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Poll On American Muslims


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This was printed in "The National" today and is found here.

I was surprised to see so man LDS think that Muslims were not loyal Americans or that there was such a prevalence of supporting sentiment for Al Qaeda.

It was also interesting that Mormons at 64% felt it was acceptable to have innocent victims die during military actions; this was the highest of all Christian groups.

This does not speak well of our LDS community. The perceptions of Muslims fostereotyperotype. I don't know what to think about such a high majority of Mormons feeling it was acceptable if civilians die during a military battle.

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I question the results of this poll. Self identification willful errors and group think enter into these things. To me reading about what actually happens in the world is a better sign of what people hold as true values. Please show me where I can find the articles that detail all of the Mormons that strap bombs to them self and explode them self in groups of people.

Totally worthless report.

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It was also interesting that Mormons at 64% felt it was acceptable to have innocent victims die during military actions; this was the highest of all Christian groups.

This does not speak well of our LDS community. The perceptions of Muslims fostereotyperotype. I don't know what to think about such a high majority of Mormons feeling it was acceptable if civilians die during a military battle.

Thanks for the article. But, that was not the poll question.

The question asked whether it was sometimes justified for the military to target and kill civilians.

By contrast, 58% of atheists said it was NEVER justified for the military to target and kill civilians.

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By contrast, 58% of atheists said it was NEVER justified for the military to target and kill civilians.

That actually makes sense.

Atheists believe that this life is all there is and many also believe that life is a person's greatest possession. Under such dogma, it's logical that someone would feel there was never a good reason to kill another (except, i guess, for those atheists who support abortion-in those cases many find it fine to sacrifice a life so that another life can gain something, but that's another topic).

Religious people who see this life as merely a blip on the eternity radar would logically see death as not being the worst outcome.

Obviously though, the topic is a hard one and i would guess that most Christians who said they were fine with civilian casualities would NOT be fine if those casualties were their own loved ones. Under those circumstances, i think such a belief is very hypocritical and selfish and not jusfiable.

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Obviously though, the topic is a hard one and i would guess that most Christians who said they were fine with civilian casualities would NOT be fine if those casualties were their own loved ones. Under those circumstances, i think such a belief is very hypocritical and selfish and not jusfiable.

But probably one that 99.9% of anyone who thinks that civilian casualties are sometimes justified (including myself) would have.

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But probably one that 99.9% of anyone who thinks that civilian casualties are sometimes justified (including myself) would have.

It's true, we are inherently selfish beings. We are often willing to sacrifice other people if it benefits us in some way. We aren't usually willing to sacrifice ourselves or our loved ones to benefit others though.

It's a flaw of the 'natural man'.

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For those interested, the gallup site has more of the poll: Most Muslim Americans See No Justification for Violence. The site also links the much larger and complete poll Muslim Americans: Faith, Freedom, and the Future

Several interesting things in the larger report such as spiritual engagement (p45), the religious tolerance score (p42), and the respect from other faiths poll (p41) to name a few.

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This does not speak well of our LDS community.

Why not? Mainstream Muslims world wide and mainstream Islamic teachings tend to foster attitudes and support actions that reinforce the "stereotype" themselves. They are not unlike christians of the Dark Ages. The new Westernized version of Islam, which few or no Muslims adhere to, is a scholarly fabrication and a re-educational goal rather than reality.

I don't know what to think about such a high majority of Mormons feeling it was acceptable if civilians die during a military battle.

Didn't the article actually say "sometimes acceptable"? I agree with "sometimes acceptable". Also, isn't the notion of "civilian" different in Islam than in Western society? I think it is. Depends on wether or not the person in question belongs to the house of war. In terms of actually winning wars, theirs may actually be the best way to determine who is a "civilian".

When couched in Western terminology and understanding, I think articles like this tend to misrepresent and distort reality in a very dangerous way. One of the best active Western scholars I suggest on this subject is Daniel Pipes

Edited by BCSpace
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Didn't the article actually say "sometimes acceptable"? I agree with "sometimes acceptable". Also, isn't the notion of "civilian" different in Islam than in Western society? I think it is. Depends on wether or not the person in question belongs to the house of war. In terms of actually winning wars, theirs may actually be the best way to determine who is a "civilian".

When couched in Western terminology and understanding, I think articles like this tend to misrepresent and distort reality in a very dangerous way. One of the best active Western scholars I suggest on this subject is Daniel Pipes

Read the article. The poll is referring to and comparing American Muslims to Americans of other faith.

Your comment seems to suggest you don't consider American Muslims to be Americans.

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Do Mormons have a more utilitarian philosophy then? As sad as it is, I can condone the sacrifice of some civilians if it means saving masses more. But that only works on a non-personal scale.

I think it just means that Mormons tend (on average) to be more conservative than most members of other religions.

I don't think this factors into the poll, but I think you are right that Mormonism is slightly more morally relativistic than other Christian faiths. This goes back to Mormon scripture, for example, which says that Nephi was justified in murdering a civilian in cold blood, for a higher religious purpose--not to save lives, but to save souls. Plus, Mormons have more regard for the Old Testament than other Christians, and I don't know how anyone who as ever read the Old Testament, and takes it seriously, could be a moral absolutist.

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