why do americans have a negative opinion on the islamic religion?

Question

i'm doing a report on reasons why americans have a negative opinion towards the islamic religion... and i kinda need some reasons, if u could help me please

Answer 1

Perhaps it has to do with the correct answers to this little quiz:

1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by

a. Superman

b. Jay Leno

c. Harry Potter

d. a Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40


2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by

a. Olga Korbutt

b. Sitting Bull

c. Arnold Schwarzenegger

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:

a. Lost Norwegians

b. Elvis

c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:

a. John Dillinger

b. The King of Sweden

c. The Boy Scouts

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:

a. A pizza delivery boy

b. Pee Wee Herman

c. Geraldo Rivera

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:

a. The Smurfs

b. Davey Jones

c. The Little Mermaid

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was murdered by:

a. Captain Kidd

b. Charles Lindberg

c. Mother Teresa

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:

a. Scooby Doo

b. The Tooth Fairy

c. The Sundance Kid

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:

a. Richard Simmons

b. Grandma Moses

c. Michael Jordan

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:

a. Mr. Rogers

b. Hillary Clinton, to distract attention from Wild Bill's women problems

c. The World Wrestling Federation

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers. Thousands of people were killed by:

a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd

b. The Supreme Court of Florida

c. Mr. Bean

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:

a. Enron

b. The Lutheran Church

c. The NFL

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:

a. Bonnie and Clyde

b. Captain Kangaroo

c. Billy Graham

d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40


Nope, I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you? So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people. They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winning and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40 alone lest they be guilty of profiling.

ANONYMOUS

Answer 2

You must be aware that American Governments have always supported Muslim cause. Memory of the people is short and they have little grasp over the entire issue. Attack on World Trade Center, killing of American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and certain irresponsible acts of youngsters have created an impression in their mind. Media is responsible for negative opinion. All super powers have Global agenda. They do nothing against the interest of their country. No nation can stop them. People should understand that when you interfere in the internal affairs of a country(even for the benefit of the country) there will always be some reaction. All religion preach peace and love. There is no connection of Islam with all these activities.

Answer 3

Thanks for the question as you are trying to understand what is going on this world these days. Well, I am Muslim and I believe in Jihad for all the occupied areas of the Muslim world like Palestine and Chechnya... I also know that my faith strongly prohibits killing and terrorizing civilians. The rules of engagement are strictly against the oppressors men of war. These days there is a lot of misinformation that goes in the Muslim world and unfortunately, some people believe in such crap. The funny thing is that if you ask any of those pro-al qaeda about Islam ...they will tell you what they have learnt not what there is in the Quran and the tradition. Also, there is a lot of ignorance in the western world about Islam and Muslims. Add the support for the state of Israel which was CREATED by Immigrant Jews from mostly Europe on the land of the Palestinians, you will get a picture of injustice that is being engraved in the minds of the neighboring Muslims.

Answer 4

I don't think that the media "stereotypes" muslims. What the newsbroadcasters report are real muslims doing what they actually do. We can't add more to what they already have "accomplished" for their self-image. Don't like being held with a negative opinion or stereotype? Do something about it. Live in a society where terrorism is a sociall accepted practice? Do something about it! Don't just whine and complain why the whole world has negative sentiments towards Islam. Do something about terrorism and the negative image and stereotyping will go away on its own.

Answer 5

because Americans are like slaves that have had their chains removed but just placed in a large cage. Americans see the world through their eyes and not the eyes of anyone else. they believe that they are right and everyone else is wrong, this leads to Amerocentricism. Not many Americans truly know about Islam and would rather see pictures of Brad and Angelinas new baby than to take the time to educate themselves in this matter. News media is also the culprit. More and more news media outlets are being bought up by fewer and fewer conglomerates which leads to a monopoly on what you see, learn, and subsiquently believe. Unfortunately we as Americans accepted "dumbed down homogonized stories stripped of all context and information, prepackaged in the shortest form and delivered to the American people in the most least offensive ways." We as Americans have contributed to the intellectual disarmament of America.

Answer 6

Has a lot to do with the fact that so many of the adherents of that religion are trying to kill us, or kill Jews, or kill anyone who doesnt subscribe to the seventh century lifestyle they want to inflict on everyone. Another part of the negative opinion is due to the vacant silence which comes from "mainstream" Islam every time the supposed minority militants do some hideous mass murder.
I know some Moslems personally, and find them to be fine, peaceful people. I get the impression that these folks are in the minority. I know other Moslems who are nasty intolerant bigots, who come to my country and expect us to be just like theirs. They should go home, rather than inflict their mess on us.
I just dont understand why the Imams and other leaders of Islam refuse to condemn the murderers who do their deeds in the name of Mohammed. If those were Presbyterians or Baptists who were sending suicide bombers into bar mitzvas, or flying airplanes into buildings, there would be such an outcry of condemnation from Christians and their leaders even the totally biased media would not be able to hide it.
Where is the outcry from the alleged "religion of peace"?

