Muslim Americans are victims of discrimination: Poll
A large majority of Americans believe that Muslims in the United States are victims of discrimination amid recent attacks against the community, according to a new survey.
The poll conducted by Economist/YouGov showed 73 percent of respondents said Muslims face a great deal or a fair amount of discrimination.
The poll also found out African-Americans and Mexican-Americans are next victims of bias with 63 percent and 60 percent respectively.
The recent shooting of three young American Muslim students by a white man in North Carolina sparked debates about discrimination in the country.
Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were killed by Craig Stephen Hicks in Chapel Hill on February 10.
Following the incident, police officials announced that a parking dispute was behind the killings. However, they were looking into whether the shooting was related to anti-Muslim hate crimes.
The shooter has not been charged with a hate crime.
According to the survey, 45 percent of Americans believe Hicks should be charged with a hate crime and 18 percent were against hate crime charges.
Families of the three, who were shot in the head, said they were executed for their religion rather than being simply targeted by a criminal.
The father of the two female students shot dead said they were victims of a hate crime and his pain was indescribable.
Mohammad Abu-Salha demanded that investigators treat the killing as a hate crime.
“I’ve talked to police, I’ve talked to lawyers,” he said, his voice choking with grief. “This has hate-crime written all over it.”
At their funeral, Sarah, who grew up with the victims, said she has experienced Islamophobia.
"You have to have a lot of hate in your heart to kill three people in cold blood, and over a parking spot, it's ridiculous to say this was just that," she said.
All three students were high achievers who regularly volunteered for charity work in the area.
The survey was conducted among 1,000 American respondents from Feb. 14 to 16.
AGB/AGB
More than half of US states join campus movement
US campus protests continue despite mass arrests
Majority of US college students support pro-Palestine campus protests: Poll
Iran plans to increase defense exports by 50%: Official
‘Israel on losing end in Gaza war’: Ex-Mossad deputy chief
New Caledonia unrest: Death toll rises to six as France deploys more troops
Fighting rages in Rafah amid intensified Israeli bombardments
VIDEO | Clashes in Paris as firefighters unions protest working conditions
US lawmakers pass bill to overturn halt to arms transfer to Israel
More than half of US states join campus movement
Over 600 mosques destroyed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct.
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
