Two new polls released this week by the Brookings Institute show that in the past seven months there has been a favorable uptick in Americans public views and attitudes towards Muslim-American people and their faith (yes, you read that right).
Per Politico, “comparing the results of three University of Maryland national polls taken in November 2015, in May 2016 and in June 2016 (after the June 12th Orlando shooting), the trends are surprising. Asked about their views of the Muslim people, respondents who expressed favorable views went from 53 percent in November 2015, to 58 percent in May 2016, to 62 percent in June 2016. At the same time, favorable views of Islam went from 37 percent, to 42 percent, to 44 percent over the same period—still under half, but with marked improvement over a period of seven months.”
Politico reports that the factors for the uptick include politics (see Trump and his Muslim ban), millennials and non-whites having more favorable views on Islam, globalization, and even just knowing a Muslim person, that can make all the difference in the world.
