An overwhelming majority of Muslims living in New York City consider themselves unprepared for either a man-made or a natural disaster, according to a study conducted by the Muslim Consultative Network (MCN).
MCN, a coalition of New York area-based Muslim American organizations and individuals, based its first-ever Community Preparedness Report (CPR) on 128 surveys filled out by area Muslims of South Asian, Arab and African-American decent.
MCN Disaster Preparedness Coordinator Elyse Peters Arnold, who coordinated the report, estimated that around 30 percent of survey respondents were Queens residents. Respondents answered survey questions online and in person in the winter of 2008-2009.
The CPR indicated that over 90 percent of the sampling of Muslim New Yorkers believe they are unprepared for disasters, even though 80 percent of respondents reported living in the United States for more than eight years.
Thirty-four percent of Muslims surveyed said they would not even know how to respond if there was a fire in their home and over 70 percent said they were not satisfied with their community’s disaster services. However, 75 percent of respondents said they trusted public institutions as a source of reliable information.
Additionally, the CPR revealed that New York-area Muslims have a high level of trust in police – 85 percent – a moderate level of trust in community leaders – 69 percent – and an even lower level in Islamic leadership – just 55 percent.
In a statement regarding the study, Arnold noted that respondents appeared “much more critical of fellow Muslims than outside authority figures.” She speculated that the “relatively young age” of many who participated in the study might have had an impact.
Despite the elevated level of trust in city service providers, 90 percent of respondents cited a negative bias against Muslims living in the U.S. and 65 percent reported direct experience with bias. However, according to the statement from Arnold, “there was little indication [the Muslim community] would be too intimated [to] address these challenges publicly.”
Working off of the results of their study, MCN is urging city agencies like the Office of Emergency Management and the Community Emergency Response Teams to publicly involve more Muslim community-based organizations in disaster planning. Such training, MCN says, “would have a significant effect on the whole NYC Muslim community.”
