Quinnipiac: Americans Oppose Syrian Refugees, Ban on Muslims

American voters say they oppose Syrian refugees coming into the United States, but do not agree there should be an overall ban on Muslims entering the country, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.

On Syrian refugees, by the numbers:

• Overall: 51-43 percent oppose accepting refugees
• Democrats accept, 74-22 percent
• Republicans ban, 82-13 percent
• Independent voters ban, 51-42 percent
• Men ban, 56-40 percent
• Women divided, 46-47 percent

On Muslims:

• Overall: 66-27 oppose a Muslim ban
• Democrats oppose, 79-18 percent
• Republicans against, 51-41 percent
• Independents against, 67-22 percent

"American voters are making a distinction between Syrian refugees and Muslims in general. A bare majority says keep the Syrians out, but an overwhelming majority rejects proposals to ban all Muslims from our shores," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "Concern about a terror attack is widespread, but it is more likely lurking around the corner than imported from a distant land an ocean away, voters say."

Meanwhile, 55 percent of Americans say Islam is a peaceful religion, but 28 percent say Islam encourages violence.

Further, 55 percent of Americans believe homegrown jihadists pose the greatest threat of terrorism in the United States, compared to 18 percent who say radicalized foreign visitors are a greater threat and 15 percent who believe terrorists hiding among Syrian refugees pose a greater threat.

The poll also found that American voters support 52 - 40 percent sending ground troops to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and of those supporting deployment, 52 percent support sending a "significant number" of ground troops.

However, just 27 percent of the voters polled say the the U.S. should be leading the fight against ISIS, while 66 percent say the U.S. should be part of a coalition, but not necessarily in the lead.

The poll of 1,140 registered voters was conducted nationwide from Dec. 16-20, and held a 2.9 point margin of error.

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