Muslim Americans

MIDDLE CLASS AND MOSTLY MAINSTREAm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 22, 2007

About the Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan "fact tank" that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It does so by conducting public opinion polling and social science research; by reporting news and analyzing news coverage; and by holding forums and briefings. It does not take positions on policy issues. The Muslim American study was funded by a generous grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts and was conducted jointly by two of the Pew Research Centers projects: The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, with additional advice and assistance from staff in the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Global Attitudes Project.

Pew Research Center Andrew Kohut President Paul Taylor Executive Vice President Elizabeth Mueller Gross Vice President Scott Keeter Director of Survey Research Richard Morin Senior Editor Vidya Krishnamurthy Communications Manager Pew Research Center for the People & the Press Andrew Kohut Director Carroll Doherty Associate Director, Editorial Michael Dimock Associate Director, Research Richard Wike Senior Researcher Nilanthi Samaranayake Survey and Data Manager Juliana Horowitz, Rob Suls, Shawn Neidorf Research Associates James Albrittain Executive Assistant Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Luis Lugo Director Sandra Stencel Deputy Director John C. Green Senior Fellow in Religion & American Politics Gregory Smith Research Fellow Daniel A. Cox Research Associate Sahar Chaudhry Program Assistant www.pewresearch.org Copyright 2007 Pew Research Center

FOREWORD Muslims constitute a growing and increasingly important segment of American society. Yet there is surprisingly little quantitative research about the attitudes and opinions of this segment of the public for two reasons. First, the U.S. Census is forbidden by law from asking questions about religious belief and affiliation, and, as a result, we know very little about the basic demographic characteristics of Muslim Americans. Second, Muslim Americans comprise such a small percentage of the U.S. population that general population surveys do not interview a sufficient number of them to allow for meaningful analysis. This Pew Research Center study is therefore the first ever nationwide survey to attempt to measure rigorously the demographics, attitudes and experiences of Muslim Americans. It builds on surveys conducted in 2006 by the Pew Global Attitudes Project of Muslim minority publics in Great Britain, France, Germany and Spain. The Muslim American survey also follows on Pews global surveys conducted over the past five years with more than 30,000 Muslims in 22 nations around the world since 2002. The methodological approach employed was the most comprehensive ever used to study Muslim Americans. Nearly 60,000 respondents were interviewed to find a representative sample of Muslims. Interviews were conducted in Arabic, Urdu and Farsi, as well as English. Subsamples of the national poll were large enough to explore how various subgroups of the population -- including recent immigrants, native-born converts, and selected ethnic groups including those of Arab, Pakistani, and African American heritage -- differ in their attitudes The survey also contrasts the views of the Muslim population as a whole with those of the U.S. general population, and with the attitudes of Muslims all around the world, including Western Europe. Finally, findings from the survey make important contributions to the debate over the total size of the Muslim American population. The survey is a collaborative effort of a number of Pew Research Center projects, including the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Pew Hispanic Center. The project was overseen by Pew Research Center President Andrew Kohut and Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Director Luis Lugo. The Pew Research Centers Director of Survey Research, Scott Keeter, served as project director for the study, with the close assistance of Gregory Smith, Research Fellow at the Pew Forum. Many other Pew researchers participated in the design, execution and analysis of the survey. Pew researchers sought the counsel of outside experts in the conceptualization and development of the survey project. Amaney Jamal, assistant professor in the Department of

Politics at Princeton University and a specialist in the study of Muslim public opinion, served as senior project advisor. The project's outside advisory board included researchers with expertise in the study of Muslims in America:

Ihsan Bagby, University of Kentucky Zahid H. Bukhari, Muslims in American Public Square Project (MAPS) and the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University Louis Cristillo, Teachers College, Columbia University Sally Howell, Program in American Culture, University of Michigan Peter Mandaville, Center for Global Studies, George Mason University Ingrid Matteson, Hartford Seminary Farid Senzai, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

