As you said, "I leave it as a problem for the reader to figure out if I think that's a good thing or a bad thing." Al Queda allegiance in the U.S. and the potential for domestic harm to civilians doesn't seem to bother you nearly as much as the thread title. That's what I have a problem with. I wonder what the 9/11 victims's families would say about your priorities.
So, tell me - do you think raping nuns is good or bad? How about random shooting of schoolchildren? Hitler - bad man or swell guy?
Are these points worth discussing? No, not really. And please, don't bother answering them. I don't insist on obvious answers.
I also don't think the OP was intentionally misrepresenting the data, but it was sloppy and gives a far, far more alarming impression than warranted. I thought that was worth addressing.
Beyond that - well the data speak for themselves, don't they? A small, but not vanishingly small, minority of muslims seem to support an evil organization and some support a common terrorist tactic in *some* circumstances.
As for the suicide bombing stats, I don't actually find that
so very worrisome, in that most of the respondents agree to only some or rare circumstances. That's vague enough that it's difficult to interpret, and I certainly don't see that as an endorsement of 9/11 or whatever. Hell, I'd probably respond "rare" circumstances; I can certainly invent scenarios, and I'm sure you could to, where we would consider a suicide bomber justified or even a hero.
The 5% Al Qaeda...well, I'm sure part of that group is simply brain-dead stoners giving joke answers or who are utterly clueless. It's hard to find ANY question that polls lower than 5%, presumably due to jokers and simple idiots.
(6% of Americans polled said Garth Brooks was the greatest male singer of the 20th century. 8% can't name a single TV network. Stuff from PollingReport.com, courtesy
Bob Harris)
The more worrisome picture, actually, is that low-level "leaning" is common. This poses no immediate danger, but I'm sure it's more common than, say, 5 or 10 years ago. These are people who pose no danger, I'm sure, but may be a "canary in the coal mine" that such attitudes are brewing.
One way NOT to worsen this is to sloppily label 1/4 of muslims as unconditional supporters of suicide bombers. That's not going to help our muslim population feel like they have common cause with the nation. No, I don't think it was intentional, but that's how misinformation starts, isn't it?