Opposition To NYC “Mosque” Driven By Anti-Islam Sentiment

Internals of a Washington Post poll bear out what those opposed to the proposed New York Islamic center deny: it’s a negative view of Islam that is driving objections to its creation. I use the word “mosque” in quotes because it’s not a mosque, although it’s being portrayed that way. There is already a mosque in the building; furthermore the proposed center was largely unnoticed when it was announced two years ago.  That makes it likely that elections are just around the corner. Greg Sargent has the numbers.

* Fifty-five percent of those who have favorable views of the religion say it should be built.

* Meanwhile, among those who have an unfavorable view of Islam, an overwhelming 87 percent say the project shouldn’t be built, with 74 percent strongly opposed.

It gets even clearer when you look at the numbers in another way. If you take the 66 percent overall who oppose the project, it turns out that two thirds of those people have generally unfavorable views of Islam, versus only one-third who view Islam favorably.

Clearly, not all opponents of the project feel unfavorably towards Islam. But two-thirds of them do. Does it mean that anti-Islam attitudes are the direct cause of opposition to the project? Impossible to say. But it’s overwhelmingly clear that there’s a link between the two sentiments, no matter how often opponents tell you the contrary.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.