Using data from a random stratified sample of people over 18 years of age residing in Australia, this article examines participants’ opinions of the Islamic faith independently of their opinions of Muslim people. Earlier studies have not made the nuanced distinction between opinions about Islam as a religion and opinions about Muslims as people. Theoretical approaches suggest that there is a difference in the opinions non-Muslims have of Muslims and their religion. The non-Muslim Australians we surveyed have very different opinions about the religion of Islam than they do about Muslims, with significantly higher levels of favourablity towards Muslims than towards their religion. Our findings in this latter respect are somewhat at odds with the body of international literature, which suggests it is Muslims, with their cultures, lifestyles and values, that non-Muslims perceive to be problematic. We explain the implications of our findings for government and researchers.

本文使用来自居住在澳大利亚的18岁以上人口的随机分层样本的数据，研究了参与者对伊斯兰信仰的看法，而与他们对穆斯林的看法无关。早期的研究没有对伊斯兰教作为一种宗教观点与对穆斯林作为人民的观点进行细微的区分。理论方法表明，非穆斯林对穆斯林及其宗教的看法有所不同。我们调查的非穆斯林澳大利亚人对伊斯兰宗教的看法与对穆斯林的看法截然不同，对穆斯林的青睐程度明显高于对他们的宗教的好感。我们在后一个方面的发现与国际文学的体系有些矛盾，这表明它是穆斯林及其文化，生活方式和价值观，非穆斯林认为这是有问题的。我们解释了我们的发现对政府和研究人员的意义。