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There is no accurate count of the number of Muslims in the US. Estimates have ranged from 1.1 to 7 million Muslims; the majority of the surveys have produced results that fall somewhere between 2 to 5 million. The majority of Muslims are of South Asian, African-American, or Arab origin or ethnicity.

History

Two of the earliest Muslims known for certain to have lived in the U.S. arrived as slaves from West Africa. They were Ayuba Suleiman Diallo who spent a few years in the US in the mid 18th century before being returned to West Africa and 'Umar Ibn Said in the mid 19th century .

In 1888, Alexander Russell Webb was one of the first Anglo-Americans to embrace Islam.

Small scale migration to the U.S. of Muslims began in 1893. The immigrants included Syrian, Lebanese, Jordanian, and Palestinian Muslims.

• 1907 Immigrants from Poland, Russia, and Lithuania found the first Muslim organization in New York City.
• 1915 The first mosque, founded by Albanian Muslims, is established in an older building that was not built to be a mosque.
• 1935 The first building built specifically to be a mosque is established in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Although the first mosque was established in the U.S. in 1915, relatively few mosques were created before the 1960s. 87% of mosques in the U.S. were founded within the last three decades according to the Faith Communities Today (FACT) survey. California has more mosques than any other state.

Demographics

Since the U.S. Census Bureau does not collect data on religious identification, the actual number of Muslims in the United States is unknown. Various institutions and organizations have given widely varying estimates about how many Muslims live in the USA. The following are a few recent estimates:

• 1.1 million (2001) City University of New York - American Religious Identification Survey
• 6.7 million (1997) J. Ilyas Ba-Yunus
• 1.2 million (2000) National Opinion Research Center
• 1.6 million (2000) Glenmary Research Center
• 2.0 million (2000) Hartford Institute for Religious Research
• 1.9 million (2001) American Jewish Committee [0.6% of national populat
• 4.1 million (2001) Britannica book of the Year
• 2.8 million (2001) American Jewish Committee (revised figure)
• 1.1 million (2001) City University of New York - American Religious Identification Survey
• 6.0 million (2001) Council on American-Islamic Relations
• 1.9 million (2002) University of Chicago - Public Opinion Quarterly, 66, 404-417, 2002
• 7.0 million (2002) Cornell University Study
• 2.8 million (2003) The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2003, Page 635
• 2-3 million (2006) American Society of Muslims

Population estimates have been controversial, with a number of academic researchers, including Tom Smith, responsible for the University of Chicago study, being explicitly critical of the survey methodologies that have led to high estimates. Some journalists have alleged that numbers have been inflated for political purposes. See the CAIR article for a more detailed account of one particular controversy, over the seven million estimate by that organization.

Muslim groups have countered that all of the recent independent studies and surveys have undercounted the Muslim population for a variety of reasons, including Islamophobia, Muslim fear of revealing their faith in a survey, many Muslims do not attend mosques, and that their own estimates are thus more accurate.

According to a FACT survey, regular mosque attendees come from the following backgrounds: South Asian (33%), African-American (30%), Arab (25%), African (3.4%), European (2.1%), White American (1.6%), Southeast Asian (1.3%), Caribbean (1.2%), Turkish (1.1%), Iranian (0.7%), and Hispanic/Latino (0.6%).

The FACT survey also states that converts make up 30% of the U.S. mosque participants. Of those converts, 64% are African-American, 27% are White, 6% are Hispanic, and 3% are classified as Other. Most mosques (80%) are located in a metropolitan area.

A map prepared by the Harvard Pluralism Project, shows the distribution of mosques/masjids in the United States.

Another map from Valparaiso University shows an estimation of the Muslim populations per county, noting heavy concentrations of Muslim Americans in the Washington-Boston corridor, Houston, and southern California.

Assimilation

According to a 2004 telephone survey of a sample of 1846 Muslims conducted by the polling organization Zogby , the respondents claim to be more educated and affluent than the national average, with 59% of them claiming to hold at least an undergraduate college degree. Respondants claimed to hold professional jobs, and one in three claimed that to earn over $75,000 a year. In the same article, from the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal, American Muslims were characterized as "role models both as Americans and as Muslims".