The fieldwork for this project was carried out by Schulman, Ronca & Bucuvalas, Inc., with the particular assistance of Chintan Turakhia, Robert McGaw, Maria Evans and Mark A. Schulman. J. Michael Brick of Westat and Courtney Kennedy of the University of Michigan served as methodological consultants. Shirin Hakimzadeh, Richard Fry, and Jeffrey S. Passel of the Pew Hispanic Center also provided assistance. The team at Princeton Survey Research Associates International in particular Larry Hugick, Jonathan Best, Stacy DiAngelo and Julie Gasior helped to develop the sample used to reach Muslims nationwide. Michael P. Battaglia of Abt Associates Inc. provided information that helped in the design of the sampling approach. The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding provided assistance with focus group work that helped shape the survey questionnaire. Sufia Azmat, Narges Bajoghli, and Randa Jamal assisted with back-translation of the questionnaire. The survey design was guided by the counsel of our advisors, contractors and consultants, but the Pew Research Center is solely responsible for the interpretation and reporting of the data.

Andrew Kohut President Pew Research Center

MUSLIM AMERICANS: MIDDLE CLASS AND MOSTLY MAINSTREAM

May 22, 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS Overview Chapter 1: Chapter 2: Chapter 3: Chapter 4: Page ..........................................................................................................................1 How Many Muslims Are There in the United States?.....................................9 Who Are the Muslim Americans? A Demographic Portrait...........................15 Religious Belief and Practice..........................................................................21 The Muslim Experience: Identity, Assimilation and Community...........................................................29 The Muslim Experience: Challenges, Worries and Problems .................................................................35 Political and Social Values .............................................................................41 Foreign Policy, Terrorism, and Concerns about Extremism...........................49 Study Methodology.........................................................................................57

Chapter 5:

Chapter 6: Chapter 7: Chapter 8:

Survey Topline.....................................................................................................................75

War on Terror Concerns MUSLIM AMERICANS: MIDDLE CLASS AND MOSTLY MAINSTREAM

comprehensive nationwide survey of Muslim Americans finds them to be largely assimilated, happy with their lives, and moderate with respect to many of the issues that have divided Muslims and Westerners around the world. Muslim Americans are a highly diverse population, one largely comprised of immigrants. Nonetheless, they are decidedly American in their outlook, values, and attitudes. Overwhelmingly, they believe that hard work pays off in this society. This belief is reflected in Muslim American income and education levels, which generally mirror those of the general public. The survey finds that roughly two-thirds (65%) of adult Muslims living in the United States were born elsewhere, and 39% have come to the U.S. since 1990. A relatively large proportion of Muslim immigrants are from Arab countries, but many also come from Pakistan and other South Asian countries. Among native-born Muslims, slightly more than half are African American (20% of U.S. Muslims overall), many of whom are converts to Islam. Overall, Muslim Americans have a generally positive view of the larger society. Most say their communities are excellent or good places to live. As many Muslim Americans as members of the general public express satisfaction with the state of the nation. Moreover, 71% of Muslim Americans agree that most people who want to get ahead in the U.S. can make it if they are willing to work hard.
Muslim Americans: Who Are They?
Proportion who are Foreign-born Muslims Arab region Pakistan Other South Asia Iran Europe Other Africa Other Native-born Muslims African American Other Foreign-born Muslims Year immigrated: 2000-2007 1990-1999 1980-1989 Before 1980 Native-born Muslims Total % 65 24 8 10 8 5 4 6 35 20 15 100 65 18 21 15 11 35

The poll reveals that Muslims in the United States reject Percent who are Converts to Islam 21 Islamic extremism by larger margins than do Muslim minorities Born Muslim 14 in Western European countries, when compared with results from a 2006 Pew Global Attitudes Project survey. However, there is somewhat more acceptance of Islamic extremism in some segments of the U.S. Muslim public than others. Fewer native-born African American Muslims than others completely condemn al Qaeda. In addition, younger Muslims in the U.S. are more likely than older Muslim Americans to express a strong sense of Muslim identity, and are much more likely to say that suicide bombing in the defense of Islam can be at least sometimes justified. Nonetheless, absolute levels of support for Islamic extremism

