Are Muslims Distinctive?: A Look at the EvidenceAre Muslims Distinctive? represents the first major scientific effort to assess how Muslims and non-Muslims differ--and do not differ--in the contemporary world. Using rigorous methods and data drawn from around the globe, M. Steven Fish reveals that in some areas Muslims and non-Muslims differ less than is commonly imagined. Muslims are not inclined to favor the fusion of religious and political authority or especially prone to mass political violence. Yet there are differences: Gender inequality is more severe among Muslims, Muslims are unusually averse to homosexuality and other controversial behaviors, and democracy is rare in the Muslim world. Other areas of divergence bear the marks of a Muslim advantage: Homicide rates and class-based inequities are less severe among Muslims than non-Muslims. Fish's findings have vital implications for human welfare, interfaith understanding, and international relations. |
Contents
Social Capital and Tolerance | |
Corruption and Crime | |
LargeScale Political Violence and Terrorism | |
Social Inequality | |
Democracy | |
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analysis Arab attend religious services attitudes authoritarianism average age chapter Christian countries coefficients corruption country’s crossnational democratic dependent variable difference between Muslims effect Émile Durkheim evidence female femaletomale findings Freedom House GDP per capita gender genderbased inequality God’s Hadith HGLM hierarchical linear models homicide homosexuality income individuallevel individuals Indonesia Islam Islamist terrorism Islamists largescale political violence less level of democracy mass political violence membership murder rates Muslim population Muslim societies Muslim world Muslims and Christians Muslims and nonMuslims non nondenominationalists nonMuslim countries ºil one’s people’s percent Muslim predicted probabilities predominantly Muslim countries proportion Muslim proportion of Muslims question Qur’an regression religiosity religious denomination religious leaders responses Saudi Arabia scholars selfidentification sharia significant and negative significant and positive social capital socioeconomic development socioeconomic inequality ſºlº statistically significant Table terrorism tolerance University Press World Values Survey York