Perilous
Times and the Great Falling Away!
Islam's take over of America: Number of U.S. mosques up 74%
since 2000
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
While protests against new mosques in New York, Tennessee and
California made headlines, the overall number of mosques quietly
rose from 1,209 in 2000 to 2,106 in 2010.
And most of their leaders say American society is not hostile to
Islam, according to a comprehensive census of U.S. mosques and
survey of imams, mosque presidents and board members released
Wednesday.
"This is a very healthy community," lead researcher and study
author Ihsan Bagby, an associate professor of Islamic studies at
the University of Kentucky, said Tuesday. "Mosque leaders feel
very positive, more positive than they did in 2000" when a similar
study was conducted.
They're also very engaged: The study finds "98% of mosque leaders
say Muslims should be involved in American institutions and 91%
agree that Muslims should be involved in politics."
The study, "The American Mosque 2011," was sponsored by The
Hartford Institute for Religion Research (Hartford Seminary), the
Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, as well
as the nation's largest Islamic civic and religious groups,
including the Islamic Society of North America and the Council on
American-Islamic Relations.
Some findings:
• States with the most mosques are New York (257), California
(246) and Texas (166).
• Most mosques are in cities, but suburban sites rose from 16% in
2000 to 28% in 2010.
• Mosques are ethnically diverse. The major participants are South
Asian, Arab and African American, with growing numbers of new
immigrants including Somalis, West Africans and Iraqis. The study
did not include mosques from the Chicago-based Nation of Islam
because it is considered a separate religion, not traditional
Islam.
•Most mosque leaders (87%) say "radicalism and extremism" are not
increasing among Muslim youth, "in their own experience." They say
the greater challenge is "attracting and keeping them close to the
mosque."
The study breaks with all other major surveys of religion in one
controversial finding.
Although the study does not claim to say how many Muslims are in
the USA, Bagby estimates there are 2.6 million "mosque
participants" — people who have attended prayers for Eid (a major
holy day) or Friday prayers or were considered participants by the
mosque leader survey.
Bagby says he reached the number by taking mosque attendance
reported by the leadership and multiplying the average number of
attendees by the number of mosques.
Bagby's report concludes "if there are 2.6 million Muslims who
pray the Eid prayer, then the total Muslim population should be
closer to estimates (by Bagby) of up to 7 million."
However, no other survey projects even 3 million Muslims in the
USA.
For example, a 2010 survey on global Muslim population by the Pew
Forum on Religion & American Life found there were 2.6 million
Muslims, including adults and children, in the country. And a 2011
survey by the same research group found 2.75 million Muslims,
including 1.8 million adults.
Bagby disputes other studies, saying they underestimate because
they are based on random phone interviews and many Muslims,
particularly immigrants, will not discuss their religion with a
stranger on the phone.
However, the Pew research, which included phone interviews, also
synthesized data from the Census Bureau and immigration
authorities using country-of-birth information with data from
surveys on the percentage of people from each country, or group of
countries, who belong to various faiths.
The numbers matter because higher numbers mean enhanced social and
political clout in the public square for minority faiths.
Significantly large groups can attract candidates seeking votes or
convince school boards and employers to recognize their holy days,
for example.
"Higher numbers mean you are not marginalized," Ibrahim Hooper,
spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations has said.