowing a Muslim casually and being friends
Most interactions in the USA are polite perhaps between .a doctor and patient, or a coworker.
That hardly describes friendship.
JamesonRocks says
I’m surprised the stats are that low…
Dianara says
It is a shame that so few Americans know or show interest in learning about the islamic faith.
If more Americans read the quran, like i did, if more people learned about the muslim faith, the numbers shown above would be a lot different.
I have made a few side notations which i will share here with you :
…slaying infidels wherever you find them: chapter 2: verses 191-193
….and killing those who leave Islam: chapter 4: verse 89
…and crucifying or amputating those who offend islam chapter 5:verse 33:
…and beheading the unbelievers:chapter 8: verse12
…and fighting people until they submit to Allah`s religion: chapter 8: verse 39:
…and striking terror into the hearts of the enemies of Allah: chapter 8: verse 60
…and killing idolaters: chapter 9: verse 5
…and subjugating Jews and Christians (the People of the Book): chapter 9: verse 29
…and killing and being killed for Allah:chapter 9: verse 111
…and beheading unbelievers: chapter 47: verse 4
…and being harsh to unbelievers: chapter 9: verse 123
To compile a list with all the attacks perpetrated by those of the islamic faith allover the world, in the name of their religion, in the last year only, would take too many pages….
TH says
How can muslims go “calling for genuine soul-searching and honest reform within the Muslim community”, when the Qurán is supposed to be the eternal and immutable book which Allah eternally has in heaven. There is way that they can really get around this and apply the historical critical method and deconstructing the official Islamic narrative. It would be a question of “the operation was a total succcess; the patient is dead”. Islam is based on a huge mountain of lies and with such a flimsly historical base, it cannot possibly afford to apply such methods and criticism. That is why it is so defensive and lacks self-cofidence. It is cooked up for political purposes and has no historical basis. Forget about them trying to reform it, as President Sisi seems to suggest. It is totally impossible. The only solution for Islam is its total dissolution.
Nathan says
Yay!
Smacking my face in with a hammer wasn’t working out too good, so I re-read the instructions….
Smack face with hammer…
So i continued…
No matter how hard I re-read the instructions it always looked like I had just smacked my face in with a hammer!
What am I doing wrong?
shoehorn of africa says
I heard someone (Mark Durie?) comment recently that when Islam reforms, you get Al Qaeda, ISIS etc.
EYESOPEN says
“Younger Americans are the most likely to have positive views on Islam, be interested in learning about the religion and have Muslim friends.”
Of course they do. They have been brainwashed in “public” schools, and are completely ignorant of izlam, its origins, its Mad Mo the Pirate leader, and its 1400 years of butchery. So what does anyone expect?
dumbledoresarmy says
What is remarkable, then, given the amount of Muslim dawa/ propaganda they have been exposed to – and in fact, the propaganda on behalf of Islam has been going on for quite a while, Jacques Ellul noticed it already in the 1980s – is that the proportion of young folks (18-29) who are leery of Islam is as high as forty percent!
Look on the bright side, all of you US olders-and-wisers who have wised up.
Forty percent of the young are *already* on side.
You just have to reach another fifteen percent, to get the next generation over the line into Islamorealism.
Bear in mind: if it’s your *own* kids who have swallowed the propaganda, it probably won’t be *you* who will open their minds: it will be somebody else, most likely someone from among the forty percent of their contemporaries who *haven’t* been fooled. They’ll accept things from their peers that they won’t accept – on principle – from mum, dad, uncle, aunt or godparent. (If, however, a trusted and charismatic *teacher* “gets” it, that might work). Or a chance conversation with a total stranger who for some reason or other is able to do an end run round the “programming”.
EYESOPEN says
Thank you, DDA, for your reply. I have no children; and can only thank God when I see what is happening in the U.S. right now, as well as around the world.
rubiconrest says
The unfavorable percentage of course should be much higher but it is surprising that the number is as high as it is. It shows that half the population, is either self educating or not believing, the steady drumbeat from the majority of the press and administration that Islam has nothing to do with terror, intolerance and totalitarianism.
jewdog says
The gradient in opinion favors Islam, because it’s the young people who will become tomorrow’s leaders. They have been exposed to the Western sickness of cultural moral equivalence in their schooling, a view that essentially denies reality, but is mother’s milk for Islam. I fear the future.
Website says
Don’t worry. Some Islamic whacko(s) will create a disaster somewhere that even those “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” cannot ignore.
Violence is so embedded in the theology and with transportation and technology so available – it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.
voegelinian says
Not just “a” disaster, but many, in many different places throughout the West, and worse than 911..
