Americans are conflicted on Islam A new poll showed Tuesday, revealing a sharp drop in support for the Muslim faith since 2005 even though less people see it as a violent religion. A slim majority (51 percent) objected to the building of an Islamic center and mosque near the site of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York. But 62 percent of the 1,003 people surveyed last week by the respected Pew Research Center agreed that Muslims should have the same rights as other groups to build houses of worship in local communities. In July 2005, 41 percent of those questioned in a similar poll had a favorable opinion of Islam. That number plummeted to just 30 percent in Tuesday's survey. However, the percentage that were unfavorable to Islam rose only slightly from 36 percent to 38 percent, and almost a third of those questioned said they didn't know how they felt about the Muslim faith. Last year, 38 percent of those polled said they thought Islam was more likely than other relig...
"Thoughts are the greatest wealth of any nation."