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Daily News- December 24, 2004

Cornell University Poll:
Uncharitable points of view

By Richard Lodge / Letter from the Editor

Here's a conspiracy theorist's take on opinion polls: There are only about 1,000 people across the country who answer all of the opinion polls, and every one of them is a liar.

It doesn't matter if it's Gallup or ABC, Reuters or a university's sociology department. Pollsters keep finding the same 1,000 people who revel in lies, fabrications and misleading responses.     

It's either that, or we're becoming a nation of ignorant bigots whose every thoughts are molded by television news.      

How else can you explain a poll that slammed Muslims this week, painting them with a broad brush of suspicion?     

Cornell University set out to measure American's fear of terrorism and found that 44 percent of those polled believed Muslim Americans should lose some of their civil rights.      

The poll (of 715 people, not the 1,000 in my conspiracy theory example) found that 27 percent of respondents said all Muslim Americans should be forced to register where they are with the federal government and 26 percent of those polled said they think mosques should be "closely monitored" by the police.     

 Who are these people who answer the pollsters' questions? Forty-four percent of the respondents are so scared of terrorist attacks that they think the answer is to target one religious group -- Muslim Americans -- and curtail their rights, make them register with the government and have the police monitor and infiltrate their mosques.      

Have we become so frightened by the war-mongering by the Bush White House and the constant hype of television newscasters and hate-radio hosts that we believe the bad guys are all around us? If you want to strip civil rights from your Muslim neighbors, is that because you actually believe those people are lined up behind Osama bin Laden? Are you afraid of Muslim Americans because you think they are evil people, or because you are ignorant about them and believe the bigotry and fear that some of the American media are foisting off on us all?      

If you are a Christian, Catholic or Jew, plug your religion into the answers in the Cornell poll, in place of Muslim Americans. How does this sound to you?      

"I believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Christians, Catholics and Jews and the government should closely monitor and infiltrate the churches, synagogues and parishes of America, so I can feel safe."      

If you're not bothered by that you don't have a pulse. Does it make you angry to think that a group of Americans could be so ignorant and fearful of you because of your religion that they want the government to treat you differently, take away some of your freedoms, and to cast you -- all of you, Christians, Catholics and Jews -- under a light of suspicion?      

In fairness, I should point out the Cornell survey found 48 percent of respondents believed liberties should not be restricted in any way. But that's not even a majority of Americans in this land of the free and home of the brave who believe our freedoms are integral to our lives and our country. Not even half of those who answered the poll saw the insanity of targeting an entire group of people because we think they're all out to get us.      

Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society, told the Associated Press he viewed the poll results as "disturbing news. But it's not unpredictable. The nation is at war, even if it's not a traditional war. We just have to remain vigilant and continue to interface."      

James Shanahan, an associate professor of communications who worked on the poll, said he saw the results as a sign that we need more discussion about the issue of civil liberties in a time of war.      

The survey found a correlation between television news-viewing habits, a respondent's fear level and attitudes toward restrictions on civil liberties for all Americans.      

People who watched a lot of TV news were found to be more likely to favor restricting civil liberties.      

"The more attention paid to television news, the more you fear terrorism, and you are more likely to favor restrictions on civil liberties," said Erik Nisbet, senior research associate with the ILR Survey Research Institute, which commissioned the study by Cornell.      

That's something to chew on over the Christmas dinner table on this most charitable of Christian holidays.

Richard Lodge is editor of the Daily News and writes a column published on Friday.

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/columnists/view.bg?articleid=86054

Tonawanda News NY (Our View) - December 24, 2004

 War doesn’t provide an excuse for bigotry

How sad it is to think America may be comfortable persecuting some of its own. A new nationwide study by Cornell University suggests nearly half of Americans would support restricting civil liberties for Muslim Americans.

What on earth are we thinking?

A scant three years ago, as we struggled to shake off the shock of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, this country had the admiration and moral support of people all around the world — including Muslims who know al Qaida doesn’t work for Allah, it works for anarchy.

Apparently we’ve forgotten that as the war on terror drags on. One can only guess that as the insurgency in Iraq racks up an ever-rising American body count, we’re growing comfortable confusing the enemy with anyone who looks, speaks or prays like it.