It’s reasonable to suppose that over the next few decades, Muslims are going to wreak their mischief in the lands far more numerously and destructively even than 911 and the other attacks and plots to date.
And just as that is reasonable to suppose, it is also reasonable to suppose that the West, as numb & myopic as it obtusely & obstinately continues to be, will not remain half-asleep forever, but will finally shake itself out of its ridiculously chipper and hectic doldrums.
EYESOPEN says
As do I…
abad says
And that more than half of Americans know the truth about Islam.
It is not the “Religion of Peace.”
Betty says
most of us learned a very large lesson on islam on 9/11.
Michelle Wayne says
Can somebody explain this to President Obama? He is defending it as religion of peace with all his might.
Walter Goraj says
I understand enough…muslims practice islam. The soul of islam is sharia law. And sharia law rages against the liberty and peace of any civilized society. i have no hatred for muslims, only compassion . I simply dont like Islam.
Lioness says
I have Zero compassion for Muslims; they can leave the rotten religion behind when they come to the west. Instead they fester in it and continue their barbaric practices and teach them to their children. Many Muslims have no choice in their own countries, but one would think they want to emigrate to start a better, free life. But, no. They willingly practice their filthy habits in the west instead of assimilating into democratic societies. The problem is that we let them do it. But that’s another story.
Demsci says
Yes, I have the same irritated feeling about Muslims immigrating into the West.
You and I are sure that we show them something better than Islam. But not convincingly enough maybe
Maybe we could evolve from abhorrence of Islam, and being ABI (Anything But Islam) to showing Muslims both:
– A better and clear ideology thant theirs, with better Most Important Guidelines than theirs, and more truthful promises than theirs. And
– in future we can even offer them replacements of their supportive families and communities, by new networks.
Then the Western societies will be consisting of:
Positive Alternatives to Islam (Pos AltI”s) and numerous Muslims, and
the ubiguitous neutrals and “moderates” (of both sides).
By the way, Communism could not handle “Consumerism”, perhaps we might at least weaken Muslims with “consumerism”, which might at times even for them trump strict Shariah Law.
abad says
That’s just it.
Islam is the enemy of Clear Thinking.
Enough said.
shoehorn of africa says
Makes you wonder why Americans keep voting for a Muslim POTUSA.
Vito says
Stupid misleading article. I’ve read all about the diversity in the koran. It’s not diverse in the least. it’s a pamphlet on terror. How the other Muslims behave is irrelevant. They endorse a book who’s central focus is terrorizing people into submission, hating and killing Christians and Jews. That’s about the extent of their diversity. Only a true ignorant would trust a Muslim. They are all Trojan horses. When they get into a position of strength in numbers they become aggressive, demanding and militant. The fact that 44% of Americans do not want to know anything about it, is why they are in the predicament they are in now. If they were aware of what is in the koran they would have either impeached Obama by now or worse.
ApolloSpeaks says
IT’S NOT THAT WE AMERICANS ARE ALONE IN OUR IGNORANCE OF ISLAM
Most of infidel humanity is ignorant of it. Not just in our time but in ages past. Why is it that since its birth 14 centuries ago Islam has had a public relations problem with the rest of the world? IGNORANCE.There’s no other reason. To know Islam is to love islam. And until we truly know it we will falsely hate it, or dislike it, or have mixed feelings about it. The cure is simple: study the Koran, pray to Allah and Mecca, hate israel and America. Get into the spirit of Islam and you’ll see how truly wonderful it is. /sarc.
http://www.apollospeaks.com
Westman says
Yes. Let’s see, if we recite the Quran continually, pray with verbal slights for Christians and Jews five times a day, order our “wives” to submit to relations, reject our parents and other infidels, hate music, avoid fun, bully infidels, and listen to loving Imams, we will finally fall into the loving arms of Muhammad and Allah.
That is called cult indoctrination.
I remember something like this from Orwell’s 1984: “The face of Big Brother loomed large over the announcement and Winston felt his eyes fill with tears of joy and reconciliation. The last lesson had been learnt. “He loved Big Brother.”
ApolloSpeaks says
You’re approach is too radical. The process of Islamization-overcoming centuries of collective Islamophobia and bigotry-has to be gradual and not so abrupt. It’s like getting into a hot tub, you have to ease your way in: toes, feet, legs, butt… Be reasonable. A radical change in consciousness from infidel to Moslem could be alarming, and too much for the unbelieving mind overwhelming it with strange new things that could be misconstrued as sin, evil, inhumanity and crime. See what I mean?/sarc.
xxxChurch100 says
More than half of Americans have an unfavourable view of Islam.So the President is in the minority then !