among Muslim Americans are quite low, especially when compared with Muslims around the world. In general, the Muslim Americans surveyed were not reluctant to express discontent with the U.S. war on terrorism and the impact it has had on their lives. A majority of Muslim Americans (53%) say it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the A Positive View of American Society U.S. since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. ----U.S. Muslims---Most also believe that the government Foreign Native General public* Total born born singles out Muslims for increased American work ethic % % % % Can get ahead w/ hard work 71 74 64 64 surveillance and monitoring. Relatively Hard work is no guarantee few Muslim Americans believe the of success 26 22 34 33 4 2 3 Neither/DK 3 U.S.-led war on terror is a sincere effort 100 100 100 100 to reduce terrorism, and many doubt Rate your community that Arabs were responsible for the 9/11 Excellent/Good 72 76 65 82 Fair/Poor 27 23 34 18 attacks. Just 40% of Muslim Americans DK/Refused 1 1 1 * 100 100 100 100 say groups of Arabs carried out those Personal financial situation attacks. The survey shows that although many Muslims are relative newcomers Satisfied with state of U.S. Satisfied 38 45 20 32 to the U.S., they are highly assimilated Dissatisfied 54 45 77 61 into American society. With the 10 3 7 DK/Refused 8 100 100 100 100 exception of very recent immigrants, Muslims coming to the most report that a large proportion of U.S. today should Adopt American customs 43 47 37 n/a their closest friends are non-Muslims. Try to remain distinct 26 21 38 Both (Vol.) 16 18 11 On balance, they believe that Muslims Neither (Vol.) 6 5 6 coming to the U.S. should try and adopt 9 8 DK/Refused 9 100 100 100 American customs, rather than trying to remain distinct from the larger society. *General public comparisons were taken from the following Pew nationwide surveys, respectively: March 2006, October 2005, And by nearly two-to-one (63%-32%) February 2007, January 2007. Muslim Americans do not see a conflict between being a devout Muslim and living in a modern society. About half of Muslim Americans have attended college, which is somewhat lower than college attendance among the general public. However, Muslims annual incomes and perceptions of personal finances are fairly comparable with those of the public. Notably, more Muslim immigrants than native-born Muslims see themselves as well-off financially.
Excellent/Good Fair/Poor DK/Refused 42 52 6 100 47 49 4 100 37 62 1 100 49 50 1 100

MUSLIM AMERICANS

The U.S. Census does not ask about a respondents religious affiliation in its national surveys; as a consequence, there are no generally accepted estimates of the size of the Muslim American population. The Pew study projects approximately 1.5 million adult Muslim Americans, 18 years of age and older. The total Muslim American population is estimated at 2.35 million, based on data from this survey and available Census Bureau data on immigrants nativity and nationality. It is important to note that both of these estimates are approximations. The life situations and attitudes of Muslim Americans stand in contrast with those of Muslim minorities of Western Europe. Pew Global Attitudes surveys conducted in 2006 in Great Britain, France, Germany and Spain found Muslims in these countries greatly concerned about unemployment. Unlike Muslims in the U.S., the average annual incomes of Muslims in these countries lag well behind the average incomes of non-Muslims. Nearly half of Muslims in the U.S. (47%) say they think of themselves first as a Muslim, rather than as an American. But far more Muslims in three of the four Western European nations surveyed said they considered themselves first as Muslims, rather than citizens of their countries. In addition, Muslim Americans views of the quality of life for Muslim women in the U.S. also are relatively positive when compared with Muslims in the Western European countries surveyed. Muslim Americans are far more likely than Muslims in the Middle East and elsewhere to say that a way can be found for the state of Israel to exist so that the rights of the Palestinians are addressed. In this regard, the views of Muslim Americans resemble those of the general public in the United States.
U.S. Muslims More Mainstream
U.S. Percent lowincome compared with general public +2 Brit +22 +18 +18 Fra Ger Spa +23

