The Arabist

The Arabist

By Issandr El Amrani and friends.

Half of Americans against full rights for Muslims

A survey finds that nearly half of Americans are in favor of curtailing American Muslims' liberties:

The survey found 44 percent favored at least some restrictions on the civil liberties of Muslim Americans. Forty-eight percent said liberties should not be restricted in any way.


The survey showed that 27 percent of respondents supported requiring all Muslim Americans to register where they lived with the federal government. Twenty-two percent favored racial profiling to identify potential terrorist threats. And 29 percent thought undercover agents should infiltrate Muslim civic and volunteer organizations to keep tabs on their activities and fund-raising.


Cornell student researchers questioned 715 people in the nationwide telephone poll conducted this fall. The margin of error was 3.6 percentage points.


Unsurprisingly:

The survey conducted by Cornell University also 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 are less religious.


Arab-Americans, who are traditionally Republican, should remember this the next time they vote. If they will still be able to.