Majorities of Americans approved of Muslim surveillance even while holding positive views of Islam.

Evidence

According to a 2010 Gallup Poll survey, 71 percent of Americans supported profiling individuals who fit a terrorist profile based on age, gender, and ethnicity (Jones 2010). While this profile of a terrorist did not mention religion, another poll conducted by Quinnipiac University in 2012 found that 58 percent of registered New Yorkers felt that the NYPD had done nothing wrong to Muslims, even after it had been criticized for its extensive surveillance of Muslims (Boyette 2012). According to the survey, 54 percent of respondents claimed they held a positive view of Islam and 65 percent said mainstream Islam was a religion of peace, yet 58 percent still felt surveilling Muslims was an acceptable practice. — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 64

Categorization

• XREF: Direct empirical anchor for the reader’s Global Racial Enemy map slot — extends the COINTELPRO/Beydoun surveillance-framework chain with concrete US polling data. — connects to: Majorities of both Republican and Democratic voters supported the Muslim ban — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 507; Substantial minorities of Americans endorse curtailing Muslim civil liberties — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 756; Even high-ranking Muslim American officials were surveilled without criminal cause (+8 more)
• SHARE: The Quinnipiac paradox — 54% positive view of Islam yet 58% okay with surveilling Muslims — is a sharp statistic for someone studying public opinion on surveillance.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 64

Broader Connections

• Majorities of Americans endorsed profiling Muslims even while viewing Islam favorably #corroborates (0.95) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 82
• The surveillance gaze denies Muslim Americans the psychological privileges of citizenship #expands (0.45)
• Surveillance targets Muslim Americans based on religious identity regardless of citizenship #expands (0.40) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 104
• Media framing shapes American attitudes toward Islam and jihad #complicates (0.35) — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad, 75
• Muslim surveillance thrived under the Obama administration #complicates (0.30)
• Large minorities of Americans hold unfavorable views of Islam and Muslims #qualifies (0.30) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 754