You have commented 338 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Home Front: Culture Wars
The real character of Muslim-Americans
2009-03-09

PEW has an interesting analysis explaining the differences between findings related to the character of Muslim-Americans in two polls. One was conducted by PEW, the other by Gallup. Look how differences in methodology (the language used) lead to different findings:

Gallup estimates that more than one-in-three American Muslims (35%) are black, compared with Pew's estimate of 24%. Gallup estimates that 40% of Muslim Americans have obtained a college degree; Pew estimates that 24% have done so. And Gallup estimates that more Muslims are currently employed than does Pew Research (70% vs. 57%).

On race, education and employment, Muslims interviewed in English by Pew Research are roughly similar to Muslims interviewed by Gallup. Muslims interviewed by Pew Research in Arabic, Urdu or Farsi, by contrast, exhibit very different characteristics than those interviewed in English. For instance, only 8% of Muslims interviewed in these languages describe their race as black, compared with 27% of Muslims interviewed by Pew Research in English and 35% of Muslims interviewed by Gallup. Only 14% of Muslims interviewed in these languages report having graduated from college, about half the number of college graduates among those interviewed by Pew Research in English and about one-third the number of Muslims interviewed by Gallup. And only 25% of those interviewed in Arabic, Urdu or Farsi are currently employed, which is less than half the employment rate seen among Muslims interviewed in English by Pew Research or Gallup.

Posted by:g(r)omgoru

#2  A degree is a 3(or 4 for honours) year course in the U.K.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles the flatulent   2009-03-09 19:19  

#1  Fascinating. "Black" means something different in America than elsewhere, which we too often forget. "College" does as well. In the U.S. we don't differentiate between college and university as terms for tertiary education, except when specifying institutions which provide masters and doctoral degrees. Much of the rest of the world uses college in the British sense, meaning a trade school or institutions providing a 2-year tertiary (associate) degree.
Posted by: trailing wife    2009-03-09 16:42  

00:00