Only about half of Americans know that Ramadan is the Islamic holy month reports PEW in their recent survey on religious knowledge.
In some ways the results of the PEW survey about religious knowledge are similar to the lack of knowledge about other topics like geography that is published from time to time and may be shrugged off as a US baseline. But there are serious consequences to ignorance.
Only about half of Americans know that Ramadan is the Islamic holy month reports PEW in their recent survey on religious knowledge; disappointing statistic for Muslims fasting in this month of Ramadan. This is especially disheartening as Islam and Muslims have been so much in the news and there have been stories about Ramadan. That the Quran is a Muslim holy book did not fare any better and got a 54% response. One of the high scores, 82%, was the knowledge that Mother Teresa was a catholic suggesting the about 15% of my fellow citizens are in a state of extreme ignorance.
In some ways the results of the PEW survey about religious knowledge are similar to the lack of knowledge about other topics like geography that is published from time to time and may be shrugged off as a US baseline. But there are serious consequences to ignorance.
We tend to stereotype those who we know the least about; the greater the ignorance the higher the degree of prejudice. I imagine if the questions dug deeper in to the purpose behind fasting in Ramadan, which is to become God-conscious, attain self discipline and develop empathy for the dispossessed, the response rate may have been even lower.
Muslims face toxic misperceptions about their faith that are widely prevalent. These show up in ordinary conversation in statements that seem innocuous as one occasion when I was introduced as the “sane” voice of Muslims, implying that most are otherwise or when one of my op-eds was titled “’Moderate’ Muslims need to raise their voice.” The words, sane and moderate, are charged and would not be used to describe members of another faith group.
Muslims anticipate the electoral season, which has already started, to be particularly charged with Muslim bashing. Republican strategists appear to have settled on anti Muslim rhetoric as an issue that distinguishes them from those so called politically correct Democrats who shy away from using phrases like “Islamic terror.” Democrats may be more sensitive to the dangers of stereotyping a community. They are clearly a more diverse group than the Republicans.
Clobbering Islam and Muslims and even railing against a phantom issue like imposing the Sharia law in the US is considered a vote getter. The Arab uprising with peaceful masses risking and laying down their lives for democracy and freedom appears to have made little impact on the Republican mind although it would have been a myth buster.
Republicans are using Islamophobia to brand Democrats as soft on internal security as they are on external threats and appeal to their base. Republican candidates for presidential nomination reflect the perceptions of their rank and file 85 per cent of whom have unfavorable views of Muslims. Additionally, 74 per cent of Republicans believe "Islam teaches hate" and 60 per cent believe that "Muslims tend to be religious fanatics." In contrast only about a third of the Democrats have an unfavorable view of Muslims.
Muslims should fully expect anti Islam rhetoric to rise as the elections get close as it is no longer a fringe Republican but all major candidates have made anti Muslim/Islam statements calling it among other things an existential threat. Some examples include Bachman’s statement that “people of the Muslim faith had an inferior culture to that of the United States and the West”, Romeny’s railing against Jihadism as an existentialist threat and other now infamous statements by Cain and Gingrich’s not so subtle comparison of Muslims to Nazis. It is no longer an issue talked about in the privacy of the home at the dining table, which would be bad in itself, but part of mainstream political discourse.
There is a studied disregard of the consequences of this type of rhetoric on Muslim Americans; it is as if they do not exist. There is strong evidence that ignorance that leads to stereotyping in turn results in prejudice and bias. Its social consequences in the work place and school have been documented. Additionally it may lead to alienation of the Muslim community especially its young. It makes the job of responsible community leaders, parents and others who are trying to protect the occasional misfit from buying in to the violent rhetoric of an off shore Imam like Awlaki more difficult.
Mainstream, socially conscious media have the responsibility to report the words of a politician even if they reek of bigotry. But they can provide context and use their bully pulpit to educate and counter. Reducing ignorance about each other is in not only part of our national ethos but is in our interest.