Some interesting polling out of Canada: When Canadians who have no Muslim friends were asked whether they have a "generally favorable opinion" of Islam, only 18 percent said yes. But when the same question was posed to those who do have Muslim friends, 44 percent said they have a positive view of the Islamic faith.
The same pattern was seen with all other religions. For example, just 23 percent of those without Sikh friends view Sikhism favorably, compared with 63 percent of those who have Sikh friends. Among those with no Jewish friends, only 34 percent have a favorable opinion of Judaism, but 76 percent of those with Jewish friends have a positive view of the religion.
The full findings appear in the current issue of Maclean's magazine. —Heather Wax