Unlike many Muslims in Europe, American Muslims do not tend to feel marginalized or isolated from political participation. Several organizations were formed by the American Muslim community to serve as 'critical consultants' on U.S. policy regarding Iraq and Afghanistan. Other groups have worked with law enforcement agencies to point out Muslims within the United States that they suspect of fostering 'intolerant attitudes'. Still others have worked to invite interfaith dialogue and improved relations between Muslim and non-Muslim Americans.

Some progressive Muslims press for more accommodations to the surrounding society. For instance, they want mosques re-designed to make them more woman-friendly; they believe that women can be imams, that is, lead the congregation in prayer.

There are also those Muslims who feel that U.S. Muslims are lukewarm in their faith, and press for even more stringent observance of halal rules, male-female segregation, hijab, daily prayer, fasting, etc.

Organizations

There are many Islamic organizations in the U.S.

• The largest of these groups is the American Society of Muslims (ASM), the successor organization to the Nation of Islam, once better-known as the Black Muslims. The American Society Of Muslims identifies with the leadership of Warith Deen Muhammad. This group has evolved from the Black separatist Nation (or Temples) of Islam (1930-1975). This has been a twenty-three year process of religious reorientation and organizational decentralization, in the course of which the group was known by other names, such as the American Muslim Mission. The number of ASM adherents. Estimates have placed its numbers between the hundreds of thousands and 1-2 million. The vast majority of ASM adherents are African Americans. It should be noted that Nation of Islam beliefs differed sharply from traditional Islam in that they did not recognize Muhammad as God's final Prophet. However the ASM has recognized Muhammad as God's final Prophet after its leader, Warith Deen Mohammed, returned to teachings in accordance with "mainstream" Islam.

• The second largest group is the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). ISNA is an association of Muslim organizations and individuals that provides a common platform for presenting Islam. It is mostly comprised of immigrants as well as some Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic converts. Its membership may have recently exceeded ASM as many independent Mosques throughout the United States are choosing to affiliate with it. ISNA's annual convention is the largest gathering of Muslims within the United States.
• The third largest group is the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). ICNA describes itself as a non-ethnic, open to all, independent, North America-wide, grass-roots organization. It is mostly comprised of immigrants and some Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic converts. It also is growing as various independent Mosques throughout the United States join. It also may be larger than ASM at the present moment.

• The Islamic Supreme Council of America (ISCA) represents many Muslims. Its stated aims include providing practical solutions for American Muslims, based on the traditional Islamic legal rulings of an international advisory board, many of whom are recognized as the highest ranking Islamic scholars in the world. ISCA strives to integrate traditional scholarship in resolving contemporary issues affecting the maintenance of Islamic beliefs in a modern, secular society.

• The Islamic Assembly of North America (IANA) is a leading Muslim organization in the United States. According to its website, among the goals of IANA is to "unify and coordinate the efforts of the different dawah oriented organizations in North America and guide or direct the Muslims of this land to adhere to the proper Islamic methodology." In order to achieve its goals, IANA uses a number of means and methods including conventions, general meetings, dawah-oriented institutions and academies, etc.

• The Muslim Student Association (MSA) is a group dedicated, by its own description, to Islamic societies on college campuses in Canada and the United States for the good of Muslim students. The MSA is involved in providing Muslims on various campuses the opportunity to practice their religion and to ease and facilitate such activities. MSA is also involved in social activities, such as fund raisers for the homeless during Ramadan. The founders of MSA would later establish the Islamic Society of North America and Islamic Circle of North America. It is described by some as a fundamentalist organization.

• The Islamic Information Center (IIC) is a "grass-roots" organization that has been formed for the purpose of informing the public, mainly through the media, about the real image of Islam and Muslims. The IIC is run by chairman, (Hojatul-Islam) Imam Syed Rafiq Naqvi, various committees, and supported by volunteers.

Political

Muslim political organizations lobby on behalf of various Muslim political interests. Organizations such as the American Muslim Council are actively engaged in upholding human and civil rights for all Americans.

• The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is the United

States largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, originally established to promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims in America. CAIR portrays itself as the voice of mainstream, moderate Islam on Capitol Hill and in political arenas throughout the United States. It has aggressively condemned all acts of terrorism, and has been working in collaboration with the White House in "issues of safety and foreign policy".

