Americans' knowledge of Islam based on false information: Analyst

“Most Americans know very, very little about Islam and the little they know is based on false information,” said Keith Preston, the chief editor and director of AttacktheSystem.com.
 
“Americans, to a large degree, when they think of Islam, they simply think of terrorism, they think of groups like the Daesh (ISIL), or they think al-Qaeda or someone like Osama bin Laden,” Preston said.
 
“Most Americans have very little knowledge of the tradition of Islam, the history behind Islam, the theology of Islam,” he added.
 
“The concept of the people of the book within Islam, the people of the other monotheistic religions are considered to be under the protection of Islamic law,” Preston noted. “That’s something that Americans have no awareness of either.”
 
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has voiced concerns over a spike in Islamophobia in the US, following the recent attacks in Paris.
 
The Muslim advocacy organization called Tuesday for additional safety measures in the Islamic places of worship in the wake of the attacks, which the Daesh Takfiri group has claimed responsibility for.
 
Since Friday's Paris attacks, there have been a series of anti-Muslim incidents reported, including terror threats to Florida mosques, vandalism at a Nebraska mosque, shots fired at a Florida Muslim family’s home, hate graffiti targeting a Connecticut Muslim student, a tweet threatening Michigan Muslims, and innumerable hate messages sent online and by phone.
 
CAIR demanded that state and federal law enforcement authorities investigate the vandalism as a hate crime.