Survey of 9000 Muslims: Moderates more religious than radicals

John Esposito, founding director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, has come out with a very interesting study for Foreign Policy magazine. He surveyed 9000 Muslims in a number of Muslim nations. After looking at a number of objective criteria, found that a "moderate" Muslim and a "radical" are often quite similar to one another in opinions, such as American foreign policy.

Based on a new Gallup World Poll of more than 9,000 interviews in nine Muslim countries, we find that Muslim radicals have more in common with their moderate brethren than is often assumed. If the West wants to reach the extremists, and empower the moderate Muslim majority, it must first recognize who it’s up against.

The study debunks the theory that people are radical because they are poor. Radicals surveyed are somewhat better educated and more wealthy than non-radicals. The study also shows that "moderates" are as (if not more) "religious" than "radicals." This is very important because it demolishes the idea that reformers are irreligious and the militants are the truly pious. Strangely, some of the answers the radicals gave i.e. their support of technology and democracy, make you question radicals' radicalness.

Anyway, this is how the study distinguished between a radical and a moderate:

Respondents who said 9/11 was unjustified (1 or 2 on a 5-point scale, where 1 is totally unjustified and 5 is completely justified) are classified as moderates. Respondents who said 9/11 was justified (4 or 5 on the same scale) are classified as radicals. The data for this poll were obtained during 2005-06 from Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. Approximately 1,000 in-home interviews were conducted in each country. The sampling mix of urban and rural areas is the statistical equivalent of surveying each nation’s adult population, with a statistical sampling error rate of +/- 3 percent.

The study is at Foreign Policy magazine along with some very nice graphs, and here are the results:

• Religion an important part of your daily life?
  
• Moderates: 92%. Radicals: 91%

• Attended religious service in last 7 days?
  
• Moderates: 59%. Radicals: 56%.

• Primary school or less?
  
• Moderates: 34%. Radicals: 23%.

• Secondary school through university?
  
• Moderates: 38%. Radicals: 44%

• Low or very low income?
• Moderate: 31%. Radicals: 22%.

• Above Average or very high income?
• Moderates: 21%. Radicals: 25%.

• Where do you expect to be in next five years?
• Moderates Worseoff: 7%. Radicals Worseoff: 7%

• Where do you expect to be in next five years?
• Moderates BetterOff: 44%. Radicals Betteroff: 53%.

• Most Admired Aspect of the West?
• Top Response: Western Technology: Moderates 31%, Radicals 30%
• Second highest response: LibertyDemocracy: Moderates: 22%, Radicals: 22%.
  

• What can the West do to improve relations?
• Top Response: Respect Islam. Moderates: 36%. Radicals: 39%.
• Second highest response: Economic Development by Moderates: 22%. Refrain from imposing beliefs by Radicals: 17%.

I think the very simple lesson here is that all those pundits who think that destroying Islam is the solution are ignorant of the statistical fact that they'd be wiping out a vast majority of "moderates" in the process. Which means that to deal with radicalism, you have to deal with the "Moderates."

Thanks to Eteraz for pointing this out, I hope he doesn't mind I plagiarized some of his analysis.

Myth: Taqiyya

Myth: Muslims are allowed to lie to non-Muslims

A popular word used by the Right is "Taqiyya." It's a libel that's turning into a Muslim version of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Just as that libelous myth was used against Jewish people, this myth is being used against Muslims. The Protocols of Zion libel says that Jews are part of a vast worldwide conspiracy to control the financial and military might of all nations; the Taqiyya Libel claims that the Qur'an directs Muslims to lie to non-Muslims in order to further the their secret fight to convert everyone to Islam by violence.

According to the Protocols, Jewish people are simply lying if they deny they're controlling the world. According to those who spread the Taqiyya myth, any Muslim is lying to you if you aren't a Muslim, and any Muslim who loves America or hates terrorism is simply a liar, because the Qur'an "directs" them to lie about these things.