Does the Commander in Chief believe that professional wrestling is real ? and suicidal jihad that is being played out in 9/11 and Fort Hood is fantasy ….incredibly his fantasy is compounded ……he also believes his wife is a women !
……. Little wonder of the mess you guys are in !!
duh_swami says
Pro wrestling is real in that it hurts a lot to do that job every night. But it’s entertainment because the outcomes are already known…
Babs says
That seems to be the corollary of anti-kufr feeling from muslims in the UK.
Hardly surprising.
They are not exactly au fait with how to make friends and influence people are they? Were I them I’d sue the charm school and get my money back.
OldNorthState says
“…younger Americans and Democrats were more likely to feel goodwill toward Islam and to want to learn about it”…
Writing/compilation hint: for brevity and convenience, the terms “younger Americans”, “Democrats”, “HuffPo”, etc., can now be accurately and succinctly represented by the word, “airheads”.
ken cicala says
Who in there right mind would have a favorable view of this terrible religion. You have to be blind not to see the bad things these people do in the name of Allah. There is nothing but SIN in Islam. Pray the Lord Jesus will eliminate it.
Joseph says
HE will,…..Oh boy will HE ever.
Jesus created the Universe, this will be no problem for HIM.
duh_swami says
What’s he waiting for?
Rita says
So why on earth did they vote for Obama?
And why will they probably vote for Clinton?
Democrats in power means Islam in the White house – America good bye.
gravenimage says
Rita, I live in the middle of the bluest-of-blue states, in the San Francisco bay area. For most people here, Islam is barely on their radar at all. They bought all of Obama’s “hopey-changy” bs, and pat themselves on the back for being “enlightened” enough to have voted for him. My neighborhood is full of cars with bumperstickers for Obama—many from both 2008 and 2012.
I like most of my neighbors—they are decent people for the most part on a personal basis. But as well educated as many of them are, most of them are dangerously clueless.
Gamaliel says
I’ve met nice people who are Muslim yet Muslims commit gruesome atrocities around the globe because of their religion. The way I look at Islam is as composed of extremists and moderates but many of the moderates have beliefs that are potentially dangerous. The moderates are like a forest full of tinder that can ignite into a forest fire. Often after a Muslim commits an atrocity we hear how he was such a nice person and nobody would have expected him to do such a thing. Maybe he was a nice moderate but the beliefs were there that made him a potential radical. The killers of Lee Rigby were considered nice people http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/michael-adebowale-and-michael-adebolajo-the-two-polite-young-men-that-met-at-university-who-would-become-known-as-the-bloodied-woolwich-murder-suspects-8631603.html Machael Adebolajo said something about him being the kind of guy who would help an old lady up the stairs.
Eric says
“The Muslim extremist cuts the neck, the moderate Muslim holds the feet.”
voegelinian says
Well, as appealing as that arresting image is, its taxonomy is a bit too simple. Let’s fine-tune it:
Let’s begin with the spectacle of the Muslim extremist in the midst of his pious activity of sawing off the head of a hapless innocent. The most complicit moderate would, by the very fact of being deemed moderate, be in a way the stealthiest type of moderate in one sense (he either is doing his “feet-holding” in secrecy so clever it resembles classical espionage, or at some moment he “came out of the moderate closet” and was exposed, or exposed himself).
Then, while this head-sawing and feet-holding is going on, we have the next flavor of Moderate Muslim: The Muslim who pretends not to see the foot-holding Moderate and only focuses our attention on the head-sawing Extremist, in order to reinforce the distinction our Western mainstream PC MC already anxious draws and reiterates 24/7 – the distinction between the Tiny Minority of Extremists who have nothing to do with Islam, and the Vast Majority of nice, decent Islam-abiding Muslims Who Just Wanna Have a Sandwich (in the immortally asinine words of Ben Affleck). This type of Moderate in turn has many flavors, from those who actively and slyly push parallel memes of the race card, or grievance-mongering against the West, or the Poverty Explanation, etc.
Then we have that special Sideways Moderate (calling Zuhdi Jasser and Maajid Nawaz to the white courtesy phone…), who looks aghast at both the head-sawing and the foot-holding, and who therefore pretends to be with us in our concern about the wider more systemic problem that includes many False Moderates (but of course all the while slyly reinforcing the MOE meme of the “Minority of Extremists” who may not be “Tiny” but are cleverly large enough to mollify the softer, more nougaty Counter-Jihad folks while still being small enough to save enough Muslims from scrutiny– hoping thereby to massage the latent PC MC inside the Counter-Jihad so that our instincts to continue to trust innumerable Muslims is nourished.
