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“Researchers” From Gallup Center for Muslim Studies and Georgetown University Publish a “Study”

Georgetown University has been hard at work producing a new “study” to show us infidels how it is really our fault that Islam has been given a bad name.

After all, we are not respecting Islam, and Muslims are a sensitive bunch.

Here are some key points:

• Muslims and Americans are equally likely to reject attacks on civilians as morally unjustifiable.
• Large majorities of Muslims would guarantee free speech if it were up to them to write a new constitution and they say religious leaders should have no direct role in drafting that constitution.
• Muslims around the world say that what they least admire about the West is its perceived moral decay and breakdown of traditional values — the same answers that Americans themselves give when asked this question.
• When asked about their dreams for the future, Muslims say they want better jobs and security, not conflict and violence.
• Muslims say the most important thing Westerners can do to improve relations with their societies is to change their negative views toward Muslims and respect Islam.

Georgetown.edu

You see, according to the “research” gathered for this “study,” it turns out that if we, as Freedom-loving Westerners, had merely turned a blind eye to the atrocious actions and ideological reasoning behind Islamic terrorism around the world along with the concomitant lack of denunciation (which is easily interpreted as quiet approval) from Muslim groups (e.g. MAS and CAIR supporting HAMAS), and rather if we had decided to give up that Freedom which we so cherish and instead submit and give out respect to a religion that has been spread by the sword since its conception, that is what it would take to improve relations between Americans and Muslims, and again, this is according to the “research” found in this “study.”

Oh… also,

About Georgetown University:

A $20 million gift from a Saudi Arabian prince to a Georgetown University academic center has not affected its scholarly work, Georgetown’s president said in response to questions from a U.S. congressman

U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), wrote to DeGioia Feb. 14, saying he was concerned about Prince Alwaleed’s gift to Georgetown’s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (which was renamed in the prince’s honor) and the affect it had on research. Has anyone at the Center conducted research critical of Saudi educational or human rights policies? Wolf also asked whether the money fueled any of the school’s training of current and prospective U.S. Foreign Service personnel.

“[A]ll of us at Georgetown University take very seriously the importance of protecting academic freedom,” DeGioia wrote. “I want to assure you that I am completely confident that the Center’s work, to borrow your words, ‘maintains the impartiality and integrity’ that we expect of all research conducted at Georgetown University.”

The response misses the point, said Martin Kramer, former director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University and a fellow at Harvard and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy…

“No one at such a center could possibly specialize in contemporary Saudi policy, because to do so objectively would not sit well with the Saudi princes who make the gifts,” Kramer said in an e-mail exchange. “Replicate this a hundred-fold across academe, at universities that would also like $20 million for Islamo-this-or-that, and you have killed off the critical study of Saudi Arabia in the academy. This is no small achievement: the political structure and social norms of the Kingdom are not of the sort that endear themselves to the ‘progressives’ in our universities. But the academics are silent, because they hope and pray that someday, their prince will come.”

Investigative Project on Terrorism

It seems to me that the “study” could very well be the result of Saudi-funded Islamo-this-or-that in an American university. Such a shame.

11 Comments

  1. Posted March 10, 2008 at 3:12 pm | Permalink

    I’m reading the book right now – or am on my way to read it right now :-) .

    Georgetown University is not publishing the study though. It’s a galluppress publication. Esposito co-authored the book with Dalia Mogahed (who is leading the analysis, according to your reference). Considering that the book is based on the very polls that garner attention amongst certain crowds – it should be interesting reading. You can hardly get the whole picture by concentrating on the results of a few questions.

  2. Posted March 10, 2008 at 4:10 pm | Permalink

    Samaha,

    I do see that I should have been more clear. ‘Producing’ is my way of saying ‘fabricating’ or ’skewing raw-data to yield the desired pre-determined results, which, in this case, happen to paint Westerners as intolerant of a completely peaceful and innocent religion that is not really used everyday to commit crimes against humanity.’

