Complex but Hopeful Pattern of American Attitudes Toward Muslims

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- New Gallup Poll data make it clear that the U.S. public is not so much hostile toward Muslim countries as it is concerned that the people in Muslim countries are hostile toward the United States.

A majority of Americans have either mixed or favorable views of Muslim countries. But the vast majority of Americans are convinced that Muslims have unfavorable views of the United States. Americans also say they are concerned about improving relations with the Muslim world, but believe that Muslim societies are not concerned about improving relations with the United States.

There is no sign that these attitudes have changed substantially over the last four years; Americans are no more or no less favorable toward Muslim countries now than they were in March 2002.

Americans believe that better communication and understanding with Muslims is the best way to bridge the cultural gap between the two societies.

Mirror Image Views

Since 2002, Gallup has twice asked Americans two questions about their views of people who live in Muslim countries, and their perceptions of what people in Muslim countries think about the United States:

In general, please tell me whether your opinion of Muslim countries is very favorable, somewhat favorable, neither favorable nor unfavorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable?

In general, do you think people in Muslim countries have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, neither favorable nor unfavorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable opinion of the United States?

There are several points to be made in reference to these data:

1. The two polls show very similar results in March 2006 compared with March 2002. Given the extraordinary news events of the past four years, the lack of change in attitudes is remarkable.

2. The data do not show that the majority of Americans dislike Muslims. Only a minority of 37% have an unfavorable opinion of "Muslim countries". A smaller 25% have a favorable opinion. The rest either have mixed opinions or no opinions at all.

3. There is a strong conviction on the part of Americans that the people in Muslim countries do not like the United States. More than 8 in 10 Americans express this sentiment, including almost half who say they believe people in Muslim countries have a "very" unfavorable opinion of the United States.
   
   Again, there has been virtually no change in these sentiments between March 2002 -- six months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- and March 2006.

The majority of Americans (56%) also admit that they know little or nothing at all about the opinions and beliefs of people who live in Muslim countries. Just 7% say they know a great deal.

How much would you say you know about the opinions and beliefs of people who live in Muslim countries -- a great deal, a moderate amount, not much, or not at all?

The lack of change over time is remarkable. Despite the tremendous amount that has been written and said about Muslims over the last four years, Americans' self-reported levels of knowledge have not changed significantly.

Americans who say they have a great deal or moderate amount of knowledge about the opinions and beliefs of people who live in Muslim countries are no different in their answers to these two questions than those who say they have not much or no knowledge at all.

More Data

A recent Gallup Poll Panel study also highlighted the differences in the way Americans look at their own views and their perceptions of the views of others.

Gallup asked a group of respondents interviewed in February "how much concern do Muslim or Islamic societies have for a better co-existence between Western societies and the Muslim or Islamic world." Fifty-eight percent of Americans say Muslims have a low level of concern (with scores of "1" or "2" on a five-point scale), and just 10% say Muslims have a high level of concern (with scores of "4" or "5" on that scale).

Next, I'd like you to think about how much concern Muslim or Islamic societies have for a better co-existence between Western societies and the Muslim or Islamic world. If '1' means the Muslim or Islamic societies do not show any concern for Western societies, and '5' means that Muslim or Islamic societies show a lot of concern for Western societies, what number on this scale of 1 to 5 would you choose?

By contrast, 65% of Americans say they personally have a high level of concern about reaching a better understanding between the Western and Islamic cultures, while only 11% say they have a low level of concern.

I'd like you to think about the concern you personally have about a better understanding between the Western and Muslim or Islamic cultures. If '1' means that it doesn't concern you at all, and '5' means that it concerns you a lot, what number on this scale of 1 to 5 would you choose?

The second set of findings suggests that Americans perceive themselves as concerned with and at least moderately positive toward the Muslim world, while perceiving that the Muslim world itself views the United States very unfavorably and also is not concerned about bettering relations with Western cultures.

In short, the data make it clear that the United States public is not so much hostile toward Muslim countries as they are concerned that the people in Muslim countries are hostile toward the United States.

The Panel study also asked Americans what Western societies could do "in order to improve relations with the Muslim or Islamic world" and what the Muslim or Islamic world could do in order to improve relations with the Western societies.

There are some differences in responses to these two questions.

Some Americans volunteer that the Muslim or Islamic world can improve relations with Western societies by stopping terrorism within their midst, and by accepting Westerners' ways of doing things. But many say that the Muslim world can improve communication, better understand each others' beliefs, improve education and cultural intermixing, and work together.

And in your opinion, what could the Muslim or Islamic world do in order to improve relations with Western societies? Anything else? (Open-ended)

Americans emphasize communication and working together to understand each others' beliefs when asked what it is that Western societies can do in order to improve relations with the Muslim or Islamic world.

In your opinion, what could the Western societies do in order to improve relations with the Muslim or Islamic world? Anything else? (Open-ended)

Summary

These data suggest that Americans are concerned about the relationships with the Muslim world, are more likely to have mixed or favorable opinions of Muslims than negative opinions, and believe that communication, education, and better understanding will help improve relations between Americans and the people of the Muslim world going forward. Basic attitudes toward Muslims as measured by these specific questions have not changed over the last four years.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,000 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted March 13-16, 2006. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Gallup Poll Panel results are based on telephone interviews with 808 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Feb. 17-22, 2006. Respondents were randomly drawn from Gallup's household panel, which was originally recruited through random selection methods. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.