Yesterday, Hot Air posted its interview of Dr. Zuhdi Jasser who is featured in ‘Islam vs. Islamists’ that PBS has finally agreed to release. Dr. Jasser, a devout Muslim and former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander, strongly opposes the politicalization of America’s mosques by Islamists and organizations like CAIR.
Click on the image to view the video
Also see Dr. Jasser’s web site, the American Islamic Forum for Democracy.
The Associated Press reports that a recent Pew Research survey, “the most exhaustive ever of the country’s Muslims,” found:
One in four younger U.S. Muslims said in a poll that suicide bombings to defend Islam are acceptable in at least some circumstances, although most Muslim Americans overwhelmingly rejected the tactic and said they are critical of Islamic extremism and al Qaeda.
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Though nearly 80 percent of U.S. Muslims said suicide bombings of civilians to defend Islam cannot be justified, 13 percent said they can be, at least rarely. That sentiment was strongest among those younger than 30. Two percent of them said it often can be justified, 13 percent said sometimes and 11 percent said rarely.“It is a hair-raising number,” said Radwan Masmoudi, president of the District-based Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, which promotes the compatibility of Islam with democracy. He said most supporters of the attacks likely assumed the context was a fight against occupation — a term Muslims often use to describe the conflict with Israel. U.S. Muslims have growing Internet and television access to extreme ideologies, he said, adding: “People, especially younger people, are susceptible to these ideas.”
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In other findings:* Just 5 percent of U.S. Muslims expressed favorable views of the terrorist group al Qaeda, although about a fourth did not express an opinion.
* Six in 10 said they are concerned about a rise in Islamic extremism in the U.S., while three in four expressed similar worries about extremism around the world.
* Only one in four consider the U.S. war on terrorism a sincere attempt to curtail international terror. Just 40 percent said they believe Arab men carried out the attacks of September 11.
* By six to one, they said the U.S. was wrong to invade Iraq; a third said the same about Afghanistan — far deeper than the opposition expressed by the general U.S. public.
* Just more than half said it has been harder being a U.S. Muslim since the September 11 attacks, especially the better educated, higher income, more religious and young. Nearly a third of those who flew in the past year said they underwent extra screening because they are Muslim.
It would have been interesting to have seen who the other 60% believe carried out the 9/11 attacks and the reasons why so many U.S. Muslims disagree with the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.