Some have alleged that CAIR supports extremist views and even terrorists. The family of John P. O'Neill, Sr., the former FBI counterterrorism chief who perished at the World Trade Center, named CAIR in a lawsuit as having "been part of the criminal conspiracy of radical Islamic terrorism" responsible for the September 11 atrocities. Critics say that five of its employees and board members have been arrested, convicted, deported, or otherwise linked to terrorism-related charges and activities. Daniel Pipes claims that CAIR supports terrorists.

A CAIR spokesman asserts that these allegations are not true, he said, "We condemned suicide bombings in a number of statements. This is a straw man...In our 10 years of existence we have not used the word Hamas other than to refute these scurrilous accusations"

• The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) is an American Muslim public service & policy organization headquartered in Los Angeles and with offices in Washington D.C. MPAC was founded in 1988. The mission of MPAC "encompasses promoting an American Muslim identity, fostering an effective grassroots organization, and training a future generation of men and women to share our vision. MPAC also works to promote an accurate portrayal of Islam and Muslims in mass media and popular culture, educating the American public (both Muslim and non-Muslim) about Islam, building alliances with diverse communities and cultivating relationships with opinion- and decision-makers."

• The American Islamic Congress is a small but growing moderate Muslim organization that promotes religious pluralism. Their official Statement of Principles states that "Muslims have been profoundly influenced by their encounter with America. American Muslims are a minority group, largely comprising African-Americans, immigrants, and children of immigrants, who have prospered in America's climate of religious tolerance and civil rights. The lessons of our unprecedented experience of acceptance and success must be carefully considered by our community." Their Statement of Principles describes their full agenda.

• The Free Muslims Coalition was created to eliminate broad base support for Islamic extremism and terrorism and to strengthen secular democratic institutions in the Middle East and the Muslim World by supporting Islamic reformation efforts.

Charity

In addition to the organizations just listed, other Muslim organizations in the United States serve more specific needs. For example, some organizations focus almost exclusively on charity work. As a response to a crackdown on Muslim charity organizations working overseas such as the Holy Land Foundation, more Muslims have begun to focus their charity efforts within the United States.

• Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) is one of the leading Muslim charity organizations in the United States. According to the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, IMAN seeks "to utilize the tremendous possibilities and opportunities that are present in the community to build a dynamic and vibrant alternative to the difficult conditions of inner city life." IMAN sees understanding Islam as part of a larger process to empower individuals and communities to work for the betterment of humanity.
• Muslim-established charitable clinic.

Other

With the growth of Islam within the United States, Muslims with similar interests and ideas have organized for various purposes. Among the types of Muslim organizations that exist are those for entertainment purposes as well as for professionals, such as doctors and engineers. The most well-known organization for Muslims within the medical profession is the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA). Among the Muslim organizations for women include the Muslim Women's League. Latino Muslims have also developed organizations, such as the Latino American Dawah Organization and Alianza Islámica.

American Muslims can be found in all professions in the United States. Muslim doctors, lawyers, teachers, and businessmen serve large and small communities. Muslims have made contributions to the cultural, scientific, political, and economic life of the United States. For more information on American Muslims and their contribution within the United States, see List of American Muslims or Western Muslims.

Cultural clash

Daniel Pipes, Steven Emerson and Robert Spencer have suggested that a minority segment of the U.S. Muslim population exhibit hate and a wish for violence towards the US. In June 2003, Muslim journalist Stephen Schwartz reported to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee a growing radical Islamist Wahhabi influence in U.S. mosques, financed by extremist groups.

Other scholars have emphasized that while these viewpoints exist, they are in the minority. Peter Bergen, while on the Daily Show, described how during the course of his research for his book The Osama bin Laden I Know, he discovered that the "vast majority of American Muslims have totally rejected the Islamist Ideology of Osama Bin Laden". Some observers have questioned the motives of several noted critics, some alleging that a section of the Right Wing conservatives are exploiting security concerns to further racist objectives. Robert Spencer has been accused of Islamophobia.

The public displays of fringe Muslim groups like the Islamic Thinkers Society in New York City have served to project negative images of disaffection not representative of the wider Muslim community in the eyes of witnesses.

