Two out of three Muslims living in the United States have experienced Islamophobic attitudes at least once in their lives. This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by the Berkeley Institute at the University of California.

According to the survey, 67.5% of respondents of Muslim origin said that at least once in their life they experienced manifestations of Islamophobia.

The poll showed that among Muslim women, this figure reaches 76.7 percent.

At least 33 percent of respondents said that in some cases they preferred to hide their religious affiliation in order not to be discriminated against and attacked on the basis of Islamophobia. Another 88.2 percent claim that they had to avoid certain speeches and actions for fear of negative reactions.

It is noted that the share of people trying to hide their religious affiliation is especially high among the 18-29 age group – about 45 percent.

“This study shows that a Muslim, even if he is not directly confronted with Islamophobic behavior, is exposed to an atmosphere in which the Islamophobia prevailing in our media and culture after 9/11 gives Muslims the feeling of being closely watched, condemned or neglected, ”said director of the institute Elsadig Elsheikh.

Roughly 73 percent of the Muslim faith surveyed said they maintain day-to-day relationships with non-Muslims, despite Islamophobic attitudes in society. Among respondents, 93.7 percent believed it was important that their children were perceived as Americans.

The study involved 1,123 Muslims from all ethnic groups and ages living in the United States. Half of the survey participants are women./agencies