Why don't Americans like Muslims?

Asia Times Online ^ | 17 Aug 2010 | Spengler

[Palter]

Popular antipathy to a proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero is so fierce that even President Barack Obama, the nation's Islamophile-in-chief, "clarified" his August 11 statement supporting the plan to say, "I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there." It is not just a mosque, of which there are two in the neighborhood, but a symbol of Islamic presence. The most recent CNN poll shows an overwhelming 70%-29% margin of opposition.

When liberal politicians - like the president and New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg - defend the plan, what they mean is, "We want a big Islamic statement near Ground Zero as a gesture of outreach to the Muslim world." When the political right denounces it, they mean, "Muslim conquerors always build a mosque atop the ruins of the places they conquer, and we're not going to give the rascals the satisfaction." That was predictable.

What is surprising is how passionately Americans oppose the Ground Zero mosque. A revolt is brewing against America's liberal political elite.

It is hard to find consistent polling data about American attitudes towards Islam. The largest polling organizations, Pew and Gallup, draw funding from organizations with a vested interest in promoting a benign view of Islam. Nonetheless, the results are striking: in a Gallup inquiry [1] published in January 2010, Americans had an "unfavorable" view of Islam by a margin of 53%-42%, with 31% holding a strongly negative view. That contrasts with 15% for Judaism and 4% for Christianity.

Similar results emerge from polls of respective support for Israel and the Palestinians.

[matginzac]

So true! And to your last point, the video recommended (”3 Things About Islam” - You Tube) states that in the religion of Islam, it’s OK to lie if it is in the cause of spreading Islam and Sharia law - puts the Moooslim-in-Chief in the white house into a whole, new perspective when you know that.
I, too, went completely numb on 4 Nov 2008, in utter disbelief that our country would embrace a man and a congress that would push an agenda that was everything bad for america - felt sick to my stomach.