JEDDAH, 22 September 2003 — The Canadian Islamic Congress recently conducted a survey among second- and third-year Canadian university students on their knowledge and perception of Islam and Muslims. Some results were surprising.
“There is bad news and good news,” Dr. Mohammed Elmasry, the president of CIC, told Arab News. Of the respondents, 38 percent associated Islam with Sept. 11 but a greater number — 43 percent — cited words such as “Makkah” and “Ramadan” when asked for their associations with Islam. Seventeen percent mentioned the war in Iraq.
However, 80 percent of the students expressed neutral feeling toward Muslims, while 10 percent expressed positive feelings and only 5 percent held negative opinions.
The statistics show that 78 percent of those students obtained their information about Islam from the media, while only 7 percent became informed through friends or family. Islamic organizations reached only 12 percent of those surveyed.
This trend is further reflected in results that show 56 percent considered themselves poorly informed about Islam, 29 percent felt somewhat informed, and only 7 percent considered themselves well informed. Significantly, only 4 percent of the respondents identified themselves as Muslim, indicating that the survey results mainly reflect current feelings among non-Muslim university students.
The survey was conducted among 1,441 students during the last winter term (January-May, 2003). When asked what proportion of the Muslim population are Arabs, 31 percent said half, 41 percent said one-fifth, 2 percent said four-fifths and the remainder said they didn’t know. More than half the respondents (56 percent) reported that they have Muslim friends.
When the same respondents were asked if they would marry a Muslim man or woman, the answers were nearly even; 27 percent said yes and 29 percent said no. The vast majority of students (85 percent) did not know the location of a local mosque in their home city.
“Poll results are always tricky to assess,” admitted Dr. Elmasry, “but one thing is clear: Local mosques and national organizations like the CIC must do a great deal more in reaching out to Canadians at large, especially the youth.”
CIC launched its Books for Libraries Project during the month of Ramadan following Sept. 11, 2001. During the coming Ramadan, the organization hopes to attain its goal of providing 1,000 Canadian libraries with basic information on Muslims and Islam. One recent major achievement by the CIC is the drafting of a resolution with the United Church of Canada, the largest Christian domination in the country, approving a study report on Muslim-Christian dialogue.
“I believe it is a milestone in interfaith relations in this country, one that will break down barriers and build bridges,” said Dr. Elmasry.
On the other hand, CIC vice-president Wahida Valiante said: “As Canadian Muslims, we are still living in the shadow of Sept. 11, and it may take us years to recover.”
Nevertheless, “I think the Canadian media is more balanced than the American media when it comes to Islam, the war on Iraq, and other subjects,” Dr. Elmasry said.
