What Polls About US Muslims Don't Tell You

[Hatalles]

What Polls About US Muslims Don't Tell You
By Shahed Amanullah

"A recent poll by the Pew Research Center has a few findings that raise eyebrows. But when compared to the views of non-Muslims, what do these statistics really tell us?"

When asked if "bombing and other attacks intentionally aimed at civilians" are "often or sometimes justified," 24% of all Americans agreed - three times the 8% of US Muslims who share that view. And scarcely half as many non-Muslims (46%) were found to oppose suicide bombings as all US Muslims in the Pew poll (80%). Similarly, a UK poll last year cited support for suicide bombing among Muslims (10%) and non-Muslims (7%) that is statistically equal. The Pew finding that 47% of US Muslims consider themselves Muslim first - rather than American - needs to be compared to a similar poll that showed 42% of Christians and 62% of white Evangelicals identifying themselves primarily by their religion as opposed to their being American.

Full text: http://www.altmuslim.com/perm.php?id=1923_0_26_0_C

[theoldman]

1. Polls generally have a lot of errors.

Think about this after the next election. People say one thing and then do another thing.

[dave_p]

2. Properly-conducted polls don't have huge errors

What's your point? State it, don't cower behind cryptic bullshit.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Yes, please elucidate

I don't want to prejudge what you are trying to say, so I would appreciate an explanation of your remarks, please.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Goes along with what my brothers and sisters have said

as well as the shaykhs, shaykhas, Murshids, and Murshidas, as well as the Pirs of orders (the list is of titles of spiritual leaders, for those who aren't familiar with the terms). Sharif Baba, a Rafi shaykh, said, "Don't worry about politics, worry about your soul." He spends a lot of time in NC, and is from Turkey.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. My own earlier post on some slanted reporting re. the recent Pew poll:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=283441&mesg_id=283441

excerpt: Unfortunately, even in the report, the answers "often" and "sometimes" are conflated. Still, it's clear that only among a certain age cohort is it at all common to express support for suicide bombers. And frankly, no one should get excited about numbers down in the 2-3% range, because that's below the margin of error of the poll (5% at 95% confidence)! Pick a sample of ANY group of people in a random poll, and ask "How many are just plain nuts?" and you'll get numbers higher than that, even when the answers are voluntary.