A new survey released on Sunday by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA) finds substantial acceptance of 9/11 conspiracy theories, showing that significant numbers of respondents blame the CIA or Zionists for the terrorist attacks.
Titled Twenty-Five Years After 9/11: Conspiracy Theories Challenge Historical Fact, the study was conducted by Senior Researcher at JCFA, Dr. Irwin J. Mansdorf, and Dr. Charles Jacobs, President of the International Freedom Coalition.
The research examines shifting public perceptions twenty-five years after the 2001 attacks, noting that survey results indicate substantial differences across religious, generational, and partisan groups in beliefs about 9/11, national-security threats, and US institutions.
Data for the study were collected between September 10 and September 16, 2026, with the general population sample data completed on September 11. The briefing, published on Sunday, outlines key takeaways from an analysis of 416 Muslim American respondents versus 429 isolated non-Muslim respondents and broader generational and partisan cohorts, including a general population cohort of 513 respondents, among whom 24 identified as Muslim.
The report states that the data documents a "severe disintegration of a shared American reality, operating across two major vectors: a profound socio-religious chasm and a sweeping decay of historical factuality within the general public." JCFA tracked public opinion across these populations to examine how religious affiliation, political orientation, and age influence understanding of the attacks.
According to the survey results, the widest reported difference concerns attribution of the 9/11 attacks, despite official investigations establishing al-Qaeda's responsibility. Among the surveyed groups, the data shows that 62.24 percent of non-Muslim respondents identified al-Qaeda as responsible for 9/11, compared with 23.56 percent of Muslim American respondents.
Over one-quarter of American Muslims say Zionists, Israel behind 9/11
The survey further reports alternative explanations accepted by respondents. According to the findings, 18.51 percent of Muslim American respondents expressed belief that the US government or the CIA carried out the attacks. Furthermore, the report states that 27.40 percent of Muslim American respondents pointed toward Zionists or Israel as being responsible.
Generational divides and political affiliations formed a major part of the study's findings, with younger respondents displaying uncertainty while partisan groups differed over whether major threats are primarily foreign or domestic. Among adults under thirty, the report notes that al-Qaeda attribution drops to 40 percent, with 28.57 percent of younger respondents saying they were completely "unsure" who was responsible, which JCFA said, “leaves them highly susceptible to digital manipulation.”
Additionally, the report states that political cohorts split on threat perceptions, noting that the isolated non-Muslim sample was anchored heavily by Republicans at 57.97 percent who maintained a "traditional external defense posture identifying Iran and radical Islamists as the primary danger," whereas a plurality of Muslim Americans at 26.20 percent named the CIA or US government agencies as the "single greatest danger for a future mass-casualty event."
The study also evaluated public tolerance for radical critiques of American foreign policy by tracking reactions to online political commentator Hasan Piker's statement that "America deserved 9/11." Regarding Piker's remarks, the report uncovers a stark divide, noting that only 47.11 percent of Muslim Americans actively disagree or strongly disagree with the statement, compared to 71.33 percent of non-Muslims, while a combined 28.13 percent of Muslim Americans either agree or strongly agree, and 24.76 percent remain neutral. The findings show that this tolerance has bled into mainstream political extremes, where non-Muslim Republicans exhibit a 55.07 percent rejection baseline compared to 43 percent for Democrats, while independent voters form a "centrist bulwark" by logging the highest rate of active disagreement with the statement at 64.80 percent.
One-third of American Muslims neutral on government-mandated 9/11 curriculum
These divisions extend to attitudes toward whether schools should be required to teach a standardized 9/11 curriculum. Views on historical education showed that a combined majority of 62 percent of surveyed non-Muslims, led by 77.53 percent of Republicans, 66 percent of Democrats, and 60.80 percent of Independents, supported a government-mandated 9/11 curriculum, compared with 44.71 percent of Muslim American respondents, with more than one-third of the latter selecting a neutral response.
In a statement to The Jerusalem Post, Mansdorf said, “The results are very clear on two points: first, there is a significant lack of knowledge among younger people about who carried out the 9/11 terrorist attacks; and second, Muslim Americans, to a much greater extent than the US population as a whole, do not accept that the attacks were carried out by the Islamist terrorists of al-Qaeda.”
Mansdorf added, “Clearly, there is a need for greater awareness and education about the events of 9/11. While there is a strong focus every year on commemorating the victims of the attacks, far less attention is paid to the perpetrators and the motivations behind the attacks.”