The CNN poll, conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation and released March 24, asked Americans whether they would be “okay” with a mosque in their community.
The survey found that 69 percent of Americans would be okay with a mosque in their neighborhood while 28 percent would not.
But the survey found that the approval or disapproval rate was highly correlated to where the respondent lived. Rural Southerners were distinctly negative. The poll also showed most Americans distinguishing between Muslim Americans and Middle Eastern Islam, giving a thumbs up to one and a thumbs down to the other.
Half of rural Southerners said they would disapprove of a mosque in their neighborhood, while 42 percent said they would be okay with it. But when the same question was asked of those living in cities and suburbs, about 75 percent said they would be okay with it.
When asked whether or not they hold favorable views of Muslim Americans, Americans in the South and rural communities were far less likely to respond positively, with just 32 percent saying they did hold favorable views. Thirty seven percent of rural Southerners said they don’t know enough to form an opinion.
When it comes to attitudes toward Islam itself, American opinions have grown slightly more positive. “In 2002, 28 percent of all Americans had a favorable view of Islam and 33 percent feel that way today,” Holland says.
But according to the poll, feelings towards Muslim Americans were more positive. The survey found that 46 percent of Americans held favorable views towards Muslim Americans while 26 percent held unfavorable views.
“Overall, positive views of American Muslims have risen since 2002, when memories of 9/11 were still fresh in most Americans’ minds,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “In 2002, as the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approached, only 39 percent of all Americans said they had a favorable view of Muslims.”
Despite a rise in positive feelings toward Muslim Americans, anti-mosque activity has reportedly been on the rise across the country. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 21 states over the past five years have seen anti-mosque activities from vandalism to lawsuits.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey was conducted between March 11 and March 13, with 1,023 people questioned by telephone. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.