81 Think of self as M uslim first, not American/British/ French/German/ Spanish 47 46 66 69

62 Life is better for women here than in M uslim countries

58

62 50 46

Very concerned about Islamic extremism in the world these days

51

52 35 29 29

MUSLIM AMERICANS

These are the principal findings of a nationwide survey of 1,050 Muslim adults living in the United States. Interviews were conducted in English, Arabic, Urdu and Farsi. The poll was conducted by telephone using a random sample built from three sampling sources. About a third of the interviews (354) were obtained from a geographically stratified random digit dial sample of the general public, which entailed screening 57,549 households. An additional 533 came from a commercial database of 110 million households, of which more than 450,000 included people with likely Muslim first names and surnames; households on this list were eliminated from the geographic random sample, which allowed the list to become part of the national RDD sample. An additional 163 interviews were obtained by recontacting English-speaking Muslim households from previous nationwide surveys conducted since 2000. The results of all three samplings were combined and statistically adjusted to the demographic parameters of the Muslim population established by the results of the new random sample. The margin of sampling error for results based on full sample is plus or minus 5 percentage points. Details about the studys sample design are contained in the chapter on survey methodology. 9/11s Lasting Impact While Muslim Americans express generally positive views of American society, most believe life for Muslims has gotten more difficult since 9/11. Government anti-terrorism efforts are seen as singling out Muslims and most of those who express this view are bothered by the extra scrutiny. Native-born Muslims, both African American and others, more often believe that they have been singled out. Many Muslim immigrants, especially those who have arrived in the U.S. fairly recently, did not offer an opinion on these questions. A quarter of Muslim Americans say they have been the victim of discrimination in the United States, while 73% say they have never experienced discrimination while living in this country. Far more native-born Muslims than Muslim immigrants say they have been a victim of discrimination (41% vs. 18%). Complex Views about Terrorism There is widespread concern in the Muslim American population about the rise of Islamic extremism, both around the world and in the United States. Roughly half of Muslim Americans (51%) say they are very concerned about the rise of
4
The Muslim American Experience
U.S. Being Muslim in Muslims the U.S. since 9/11: % Is more difficult 53 Hasnt changed 40 Other/DK 7 100 Does government single out Muslims for extra surveillance? Yes 54 No 31 DK/Refused 15 100 In the past year Someone expressed support for you 32 People have acted suspicious of you 26 Been singled out by airport security 18 Been called an offensive name 15 Been threatened or attacked 4 Ever been victim of discrimination as a Muslim in the U.S.? Yes 25 No 73 DK/Refused 2 100

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Islamic extremism around the world. This is much greater than the concern expressed by Muslims in most of Western Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere over the rise of Islamic extremism globally. A smaller but sizable percentage of Muslim Americans (36%) are very concerned about the potential rise of Islamic extremism in the United States.

Criticism of U.S. Foreign Policy

U.S. General Muslims public* % % 12 45 75 47 8 13 100 100 35 48 17 100 61 29 10 100

War in Iraq Right decision Wrong decision DK/Refused War in Afghanistan Right decision Wrong decision DK/Refused

While most Muslims express concern about the rise of Islamic extremism around the world, they express U.S. War on Terrorism Sincere effort 26 67 relatively little support for the war on terrorism. Just 26% Not sincere effort 55 25 say the U.S.-led war on terror is a sincere effort to reduce 8 Mixed/DK/Refused 19 100 100 international terrorism. By contrast, a Pew survey of the *General public comparisons were taken general public in 2004 found 67% saying the U.S.-led war from the following Pew nationwide on terror is a sincere effort to reduce terrorism. In this surveys, respectively: April 2007, December 2006, March 2004. regard, Muslim American views come closer to the strong disapproval Muslims in the Middle East have voiced regarding the war on terrorism. Muslim Americans overwhelmingly oppose the war in Iraq, and a plurality disagrees with the decision to go to war in Afghanistan as well. By roughly six-to-one (75%-12%), Muslim Americans say the U.S. did the wrong thing in going to war in Iraq; the general public is divided over the Iraq war. Only about a third of Muslim Americans (35%) have a positive view of the decision to go to war in Afghanistan, compared with 61% among the public. Very few Muslim Americans just 1% say that suicide bombings against civilian targets are often justified to defend Islam; an additional 7% say suicide bombings are sometimes justified in these circumstances. In Western Europe, higher percentages of Muslims in Great Britain, France and Spain said that suicide bombings in the defense of Islam are often or sometimes
5
Muslim American Views on Islamic Extremism
Foreign Concern about U.S. ---Born--rise of Islamic Muslims All Arabs extremism in U.S. % % % Very/Somewhat 61 60 72 Not too/Not at all 34 35 24 5 4 Neither/DK 5 100 100 100 Suicide bombing can be justified Often/Sometimes Rarely/Never DK/Refused View of al Qaeda Very unfavorable Somewhat unfav. Favorable DK/Refused Did Arabs carry out 9/11 attacks? Believe Do not believe DK/Refused Native ---Born--All Blacks % % 66 67 32 32 2 1 100 100