Against a backdrop of concern about another terrorist attack on the United States, the Cornell survey found 44 percent of people asked would support at least some restrictions on the civil liberties of Muslim Americans. Twenty seven percent said all Muslim Americans should be required to register their location with the federal government; 26 percent said mosques should be closely monitored by U.S. law enforcement agencies.

The most startling finding in the study: Its authors say the more religious the respondent professed himself to be, the more likely he was to express a willingness to target Muslim Americans. Or should we simply say other Americans.

This country has a shameful history of knee-jerk bigotry in trying times, whether the trials are due to war or economic struggle. The government’s detention of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II stands as one of the most unjust, unconscionable acts ever perpetuated on citizens.

That movement wouldn’t be repeated in the current day, of course, but surreptitious spying on or singling out of people because of their religious beliefs is just as bad.

The land of the free and the home of the brave cannot claim moral authority over oppressors when we nurse these kinds of attitudes. Any willingness to let the tyranny slide makes a mockery of the democratizing service we’ve dispatched our soldiers to perform around the world today.

http://www.tonawanda-news.com/story.asp?id=1452

The Sun News - December 26, 2004

Respect and acceptance can bridge world split

OMAR AHMAD

A recent report by Cornell University indicated that 44 percent of Americans would curtail Muslim civil liberties in some way, including having them register their location with the federal government. Similarly, a survey by my organization, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, showed that 1-in-4 Americans believes anti-Muslim stereotypes. And poll after poll in the Muslim world reveals rampant anti-American attitudes.

What can one person do to reverse the hardening of views on all sides of an apparently widening religious and cultural divide in this country and around the world?

Two findings in the CAIR survey seem to indicate the direction we should take. Researchers found that those who had more basic knowledge about Islam tended to have less bias, as did those who had Muslim friends or colleagues.

And consider the fact that the Muslims with the greatest attachment to American values, members of this nation's Islamic community, are the very ones who know those values best and see them put into practice every day.

Familiarity in interfaith relations leads to greater understanding and a decrease in hostility.

The Quran, Islam's revealed text, states: "O mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes so that you might come to know one another. Surely the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is the most righteous." (49:13)

Muslims appreciate that God did not make us all into cookie-cutter automatons who look the same or believe the same things. Our differences create a God-given opportunity to "come to know one another" in a spirit of mutual respect.

Mutual respect is a prerequisite for true understanding and acceptance. We cannot really accept someone as long as we maintain attitudes of religious, ethnic or cultural triumphalism.

A person once asked the Prophet Muhammad whether love of one's own people is an indication of unhealthy partisanship. The Prophet replied: "No, but when a man helps his people in an unjust cause, it indicates partisanship."

In other words, you can love those who share your ethnicity or beliefs, but that love should not be used as an excuse for wrongdoing or intolerance.

There are some practical steps we all can take to help decrease interfaith hostility:

Reach out to people of other faiths. Your Muslim co-worker will not be insulted if you ask him or her about Islam. Muslims would rather have you ask difficult questions in a respectful manner than to have you harbor myths and stereotypes. Muslims should also be open to learning more about other faiths.

Speak out against religious or racial bigotry.

Teach your children to be open and tolerant. They will inherit a world that is either increasingly divided or one that is moving toward peace and reconciliation.

Despite the depression and powerlessness that can be caused by watching the violence and hatred on the nightly news, we all have a role to play in making this world a better place to live.

Omar Ahmad, a California entrepreneur, is national board chairman of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/news/opinion/10500900.htm

Washington Post (Letter) - December 26, 2004

Scary Intolerance

I was flabbergasted by an item about an opinion poll in the Dec. 18 Nation in Brief column, which said, "Nearly half of Americans believe the government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim Americans."

What happened to the America where tolerance is valued?

The article also said, "Pollsters found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims' civil liberties than Democrats or people who say they are less religious."

Are these the "moral values" that got President Bush reelected?

This poll further gave more ammunition to terrorists who say that America is waging a new crusade against Islam. Doesn't the Constitution mean anything anymore?

RICHARD W.
VORDER BRUEGGE
Fredericksburg

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26069-2004Dec25.html