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| Half US wants Muslim resrictions |
| 2004-12-17 |
| NEARLY half of all Americans believe the US government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim Americans, according to a nationwide poll. 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. Researchers also found that respondents who paid more attention to television news were more likely to fear terrorist attacks and support limiting the rights of Muslim Americans. The survey found 44 per cent favoured at least some restrictions on the civil liberties of Muslim Americans. Forty-eight per cent said liberties should not be restricted in any way. The survey showed 27 per cent of respondents supported requiring all Muslim Americans to register where they lived with the federal government. Twenty-two per cent favoured racial profiling to identify potential terrorist threats. And 29 per cent thought undercover agents should infiltrate Muslim civic and volunteer organisations to keep checks on their activities and fundraising. "It's sad news. It's disturbing news. But it's not unpredictable," said Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society. "The nation is at war, even if it's not a traditional war. We just have to remain vigilant and continue to interface." Cornell student researchers questioned 715 people in the nationwide telephone poll. The margin of error was 3.6 percentage points. James Shanahan, an associate professor of communications who helped organise the survey, said the results indicate "the need for continued dialogue about issues of civil liberties" in a time of war. While researchers said they were not surprised by the overall level of support for curtailing civil liberties, they were startled by the correlation with religion and exposure to television news. "We need to explore why these two very important channels of discourse may nurture fear rather than understanding," Shanahan said. According to the survey, 37 per cent believe a terrorist attack in the United States is still likely within the next 12 months. In a similar poll conducted by Cornell in November 2002, that number stood at 90 per cent. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #1 Somehow, this strikes me as nothing more than another article printed up to make the U.S. look bad. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-12-18 12:06:04 AM |