Then, in addition we have Muslims who walk by the head-sawing just going about their business and pretending not to notice and, because they seem harmless and just wanna have a sandwich, most in the West (including many in the Counter-Jihad) conclude that they are Functional Moderates (again reinforcing either the TMOE or the MOE meme).
And of course we don’t want to forget what we alluded to above, the False Moderates who wouldn’t be caught dead actually holding the feet down, but who do, behind closed doors (which over the years dutiful investigators have uncovered and reported) provide the funding for the sword and for the beheading venue and perhaps also for the getaway car and false passport, should martyrdom not be in the cards that day; and beside that, have elsewhere provided moral support and camaraderie when they thought they were out of earshot (and camshot) of the Kuffar.
Rooare says
Nice commentary.
gravenimage says
All true, Voeg—well put.
I would add one more flavor of “moderate”, who may, of course, overlap with the other types: the “moderate” who ignores the beheading altogether, except to begin wringing his hands—often even before the victims have received a decent burial—about the supposed “backlash” from Infidels re the beheading.
In many cases, they can get the more “politically correct” Infidels to forget the beheading, as well, and focus all their efforts on assuring the Muslim “community” that we will walk them to their mosques and post extra police and hold “wear a hijab” solidarity gatherings and run editorials reassuring them that we know that “Islamophobia” in the wake of such beheadings is the “real” problem…
duh_swami says
There is no such thing as a ‘moderate’ Mahoundian…
Ed in North Texas says
YOuGov has an interesting methodology when conducting the majority of their polling. Rather than choosing a statistically valid random sample from a particular universe (in this case persons residing in the US), YouGov has a universe assembled by using their website to invite people to register to take part in their polling. While the selected sample size might appear to be statistically valid, the universe most definitely is not.
This method avoids the problem of people who do not wish to respond to polling questions (a significant problem in polling), significantly reducing the number of contacts necessary to achieve the desired number of participants. But the population from which any particular universe is drawn is self-selecting as members of the population must volunteer to be included.
I will admit I didn’t find the methodology for this particular poll, but YouGov has published a statement of the methodology they usually use, upon which the above is based.
rcourtemanche says
This isn’t good. Islam’s drive has to be quelled
Mr. SUPERMAN says
““More Than Half Of Americans Have Unfavorable View Of Islam, Poll Finds,” ”
ONLY???
R Cole says
Interesting premise for the poll – because it seems to discount freedom of religion and freedom of conscience.
And seeks to deliberately associate dissension for a particular religious view or opinion with ‘racism’.
In a deliberate attempt to undermine basic human rights or freedoms.
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What for example about ex-Muslims who would have an unfavorable view of Islam – and indeed ~ know all about it.
How do you say – Islamic law ~ under the cloak of an anti-racism campaign.
Better to believe what you see!!
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The Left’s Islam – which even Muslims acknowledge doesn’t exist!!
The opinion of the Democrats could be compared to Europe’s Left – for instance one day an article appeared in the Guardian Comment Free section – which congratulated Egyptian Muslims for for exercising tolerance when it came to their Christian minorities – on the same day that an international report was release siting – that widespread Christian persecution was being carried out with impunity.
If you read the Left’s reports – it is all wonderful in these countries – when it is those in the know – those reading the stream of contradictory AP and Reuters reports – who chose not to report on these stories – because – they may find themselves caught in their own rhetoric – that reporting the truth on Muslim conduct might be deemed hateful – and the manufactured racism/ Islamophobic label might be applied to themselves.
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Only the ‘racists’ would reject our theocracy!!
But what this poll really want to do – is to establish – that those who are in favor of Islam are in favor of Islamic sharia law. That is always the bottom line. They then can establish that those who don’t wish to live under or are not in favor of Islam law – hate 1 billion Muslims around the world.
Which is what was increasing being asserted [under a once predominately Leftist] Europe that those who did not want Shari’a law – where actually ‘racists’ – where the open expression of wishing to live in a free democracy was discouraged – as being offensive.
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Take a look at the Islamic world – behold – there are no quick fixes. And undermining hard won rights and freedoms for Islam – as a short-term solution – is a pandoras box – that we don’t need to open. We don’t need to rub that lamp – over here!!
Donald DaCosta says
Yes, and if only the west had taken the time to meet and develop friendships with the Nazis to develop a better understanding and compassion for what made them think and act as they did and their willingness to follow Herr Hitler, WWII would have never happened.
vlparker says
More than half of Americans have unfavorable view of Islam
I wonder why. Must be a bunch of bigots.
Paladin says
I learned all I needed to know about Islam on 9/11. I considered it a crash course.