8 83 9 100 58 10 5 27 100

9 82 9 100 63 7 3 27 100

12 78 10 100 60 8 4 28 100

8 87 5 100 51 16 7 26 100

6 85 9 100 36 25 9 30 100

40 28 32 100

37 27 36 100

22 41 37 100

48 31 21 100

44 27 29 100

MUSLIM AMERICANS

justified. Views about terrorism are broadly shared by all segments of the Muslim American population, but the polling does find pockets of support for extremism. Overall, just 5% of Muslim Americans express even somewhat favorable opinions of al Qaeda. Yet strong hostility toward al Qaeda varies widely 63% of foreign-born U.S. Muslims say they have a very unfavorable opinion of al Qaeda, compared with 51% of all native-born Muslims, and just 36% of African American Muslims. More generally, native-born African American Muslims are the most disillusioned segment of the U.S. Muslim population. When compared with other Muslims in the U.S., they are more skeptical of the view that hard work pays off, and more of them believe that Muslim immigrants in the U.S. should try to remain distinct from society. They also are far less satisfied with the way things are going in the United States. Just 13% of Young Muslims: More African American Muslims express satisfaction with national Observant, More Radical conditions, compared with 29% of other native-born Muslims, Age and 45% of Muslim immigrants. 18-29 30+ In addition, the survey finds that younger Muslim Americans those under age 30 are both much more religiously observant and more accepting of Islamic extremism than are older Muslim Americans. Younger Muslim Americans report attending services at a mosque more frequently than do older Muslims. And a greater percentage of younger Muslims in the U.S. think of themselves first as Muslims, rather than primarily as Americans (60% vs. 41% among Muslim Americans ages 30 and older). Moreover, more than twice as many Muslim Americans under age 30 as older Muslims believe that suicide bombings can be often or sometimes justified in the defense of Islam (15% vs. 6%). A pattern of greater acceptance of suicide bombing among young Muslim Americans corresponds with the Pew Global Attitude Projects findings among Muslims in Great Britain, France, Germany and Spain. In contrast, surveys among Muslims in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world do not show greater tolerance of suicide bombing among young people.
Religion % Attend mosque Weekly or more 50 Few times a month or year 24 Seldom/never 26 100 % 35 26 39 100

Conflict btw devout faith & modern life Yes, conflict 42 Not in conflict 54 DK/Refused 4 100 Think of self as: Muslim first 60 American first 25 Both equally 10 Neither/Other/DK 5 100 Radicalism Suicide bombing: Justified Not Justified DK/Refused

