A number of Americans share the views of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump who perceive Muslims as the bringer of terrorism to the United States, considering them as an uncivilised force that will eventually take over the nation.
This stereotype, however,has been deemed inaccurate since Muslims in the U.S. have proven to be well educated people and who help in the fight against global terrorism, according to researches collated by CNN.
Citing data from the Pew Research Center, CNN explained that Muslims are only "a miniscule portion of the U.S. population."
In fact, Muslims only make up less than 1 percent of the adult population in America, with this number projected to grow to only 2.1 percent by 2050. This dispels the belief that Muslim Americans will conquer the U.S. and impose Sharia law in the country, CNN said.
According to the Pew Research Center, a total of 63 percent of the Muslim population in the U.S. are immigrants—the kind that Trump recently said he wants banned on American soil.
Also according to research done by CNN, Muslims have been in the U.S. ever since it was founded as a nation. A quarter of a third of the Africans brought to the U.S. as slaves during the foundation of the nation were Muslims, who later on converted to Christianity.
In addition to these, CNN also cited data from the Council on Foreign Relations showing that Muslim Americans are better educated than most Americans, and have in fact the second-highest level of education among major religious groups in the U.S.
Furthermore, CNN also used a 2014 study from Duke University to show that Muslim Americans have helped law enforcement officers go after terror suspects and perpetrators.
The Duke University study also noted that terrorist attacks by Muslims in America should not be considered "a trigger for an upsurge in violent radicalisation."
