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Source: https://jcfa.org/how-americans-misread-iran-jihadism-and-the-prospects-for-peace/
How Americans Misread Iran, Jihadism, and the Prospects for Peace
(Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs) Dr. Irwin J. Mansdorf - A comprehensive public opinion study of 500 American adults conducted in the aftermath of the war with Iran reveals widespread public ignorance regarding the jihadist ideology of the Iranian regime and its historical connection to events like the Sept. 11 attacks. 40% (50% of those under age 29) could not say whether jihadism mandates Muslim rule over non-Muslims. A substantial portion of the public expressed highly optimistic views regarding the immediate chances for lasting peace with Iran. The study reveals that the American public's thinking regarding Islam is largely driven by an overwhelming culture of "political correctness" that has become deeply embedded across the U.S. Open, objective, and critical discussions about the geopolitical realities of radical political Islam are frequently discouraged or sanitized to avoid giving offense, replacing objective analysis with an institutionalized reluctance to confront the theological and political drivers of the conflict. The writer is a clinical psychologist and a fellow at the Jerusalem Center, specializing in political psychology.