28 67 5 100 41 30 22 7 100

15 80 5 100

6 85 9 100 4 67 29 100

Views of al Qaeda Favorable 7 Unfavorable 74 DK/Refused 19 100

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Consistent with the views of Muslims in other countries, fewer than half of Muslim Americans regardless of their age accept the fact that groups of Arabs carried out the 9/11 attacks. Just four-in-10 say that groups of Arabs engineered the attacks. Roughly a third (32%) expresses no opinion as to who was behind the attacks, while 28% flatly disbelieve that Arabs conducted the attacks. Highly religious Muslim Americans are less likely to believe that groups of Arabs carried out the 9/11 attacks than are less religious Muslims. In addition, the survey finds that those who say that suicide bombings in defense of Islam can be often or sometimes justified are more disbelieving than others that Arabs carried out the Sept. 11 attacks. Political and Social Opinions Big Government Social Conservatives Muslim Americans hold liberal political views on questions about the size and scope of government. At the same time, however, they are socially conservative and supportive of a strong role for government in protecting morality. When asked to choose, 70% express a preference for a larger government providing more services; just 21% prefer a smaller government providing fewer services. The general public in the U.S. is divided on this question. A comparably large percentage (73%) says that the government should do more to help the needy even if it means going deeper into debt; just 17% say the government cannot afford to do more for poor people. But Muslim Americans are not consistently liberal on all political questions. A solid majority (61%) says that homosexuality is a way of life that should be discouraged by society. Just 27% say homosexuality should be accepted, compared with 51% of the general public. Similarly, 59% of Muslim Americans believe that the government should do more to protect morality in society, while 29% worry that government is getting too involved in promoting
U.S. Muslims % 21 70 9 100 17 73 10 100 General public % 45 43 12 100 28 63 9 100 51 38 11 100 37 51 12 100 35 57 8 100 51 48 1 100 36 51 13 100

Prefer Smaller government Bigger government Depends/DK/Ref Government aid to poor Cant afford to do more Should do more Neither/Both/DK

Homosexuality should be Accepted 27 Discouraged 61 Neither/Both/DK 12 100 Government & morality Should do more 59 Worry its too involved 29 Neither/Both/DK 12 100 Bush job approval Approve 15 Disapprove 69 DK/Refused 16 100 2004 vote Bush 14 Kerry 71 Other/Refused 15 100 Party identification Republican/lean Rep. 11 Democratic/lean Dem. 63 Independent, no leaning 26 100

General public comparisons from Pew surveys conducted over the past six months (see topline for details). 2004 vote based on actual election outcome.

MUSLIM AMERICANS

morality. Among the general public, 51% worries about too much government involvement in protecting morality. Consistent with their strong opposition to the war in Iraq, Muslim Americans express overwhelming disapproval of President Bushs job performance. Just 15% approve of the way Bush is handling his job, while 69% disapprove. In Pews most recent poll of the general public, 35% approved of Bushs performance and 57% disapproved. A sizable majority of Muslim Americans (63%) identify with or lean to the Democratic Party. This compares with 51% of the general public who are Democratic or Democratic-leaning. Just 11% describe themselves as Republican or lean to the GOP compared with 36% of the general public. About a quarter (26%) are unaffiliated or express no partisan leanings. The vast majority of Muslim Americans who voted in the 2004 presidential election say they supported Democrat John Kerry (71%); just 14% voted for President Bush. Religious Beliefs Muslims in the United States have distinctive religious beliefs and practices. Yet their overall approach to religion is not all that different from the way that U.S. Christians approach their faith. Comparable numbers of Christians and Muslims in the United States say they attend religious services at least once a week (45% and 40%, respectively). Somewhat more Christians than Muslims say they pray every day, while more Muslims than Christians say religion is very important in their lives.

American Muslims & Christians

U.S. U.S. Muslims Christians % % Religion is very important in your life Pray every day Attend mosque/church at least once a week 72 61 40 60 70 45

Mosques/churches should express views on political & social issues 43

54

Notably, Muslims in the United States like other Americans are divided about the appropriate role for religion in the nations political life. About half of Muslim Americans (49%) say mosques should keep out of political matters, while 43% believe that mosques should express their views on social and political questions. In a Pew survey in 2006, 54% of Christians said churches and other houses of worship should express their political and social views, while 43% disagreed.