Of course, the Qur'an has no such commands. Taqiyya is basically when someone hides their faith when under threat or persecution. If someone has a gun to your head and threatens to kill you unless you give up being Muslim, then it is considered permissible to lie in that situation. An example of this is when one of the Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) close companions Ammar ibn Yasir (may God be pleased with him) was being tortured by the polytheist Meccans in early Islam. After Abu Jahl killed his parents in front of him, they tortured him until he said he would give up Islam and worship their idols. After that, he rushed back to Muhammad (pbuh) and confessed what he did. Muhammad told him that if such a situation ever came up again, he should do the same. The Quranic verse came down "Any one who, after accepting faith in God, utters Unbelief,- except under compulsion, his heart remaining firm in Faith - but such as open their breast to Unbelief, on them is Wrath from God, and theirs will be a dreadful Penalty." (16:106) (Emphasis added)

One of the worst insults you could call someone during the Prophet's (pbuh) time was a liar. The hadith (quotations of Muhammad, peace be upon him) have many instances where he forbade lying:

"Allah's messenger did not hate anything more than lying" (Ahmed).

The Prophet (pbuh) was once asked "Can a Muslim be a coward?" He (pbuh) replied "Yes." and then asked "Can a Muslim be a miser?" and the reply was "Yes." The Prophet (pbuh) was then asked "Can a Muslim be a liar?" The Prophet (pbuh) replied "NO! A Muslim can never be a liar". Furthermore, he said "Truth leads to virtue and virtue leads to paradise...Lying leads to wickedness and wickedness leads to the hellfire." (Bukhari).

Taqqiya is only to be invoked in extreme circumstances, so as to save lives. Furthermore, Taqqiya is rejected by the majority of Muslims worldwide. Indeed, most conservative Muslim scholars say that "taqqiya" is just code-word for "liar" and that lying is never acceptable under Islam.

Example of why Profiling doesn't work

Sadly, too many people call for racial or religious profiling.

In 1985, Air India Flight 182 was blown up over the Atlantic by:

a. Muslims
b. Bill O'Reilly
c. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
d. Indian Sikh extremists, in retaliation for the Indian Army's attack on the Golden Temple shrine in Amritsar

In 1986, who attempted to smuggle three pounds of explosives onto an El Al jetliner bound from London to Tel Aviv?

a. Muslims
b. George W. Bush
c. Bob Marley
d. A pregnant Irishwoman named Anne Murphy

In 1962, in the first-ever successful sabotage of a commercial jet, a Continental Airlines 707 was blown up with dynamite over Missouri by:

a. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
b. Ann Coulter
c. Henry Rollins
d. Thomas Doty, a 34-year-old American passenger, as part of an insurance scam

In 1994, who nearly succeeding in skyjacking a DC-10 and crashing it into the Federal Express Corp. headquarters?

a. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
b. Michelle Malkin
c. Charlie Rose
d. Auburn Calloway, an off-duty FedEx employee and resident of Memphis, Tenn.

In 1974, who stormed a Delta Air Lines DC-9 at Baltimore-Washington Airport, intending to crash it into the White House, and shot both pilots?

a. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40
b. Joe Scarborough
c. Spalding Gray
d. Samuel Byck, an unemployed tire salesman from Philadelphia

The answer, in all cases, is D.

Paraphrased from an article by Patrick Smith.

Another myth: "Islam was spread by the sword"

Here's a popular myth: The common image of Islam being spread by an Arab on camelback in the desert, with a Qur'an in one hand and a curved sword in the other, offering a choice of either accepting Islam or losing one’s head. This was in a couple of movies, and I'm ashamed to see, in a Television drama after 9/11. Obviously, this is false, for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, Islam doesn't allow or accept forced conversions. The Qur'an itself commands "Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from falsehood." (2:256) This is accepted by all scholars and something all Muslims must follow. As a corollary, another myth; "the terrorists all want us to be Muslim or die! That's why they attack us!" is, as they like to say on the TV show Mythbusters, busted.

In History, there were military confrontations between the Muslim empire and the existing world powers of Rome and Persia. However, the areas conquered were put under Muslim administration and the populations were free to maintain their own beliefs. Muslims ruled Egypt, Palestine and Lebanon from the 8th century and sizeable Christian communities continued to exist over the past 13 centuries, and still exist today. Muslims ruled Spain for 700 years, and historians today call that period the "Golden Age of Judaism" because Jewish people flourished under the Muslim rule, compared to the ostracism and threats they faced in Christian Europe. Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides lived under a Muslim government, and published some of the most famous Torah commentary while living under that religious freedom. India was ruled by the Muslims for 1000 years without the vast majority of the population converting to Islam. In fact, India is 85% Hindu today.

