Study shows White Americans have negative perceptions of Muslim immigrants

Researchers believe that Christian and Jewish immigrants are more likely to adapt to American culture than Muslim immigrants

WASHINGTON – A new study has found that white Americans prefer Christian immigrants and do not want Muslim immigrants of any race to settle in the U.S.

However, they believe white Muslims will have an easier time integrating into American culture than non-white Muslims.

The study, conducted by researchers Amanda Sahar d’Urso and Tabitha Bonilla, examined the importance of identity when it comes to perceptions of Muslim immigration.

Amanda Sahar d’Urso is an assistant professor at Georgetown University and Tabitha Bonilla is an associate professor at Northwestern University.

They studied how white Americans perceive Muslim immigrants, specifically whether they prefer Muslim immigrants of any race or are particularly suspicious of Muslim immigrants from the Middle East.

They found that Muslim identity is one of the most important factors in deciding who gets to immigrate, even more so than race.

The researchers believe that Christian and Jewish immigrants are more likely to adapt to American culture than Muslim immigrants.

“We find White Americans do not prefer Muslims of any race to immigrate to the United States. That is, White Muslims are no more or less preferred relative to Middle Eastern, Black, or South Asian Muslims,” the researchers said in a blog. 

“However, we also find that White Americans believe White Muslims will have an easier time assimilating into American culture relative only to Middle Eastern Muslims.”

The study also found that white Americans believe those with a master’s degree are more likely to assimilate and those with an elementary school education are more likely not to.

The white Americans surveyed did not believe that level of English proficiency, gender, or race had an impact on the hypothetical immigrant’s ability to assimilate into American culture.

The study also found that Middle Eastern Muslims were less likely to assimilate into American culture than Black and South Asian Muslims.

This suggests that race plays a minor role in how white Americans evaluate Muslim immigrants, but that Muslim identity is still the most important factor.

They believe that Muslim immigrants are less likely to adapt to American culture and more likely to be cultural outsiders.