08 August 2016

Should the next US president be offensively blunt about Islamism? Republicans think so, Democrats don't

Should the next US president be blunt about Islamist terror even if it means offending Muslims as a whole? Nearly half of Americans think so, while half want him or her to be more careful – but there's a marked difference between Democrat and Republican voters.

The findings come in a Pew survey that reveals widely differing attitudes towards Islam among Americans. Two-thirds of Republican voters – 65 per cent – believe the next president should be blunt about Islam, while 70 per cent of Democrats and Independents say the president should "speak carefully about Islamic extremism so as not to criticise Islam as a whole".

The study also found around half of Americans think at least some Muslims are anti-American, including 11 per cent who say "most" or "almost all" are.

The survey also shows most people think the problem with religious violence is concerned with the people rather than the religion, with 68 per cent saying some violent people use religion to justify their actions. Only about a fifth (22 per cent) say the bigger problem is that the teachings of some religions promote violence. [Christian Today] Read more