Though many Muslim Americans say government policies and community attitudes toward them and their faith often bring them unwanted attention, a significant majority still believe in the American dream and way of life. That’s a tribute to Muslim Americans’ depth of feeling for their homeland, to open hearts and minds of their neighbors and to the generally inclusive nature of U.S. society.
A survey released Tuesday indicates that 82 percent are satisfied with the way things are going in their lives and 79 percent highly rate their communities as good places to live. The survey by the Pew Research Center, perhaps the most thorough ever of the nation’s Muslims, is illuminating for several reasons.
Respondents candidly admitted that some aspects of life in the United States is difficult. That’s obvious. Escalating government anti-terrorism policies since 9/11 and the concomitant backlash against building mosques and wearing traditional Muslim dress have contributed to an atmosphere that is far from welcoming in many instances.
Just over half — 52 percent — of the respondents in the survey, based on telephone interviews conducted in English, Arabic, Farsi and Urdu from April to July with 1,033 Muslims in the United States, said they or their group had been singled out by the government for terrorist surveillance. More than 40 percent said they had personally been harassed — cursed or called offensive names by individuals or singled out by law enforcement — in the last year. Despite such unwanted and unwarranted attention and other forms of harassment, most Muslim Americans remain relatively content with life here.
Indeed, the survey indicates Muslim Americans, a majority of whom are foreign-born, express a willingness and desire to fully embrace American customs rather than live in isolation. They demonstrate that desire in many ways.