WASHINGTON - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says a new poll showing that more than four in 10 Americans admit to anti-Muslim prejudice demonstrates the need for increased educational outreach efforts by US Muslims. The survey by the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, called 'Religious Perceptions in America: With an In-Depth Analysis of US Attitudes Toward Muslims and Islam, also shows that almost two-thirds of Americans say they have little or no knowledge of Islam. Respondents who did not personally know a Muslim exhibited a greater level of bias. The Gallup poll and CAIRs previous research on this subject clearly demonstrate that American Muslims must step up ongoing efforts to educate their fellow Americans about Islam, said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. He said a 2006 CAIR survey indicated that just two per cent of Americans said they were 'very knowledgeable about Islam. Awad noted that CAIR has undertaken a number of such educational initiatives, including its current 'Explore the Quran campaign to distribute free copies of the Quran, Islams revealed text, to 100,000 local, state and national leaders. To date, tens of thousands of copies of the Quran have been sponsored and are being delivered to leaders nationwide.