Answer 7

Since the September 11, 2001 terrorists were Islamic along with the London bombers. Eh, profiling sucks.

Answer 8

coz of the terrorists attacks by people of the islam religion. the religion is rising esp by the president mahmoud amadinejhad of iran with that holy war or jihad of his. it's such a pity though that even honest and innocent muslims are also discriminated presently for what others hav done. people of the islam religion hav also said they wanted to take over the world's religion into islam so that's another bold move on people's rights to any religion. nevertheless, not all muslims think the same since i hav great muslim friends who dont even like the idea.

Answer 9

remember the words:
judge not lest you be judged....
well it rings true here
when it comes to having an opinion on something i don't know, i usually form judgements from facts and opinions of trusted sources and close family members, so i can honestly say i'm one of those americans that do not hold negative views of Islam or Muslims and I would even love to get to know the Arab culture. We know that Arabs are not only about "terrorism" or anti-western ideals, they are a culture rich in history and tradition. I would be honored if I could learn more about them.
To answer your question: it is a lack of education...it is ignorance of learning about your brothers and sisters...it is personal bias...plus people associate negative aspects of the Arab culture with the entire culture, and that is just wrong...
hope this helps...

Answer 10

The media. that's the main reason.
Then again a minority of the faith are nuts.As with any religion, you have the fundamentalist ,the liberals and the misdirected.
When the "Branch Dravidian's" had their coverage,the world wasn't turned against Christians because the media was also.
There was also no profit in hating ourselves.No guns were made,no missiles were sold and no one looked good for it.
It is just so much easier to blame others for the problems of the world and to have a negative view of them if we don't understand who they are.If the were 2 blocks away,things would be different.
They would be us.
I hope this helps.

Answer 11

Americans in general have a negative view of Islam because the only real exposure to the religion comes from what they see on the news. The specific message that has been delivered by the media establishment for many years has been that Islam is a radical religion, and those who practice it are to be feared. We are told nearly nothing about the mainstream values of Islam, but are well informed that the radical Islamists hate us, our Country, and our way of life.

In my reading of the Bible and the Quran I have found more similarities than differences in the religions. One noted major difference is the charging of interest, which is specifically prohibited in the Quran. This may be the reason for the skew in the news coverage we get from the corporate news in the the west. I can think of nothing more dangerous to the west's corporate way of life. How many of our major financial institutions (all very profitable) would be affected? In their view, I believe, Islam is as scary as Communism.

Every single news story related to Islam that I have ever seen since I was a child, linked Muslims with militants and terrorists. From the Islamic African American groups in the 1960's to the modern day terrorists, each story presented was negative and taught us that this religion should be feared. Every day since 9/11/01 we have been shown pictures of Islamic males in relation to stories of terrorism.

The script is as follows:

1. Change to serious tone of voice and expression while reading story.

2. Present picture of Islamic male involved. Ensure picture is large and keep on screen for entire story, unless video footage of death and destruction is available.

3. Repeat the words "terror" and "death" using as many alternative forms as possible (as many times as possible) in the script.

4. If video footage was used, redisplay picture of suspect at end of footage.

5. As story ends cast eyes down. Brief pause to allow image to be absorbed fully.

6. Perk up, change expression and tone of voice "In news elsewhere" ... useless story.

Common sense says that, even if the radical Islamic groups are responsible for every act attributed to them, just the sheer number of Muslims in the world mean that these groups are a ridiculously small percentage of the Religion as a whole. My guess would be that there is a higher percentage of Christian or other religious extremists within their respective religions.

Common sense does not rule in a population fueled by fear. "If the news places a major portion of it's expensive air time to this issue then it must be a real threat and I should be afraid."

Hopefully more and more Americans will chose to spend their news gathering time on the internet, instead of allowing themselves to be force-fed the Company perspective from all of the major "News" channels.

Even though we are much more likely to die at the hands of a drunk driver than to be anywhere near, much less killed by, a terrorist, we are bankrupting our country to fight the terrorists and opening more bars every day.

I guess the two word answer to your question is "Irrational Fear"