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The Muslim minority in Canada is still facing negative perceptions a decade after the 9\/11, a national survey has found, reflecting a widespread unease towards Muslims in the West. \u201cMost of these perceptions are built around images that people see globally,\u201d Jack Jedwab, executive director of the Association for Canadian Studies (ACS), told the Vancouver Sun on Sunday, October 16.
The ACS survey found that Muslims remain the biggest minority group that is seen negatively in Canada.
Only 43 percent of respondents expressed \u201cvery positive\u201d or \u201csomewhat positive\u201d perception about Muslims.
The percentage is less than the atheists, who have a very positive perception by 60 percent of respondents, or aboriginals who are positively perceived by 61 percent.
The poll, which included 2,345 people, found that the negative perception of Muslims is much deeper in Quebec, the country\u2019s largest province, than any other Canadian cities.
Only 35 percent of respondents from Quebec had \u201cvery positive\u201d or \u201csomewhat positive\u201d perceptions of Muslims.
Quebec has been gripped by heated debates about the wearing of hijab after several Muslim girls were thrown off pitch over wearing the headscarf.
The minority group that got the highest positive perception was the Chinese (75%), followed by Protestants, Blacks and Hispanics\/Latin Americans (74%), Catholics (73%), Jews (72%) and francophones (70%).
The category \u201cimmigrants\u201d prompted positive responses from 68 percent of those surveyed.
The poll was conducted between Sept. 20 and Oct. 3 and had a margin of error of two percent.<\/p>\n