Here's a set of poll results that might make your head spin. A majority of New York state voters think that Muslims have the right to "build a mosque near Ground Zero," but 53 percent to 39 percent think "that because of the sensitivities of 9/11 relatives, Muslims should not be allowed to build the mosque near Ground Zero." I'm not sure how a majority can believe simultaneously that someone has the right to do something but that they "shouldn't be allowed" to do it, so it's not clear to me what to make of that. A 71 percent to 21 percent majority thinks that "because of the opposition of Ground Zero relatives, the Muslim group should voluntarily build the mosque somewhere else." The poll reinforces misinformation about the project in the sense that there are pro- and anti-Park51 groups that claim to speak for "the 9/11 relatives," and the mosque isn't a mosque, but take it for what it's worth.
Oh, and on top of that, 71 percent to 22 percent want New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate the project's finances. So Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio's calls for Cuomo to investigate the Cordoba Initiative have persuaded New Yorkers that the Cordoba Initiative should be investigated. Based on a prior poll, though, they just haven't persuaded New Yorkers to vote for Lazio, whom Cuomo is still beating by more than a 2-1 margin. So I guess there's some kind of weird karma going on there.
In case you're not confused enough already, a majority of both New York state (54 percent to 24 percent) and New York City (62 percent to 21 percent) believe that Islam is a peaceful religion. It sounds to me like they're fairly convinced that the people behind the project might be sympathetic to terrorism. Which is what happens when you have months of a sustained conservative media campaign to convince people that's the case.