    [edited- oops, thanks, Samaha, I see that I do use the word 'publish' in the title of this post. :D - konservo]

    And, I have not looked into Mogahed, but the second part of this post pertains directly to Esposito’s credentials:

    John L. Esposito is University Professor and a professor of religion and international affairs and of Islamic studies at Georgetown University and the founding director of Georgetown’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in the Walsh School of Foreign Service.

    Let me know how you like the book ;)

  3. melo
    Posted March 10, 2008 at 4:30 pm | Permalink

    It will take some time for me to dig out details of their methodologies, but I would like to point out a couple of things.

    First, these kinds of surveys have a built-in bias. People generally do not want an interviewer to perceive them negatively, so they temper their responses. These surveys also often use Likert scale data, which is a messy kettle of fish in and of itself. That’s why it is more useful to collect empirical data on their behavior, rather than their personal claims of self.

    Secondly, considering the variety of ethnic/tribal/cultural/environmental differences amongst the many Muslim populations, even with stratified samples and bootstrapping, there is plenty of room to completely miss segments of the Muslim community in the analysis, thereby overstating the significance of other segments of the community.

    It is an ambitious project, to be sure. But given the inherent flaws in this kind of analysis and the sheer volume of information, any analyst worth her salt can cherry pick the data and make it say anything she wants.

  4. Posted March 10, 2008 at 4:31 pm | Permalink

    :-) hehe – I won’t say it.

    I’ll definately fill you in when I read it.

  5. Posted March 10, 2008 at 4:52 pm | Permalink

    “concomitant lack of denunciation”

    Actually, there has been a great deal of denunciation, though I agree not enough.

  6. Posted March 10, 2008 at 6:24 pm | Permalink

    Muslims say the most important thing Westerners can do to improve relations with their societies is to change their negative views toward Muslims and respect Islam

    Two can play that game, the ball is in their court.

    I as a Westerner say that the most important thing Muslims can do to improve relations with the west is to change their negative views towards infidels, Jews and Christians and respect western laws and culture.

    Much better. :P

  7. Posted March 10, 2008 at 11:45 pm | Permalink

    Now if both sides would actually do these things, we might start to make some progress.

  8. Posted March 11, 2008 at 8:31 am | Permalink

    Great work on this I linked to it at my blog and then it was link to at http://alwaysonwatch2.blogspot.com/2008/03/promoting-islam-at-georgetown.html
    http://mavericknewsnetwork.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/03/promoting-islam.html
    I just want you to know your great writing is getting out there.

  9. oddball
    Posted March 11, 2008 at 9:47 am | Permalink

    Indeed, when I was doing a tour of Iraq in 05, I saw this peaceful religion’s work up close and dirty, maybe Islam is the way forward and we should all be allowed to kill defenceless women because she actually voiced an opinion, its an evil religion, as all religions tend to be, do as I say not as I do, twistng everything to suit their own idealogical twisted mindset, after that day, pulling the trigger came really easy. And its pretty obvious to the least intelligent of society that the prince is buying their silence, and puling all the strings, and how can we respect people who think its ok to butcher and maim people, and they call us infidels, but apparently were at fault, cause were not bowing down to their god of destruction, in England here weve already had our dark ages, history tells us it wasnt much fun, we dont want them back but the sad fact remains, there are parts of britain turned into islamic ghettos which are no go areas for indigenous people, you can get killed there, and now the government are letting them get away with spitting and attacking armed forces personel in uniform, funny how these people get brave when they outnumber you 8 to 1, well they came for me ive got a present in my boot for them, sorry, bit of a rant but im so tired of their hypocritical shit, just because yu close youre eyes doesnt mean its not happening

  10. Posted March 11, 2008 at 4:12 pm | Permalink

    I just want you to know your great writing is getting out there.

    Cool, avid. That’s the most important thing.

    And its pretty obvious to the least intelligent of society that the prince is buying their silence, and puling all the strings,

    Yup, especially when Saudi aristocrats are pumping millions into Islamic studies programs at universities and Muslim interest groups like MAS and CAIR.

  11. Posted March 11, 2008 at 4:17 pm | Permalink

    Oh, and oddball…

    Along with the Saudis, there is the despicable Iranian terrorist regime. They are just as bad, and we will probably have to use force against them, whereas the Saudis might be open to reason.


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