American public opinion on Islamist issues

May 16, 2008


Thomas Lifson


What do Americans think about demands for Sharia courts, or Muslim taxi drivers who refuse to carry dogs or passengers carrying alcohol? These and other questions relating to Islamist demands were the subject of a poll sponsored by Act for America and conducted by Moore Information. With permission, we publish the summary of those results from their website:


1. Seven out of ten respondents (69%) disagreed with FBI translator hiring practices favoring Muslims over qualified Christians, Jews and other qualified linguist/analysts.

2. Seven out ten respondents (71%) disagreed with employers giving Muslim workers time off for daily and weekly prayer.

3. Nine out of ten respondents (89%) disagreed that separate Sharia law courts should be permitted in legal systems in the West.

4. Eight out of ten respondents (79%) disagreed that Muslim cab drivers can reject fares whose actions may violate their Islamic beliefs.

5. Three out of four respondents (74%) disagreed that criticizing or mocking the Prophet Mohammed or Islam constitutes hate speech.

6. Nearly nine out of ten respondents (89%) disapproved of the practice of Banks engaging in Shariah Compliant Financing, which would require the banks to devote 2.5% or more of earnings to questionable Islamic charitable contributions with direct or indirect ties to terrorist organizations.

7. Over three-fifths of respondents (61%) disagreed that Muslim chaplains in our prison systems have the right to indoctrinate inmates in hate and violence under Freedom of Religion.

8. Two thirds of respondents (67%) indicated the increase in Islamic terrorism around the world was due to Militant Muslims because of their aggressive and violent actions toward non-Muslims.

9. Three out of four respondents (74%) approved of Congress conducting hearings to review materials distributed in some American mosques that advocate hatred for Jews and Christians, and encourage Muslims to take up the cause of holy war against all unbelievers, to see if they violate federal laws applying to tax-exempt organizations or laws relating to terrorism.

10. Eight out of ten respondents (81%) approved the designation as a terrorist organization of Jaamat ul-Fuqra (JF) that runs a network of secret compounds through North America and has engaged in terrorist attacks and crime to support their violent extremist doctrine.

We note that ACT for America has launched a national petition drive- click here- urging Congress to conduct investigations into Question 9- hate-filled materials in American Mosques, 3 out of 4 Mosques (100) evaluated by the Mapping Sharia project have been rated as ‘extremist'. Further to Q. 1- bias in hiring by the FBI in favor of Muslim translators over qualified Christian, Jews and Others, Rep. Sue Myrick, leader of the House Anti-Terror Caucus has made this an issue in her "Wake Up America" agenda released on April 18th. The Myrick proposal calls for a GAO audit to determine the extent of such hiring discrimination and possible remedies.