• Video of Muslims in the US pledging disloyalty and desecrating of the US Flag
• Video of Muslims promising a holocaust for the US

Opinion surveys

A nationwide survey conducted in 2003 by the Pew Research Center and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reported that the percentage of Americans with an unfavorable view of Islam increased to 37 percent, up from 33 percent in 2002. The percentage responding that Islam was more likely than other religions to encourage violence nearly doubled, from 25 percent in March 2002 to 46 percent in July 2004.

In July 2005, showed that the percentage of Americans holding an unfavorable view of Islam rose to 39% since 2003 that 59% of American adults view Islam as "very different from their religion". 55% had a favorable opinion of Muslim Americans down from 59 % post 911. The December 2004 Cornell University survey shows that 47% of Americans believe that the Islamic religion is more likely than others to encourage violence amongst its believers.

A CBS April 2006 survey shows that Islam has the lowest favorables among Americans than any mainstream religion

• 58 % have favorable attitudes toward Protestantism/Other Christians
• 48 % favorable toward Catholicism
• 47 % favorable toward Judaism
• 31 % favorable toward Christian fundamentalism
• 20 % favorable toward Mormonism
• 19 % favorable toward Islam

Variety of Islamic traditions

Within the Muslim community in the United States there exist a number of different traditions. As in the rest of the world, the Sunni Muslims are in the majority. The Shi'a Muslims, especially those in the Iranian immigrant community, are also active in community affairs. All four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence fiqh are found among the Sunni community. Some Muslims in the US are also adherents of certain global movements within Islam such as the Salafi, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movementand the Tablighi Jamaat.

References

• Most Popular Islamic Academy of US
• Timeline of Islam in the United States
• A Brief History of Islam in the United States
• The Islamic Community In The United States: Historical Development
• American Muslims Demographics

See also

• List of American Muslims
• Western Muslims
• Islam in Christian Countries
• List of Muslims
• Timeline of Islamic history
• List of Islamic and Muslim related topics
• List of Iranian Americans
• Black Muslims
• Latino Muslims

External links

• "The Diversity of Muslims in the United States: Views as Americans" United States Institute of Peace Special Report, February 2006

References

1. Religious Identification Survey - City University of New York. 19 December, 2001
2. Private studies fuel debate over size of U.S. Muslim population - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 28 October, 2001
3. Image detailing concentrations of Muslim centres throughout the USA Harvard University, 2004
4. Map showing Muslims as a percentage of all residents, 2000 Valparaiso University, 2002
5. Stars, Stripes, Crescent - A reassuring portrait of America's Muslims. by Bret Stephens and Joseph Rago. Wall Street Journal, 24 August, 2005
6. ^ The Diversity of Muslims in the United States - Views as americans - United States Institute of Peace. February 2006 Cite error: The named reference "Multi1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
7. Official Website - Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).
8. official Website - Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)
9. Official Website - Islamic Supreme Council of America (ISCA).
10. Official Website - Islamic Assembly of North America (IANA).
11. Official Website - Muslim Student Association (MSA)
12. Official Website - Islamic Information Center (IIC).
13. [http://www.danielpipes.org/article/3437 CAIR: Islamists Fooling the Establishment by Daniel Pipes July,2006.
14. Islamic council defends civil rights of Muslims by Tanya Weinberg 09 July, 2004.
15. Official Website - The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
16. Statement Of Principles - The American Islamic Congress
17. Official Website - Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN)
18. The Enemy Within (and the Need for Profiling) by Daniel Pipes. New York Post, via danielpipes.org, 24 January, 2003
19. ‘American Jihad’ by Steven Emerson. Iranscope, 26 February, 2002
20. Robert Spencer
21. Wahhabism and Islam in the U.S. - GlobalSecurity.org. 26 June, 2003
22. Peter Bergen on Jon Stewarts Daily Show - Comedy Central
23. Will the Extreme Right Succeed? Turning the War on Terror into a War on Islam - Media Monitors USA, Louay M. Safi. 29 December, 2005
24. Views of Muslim-Americans hold steady after London Bombings - Pew Research Center. 26 July, 2005
25. Restrictions on Civil Liberties, Views of Islam, & Muslim Americans - Cornell University. December 2005
26. Poll news CBS.

• Islam in the United States