If anyone is in doubt whether Islam was spread through violence, look at Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country with over 200 Million citizens. Those islands never saw a Muslim soldier. Islam spread there and in Malaysia and Philippines by trade. This was also the case of Islam’s spread in West African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Chad and Niger. Also, Islam is the fastest growing religion in America and the world today, with a conversion rate over 400% more than conversion to all other religions combined. It's said that there are anywhere between 300 and 500 converts daily in North America. This is taking place without any soldiers or even missionaries.


When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was in Medina, Non-Muslims were given equality with Muslims under the laws, and are left to their own beliefs. The Islamic state even used money from its own budget for the upkeep of churches and synagogues. Muslims can marry "people of the scripture" (i.e. Jews, Christians, some say Zoroastrians) and can do business with non-Muslims. Muhammad himself (pbuh) used to conduct business deals with the nearby Jewish tribes and always fulfilled them, and also would hire non-Muslims. If a Muslim man is allowed to marry a non-Muslim woman and required by the Charter of Privileges to allow her to freely practice her religion, then clearly there is nothing in the religion allowing Muslims to murder non-Muslims.

"God forbids you not, with regards to those who fight you not for [your] faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them; for God loveth those who are just." (Quran, 60:8) The meaning of this is that God has not forbidden anybody to be kind to or fair to non-Muslims who are good people, and Islam requires fairness to all humans and living creatures. There is no command to shun all non-Muslims, and certainly no command to kill anyone for simply being non-Muslim.

Juan Cole

Juan Cole, a Middle East expert, has made a great roundup post of various statements by Muslim world leaders and clerics condemning Osama Bin Laden and terrorist attacks. That's a good start, and Al-Muhajabah has more.

Myth #1: All terrorists are Muslims

myth #1: "Not All Muslims are terrorists.........but ALL terrorists are Muslims"

I see this one a lot. What amazes me is that so many people believe it. So, did we forget the Nazis? People want more recent things. What about the IRA? Timothy McVeigh? Baruch Goldstein? The KKK? ETA? The Red Dawn?

Want me to start naming groups that claim to have religious backing?
KKK -- Christianity
IRA -- Protestant/Catholic
Tamil Tigers -- Marxist (also carried out suicide bombings)
Aum Shinrikyo -- Buddhist/Hindu
Kach or Kahane Chai -- Judaism

Actually Latin America has had the highest incidence of terrorism since 1995, followed by Western Europe. Rebels, drug cartels, and government corruption are causing all sorts of problems there, but I wouldn't blame Christianity (the dominant religion of the continent). Therefore the majority of terrorism is not related to the Middle East, Muslims, or Arabs. They're just in the media spotlight at the moment. Also, terrorism is on the decline, 2002 had 44% less deaths by terrorism(all types & groups) than 2001 (forgot more recent figures).

Terrorism and fanaticism is not specific to Islam. All religions produce violent adherents. For example, Buddhist monks of Mandalay committed rioting, arson, and killing innocent people over a stone thrown into a monastery, as happened in Burma in October of 2002. Poor minority Muslims were beaten up and killed because of alleged disrespect to the sacred monastery, someone threw a stone and the monks mistakenly blamed the Muslims.

From 1980-2003, the Tamil Tigers committed 76 suicide bombings, while Hamas did only 54. Even among Muslims, secular groups like the Kurdistan Workers' Party, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades account for more than a third of suicide attacks. (NYTimes)Therefore, you can't blame the religion if secular-minded groups do it.

Contribute Please

Ah yes, I forgot. If you have any myths concerning terrorism, or just any questions, please email me at mr100percent@gmail.com I also welcome contributions from anyone, maybe a myth you can answer for me, as long as they are on topic.

Open for business

Bismillah hir-Rahman ar-Raheem

It seems that every time I try argueing with people over terrorism, or trying to defend Muslims from being overgeneralized and smeared, I seem to run up against the same questions. I've been on Talk Radio, I've carried out conversations in online boards, but the same sort of things are asked, nearly word for word. However, despite the fact that these questions are asked so often (a quick google search surprised me), I don't see good answers provided as a rebuttal. Therefore, I've been stuck writing my own responses, but I found myself repeating myself dozens of times because maybe I convinced one person, but there's always another person who joins the forum and repeats the question.

In order to help myself and other Muslims have good, well-written, and articulate replies, I started this blog. I may integrate it into its own .com insh'Allah if I find time and enough material to fill it with. Something tells me that won't be a problem.