Ottawa, Canada - Canadians' attitudes toward their Muslim neighbors have improved since 2003 due largely to greater engagement by both groups, said a study published Tuesday.
The more contact Canadians had with Muslim friends and colleagues, the more positive their impression of Islam and Canadian Muslims were, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation survey found.
The results bolster Canada's reputation "as a welcoming and inclusive nation ... even as Muslims are the objects of criticism and suspicion in some parts of the world," Frederick Lowy, president of the foundation, said in a statement.
Half of Canadians have a positive impression of Islam, up 4 percent from 2003, and 75 percent of Canadians said that they believe that Muslim immigrants "make a positive contribution to Canada."
However, 40 percent said that immigrants should blend into Canadian society and the vast majority (81 percent) felt that immigrants should adapt to mainstream Canadian beliefs about the rights and role of women.
Those who reported a negative impression of Islam cited its "treatment of women" as the single biggest reason (21 percent).
According to the last census in 2001, there are about 500,000 Muslims living in Canada, compared to more than 20 million Christians. Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs each number 300,000.
Despite more interaction between Muslim and non-Muslim communities in recent years, 53 percent of Canadians said that they still rarely or never have contact with Muslims.
"Getting out there, meeting our neighbors, and spending time with each other is probably the single most important thing we can do to create real understanding and lasting relationships within Canadian society," said Karl Nickner, executive director of the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations.
One in three Canadians also believes that Muslims are never or rarely portrayed fairly in the media, the study found.