Mistrust of Muslims

WASHINGTON-After Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush repeated in speeches that the Islamic terrorism carried out against the United States represented "a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam."

In the eight years following, Americans have increasingly rejected that point of view, according to polls compiled by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. In 2002, only 25 percent of Americans said that Islam encourages violence more than other faiths. The newest poll, released just before the 9/11 anniversary, shows that 38 percent of Americans believe that Islam promotes violence-a jump from 2002 numbers, but a drop from 45 percent in 2007.

More than half of white evangelicals polled said Islam encourages violence, a significantly higher number than any other religious demographic.

President Obama has continued Bush's rhetoric on Islam, saying at a recent White House dinner celebrating Ramadan that Islam is "a great religion," praising its "commitment to justice and progress." Obama also reached out to the Muslim world in a June speech delivered from Cairo, Egypt, calling it a "new beginning" between the United States and the Muslim community.

In the same poll, nearly 60 percent of Americans said that Muslims face a lot of discrimination, more than any other religious group. Some Muslim groups are turning to hate crimes laws-in September, The Council on American-Islamic Relations asked law enforcement to "investigate a possible bias motive" in a shooting outside a mosque in Portland, Maine. They made a similar request after two men allegedly assaulted a cab driver and called him a "terrorist."

Despite the continuing high numbers of Americans who associate Islam and violence, more said they know Muslims personally than they did two years ago.