6 in 10 Republican voters on Super Tuesday support Trump’s ban on Muslims

Six out of every ten Republican voters from the southern states which held primaries on Super Tuesday support Trump's controversial proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States, suggested an exit poll conducted by ABC news.

The International Business Times reported that percentages varied according to the state, with Alabama and Arkansas leading the way with 78 percent of Republican primary voters who supported banning Muslims from entry to America. Trump first spoke about his proposed ban on Muslims traveling to the U.S. in December, a suggestion criticized as racist and discriminatory. Alabama and Arkansas were followed by Tennessee at 72 percent, Texas with 65 percent and Virginia with 64 percent of voters who supported Trump's controversial policies, the International Business Times reported.

Anti-Muslim sentiment has been growing in the United States after the deadly Paris attacks of Nov. 13, with some Republican state governors saying they opposed resettling refugees from Syria's civil war. It intensified after 14 people were killed on Dec. 2 in a massacre in San Bernardino, California, carried out by a Muslim couple who investigators say were inspired by DAESH. Analysts say Trump's call has fanned the flames of xenophobia and fear.