Muslims in US face most intense discrimination among all groups — Brookings

Unfvourable attitudes towards Muslims in America have skyrocketed, with prejudice against them now surpassing that of any other religious, ethnic, or racial group, according to a new Brookings Institution poll.

The poll reveals a startling increase in unfavourable views toward Muslims and Islam, reaching levels reminiscent of the Trump era.

What’s more disturbing is the sharp increase among Democrats — the same group that once stood as the bulwark against Trump's rhetoric.

The poll exposes a deep-seated bias across demographics. College-educated Americans generally hold more favourable views of Muslims.

University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll (UMDCIP), conducted between 26 July and 1 August and released on Tuesday, features two key tracks: one examining shifts in American public attitudes toward Islam and Muslims, and the other analysing prejudice against various racial, religious, and ethnic groups, including Jews and Muslims.

America's cultural fabric is unraveling

The number of Americans opposed to a Muslim candidate, even one they politically agree with, has surged, particularly among Republicans.

This prejudice now rivals the long-standing aversion to atheist candidates, underscoring the pervasive influence of religious identity in the political arena.

The report notes, "President Joe Biden’s statements, coming at a time when there was high national attention on the war in Israel and Gaza, and especially the president’s tone, which some have criticised as insensitive to Muslim and Arab civilian casualties, raised the prospect that his stance may be dehumanising Arabs and Muslims."

The data speaks volumes: America's cultural fabric is unraveling, with anti-Muslim sentiment at the forefront. As the nation braces for an election cycle, these trends indicate that the political landscape will be shaped not by policy alone, but by entrenched prejudices.

"Prejudice toward Muslims and Islam is higher than prejudice toward Jews and Judaism. Although in past polls we asked this particular question only about Muslims and Islam, we have introduced this question in the latest poll given the rise in antisemitic incidents and the issue’s growing centrality.

"Among all respondents, favourable views of Muslims were 64 percent compared to 86 percent for Jews, and favourable views of Islam were 48 percent compared to 77 percent for Judaism," Brookings report added.

The survey sampled 1,510 American adults with oversamples of 202 Blacks and 200 Hispanics.