The presumptive Republican nominee wasnâ??t the one who started this anti-Muslim discourse in the United States. Heâ??s just validating it and giving it a bigger, blunter platform.
His statements are simply the most extreme manifestation of widespread and pervasive negative perceptions about Arabs and Muslims in the United States. A 2011 poll conducted by the University of Maryland showed that 61 percent of Americans had a negative view of Islam. This public perception seems to have grown dramatically over the past 15 years: An ABC News poll conducted in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks found only 39 percent of Americans viewed Islam unfavorably.
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