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The Polls-Trends
Arab and Muslim Americans and Islam in the aftermath of 9/11
COSTAS PANAGOPOULOS is visiting assistant professor of political science and director of the graduate program in Elections and Campaign Management at Fordham University. Part of this research was conducted while the author was a fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy and Columbia University.
Address correspondence to the author: costas{at}post.harvard.edu.
The terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, fueled widespread concern and speculation about mounting Islamophobic sentiment among Americans in response to the events. To monitor developments in opinions about Muslims and Arabs (both living in the United States and abroad) and attitudes toward the Islamic faith, survey organizations began to assess more regularly Americans’ attitudes on these topics. I analyze developments in public sentiment about Arab and Muslim Americans and Islam in the age of the war on terror using available public opinion data. The data analyses in this study suggest that Americans possess lingering resentment and reservations about Arab and Muslim Americans. The evidence also reveals low levels of awareness about basic elements of Islam but growing anxiety about Islam’s (especially Islamic fundamentalism’s) compatibility with Western values of tolerance, acceptance, and civility. Some of the sharpest movement in opinion dynamics we observe is in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, but opinion levels stabilize shortly thereafter. Monitoring these developments as the war on terror continues is crucial.