U.S. Muslim Views on Islamic Radicalism

ON THE CHURCH AND SOCIETY

By Raymond J. Keating


Imagine a major polling firm asking the following question to Christians living in the United States: Can suicide bombing of civilian targets to defend Christianity be justified? The possible answers would be: often, sometimes, rarely or never.

Now, I might be wrong, but it’s hard to imagine any significant percent of Christians responding in any way but “never.” Perhaps a tiny percent could thoughtlessly reply “rarely.”

The story, however, was different with a poll titled “Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream” released by the Pew Research Center on May 22, 2007. Chapter 7 of the polling report was titled “Foreign Policy, Terrorism and Concerns About Extremism.” Let’s look at key questions and responses. (Full Story)