Christian comparisons taken from the following Pew nationwide surveys, respectively: May 2006, August 2005, Jan-Apr 2007, July 2006

MUSLIM AMERICANS

CHAPTER 1 How Many Muslims Are There in the United States?

major challenge in describing the Muslim American population is estimating its size. Incomplete data and inadequate tools make it difficult to produce reliable estimates of the U.S. Muslim population. The result is a range of different estimates based on different methodologies that use very different data. Scholars and Muslim American advocacy groups agree that currently there is no scientific count of Muslims in the United States. As the New York Times World Almanac cautioned in 2000, all estimates of the U.S. Muslim population should be read as educated approximations, at best. Against this backdrop, the Pew Research Center developed a survey-based study design that effectively collected a nationwide representative sample of Muslim Americans that covers each of the three sources of the U.S. Muslim population: Muslim immigrants, U.S.-born Muslims, and converts to Islam. In the course of addressing the challenges of reaching this small but diverse population, the Pew study provides reliable data that may be helpful to future researchers. Some of these techniques were straightforward: Survey questions were translated into Arabic, Farsi and Urdu, and native speakers were employed as interviewers to administer the survey to respondents with limited English language skills. Overall, 17% of those interviewed were questioned in a language other than English. The survey also measured the religious preference of all respondents born outside the United States, whether they were Muslim or not. This produced, for the first time, an empirical estimate of the percentage of immigrants who are Muslim or members of other religions. This estimate can prove useful to future researchers who use immigration and country-of-origin data to estimate the total U.S. Muslim population. Muslim respondents also were asked if they converted from another religion, and, if so, which one. These data also provide, for the first time, a scientifically-derived estimate of the true proportion of immigrants, native-born and converts. The Pew Muslim American study estimates that Muslims constitute 0.6% of the U.S. adult population. This projects to 1.4 million Muslims 18 years old or older currently living in the United States. The survey was conducted solely over landline telephones. There was no practical way in this study to reach individuals who only have cell phones, or have no telephone service an estimated 13.5% of the general public. The 1.4 million projection assumes that the proportion of Muslims who are cell-only or have no phone service is no different from the
9 MUSLIM AMERICANS

population overall. However, as a younger, predominantly immigrant population with relatively low levels of home ownership all factors associated with the use of cell phones rather than landlines it is possible that the number of Muslim Americans is higher. As with the estimates that preceded it, the Pew forecast is an approximation, subject to the limitations of the methodology used to derive it. Pews estimate is somewhat higher than those obtained in other national surveys. But it is significantly below some commonly reported estimates of the Muslim population, including several frequently cited by Muslim American groups. While this study represents perhaps the most rigorous effort to date to scientifically estimate the size of the Muslim American population, the results should be interpreted with caution. The Pew estimate of the adult population is larger than would have been produced from data on religious affiliation collected in regular Pew national telephone surveys conducted between 2000 and 2007. Self-identified Muslims made up about 0.5% of the 159,194 adults interviewed by Pew over the more than seven years. But the vast majority of these surveys were conducted only in English. In the current survey, we were able to reach many Muslims who might have been missed in English-only surveys.
What Percentage of the U.S. Population is Muslim?
National surveys in the past 10 years suggest Muslims comprise less than 1% of the adult population. Survey Group Pew Baylor Pew* GSS** Gallup ARIS*** NES**** Estimated % of U.S. adults 0.6 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.5 0.2

Year 2007 2006 2000-2007 1998-2006 1999-2001 2001 2000

*Compiled Pew Research Center national surveys from 2000 through 2007. **General Social Surveys conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006. ***American Religious Identification Study, conducted by Barry A. Kosmin and Egon Mayer of the City University of New York Graduate Center. ****National Election Study conducted by the University of Michigan.

Pews projection of 1.4 Muslim adults is similar to an independent estimate of 1.5 million produced by Pew Hispanic Center demographer Jeffrey Passel, using data obtained from the survey along with data from the U.S. Census Bureau on nativity and nationality. This demographic estimate is derived from the survey by taking account of the country of origin of Muslim respondents and projecting their incidence among all households to the population at large. Given the fact that 72% of Muslim Americans are foreign-born or have roots abroad, it is possible to use Census Bureau data to estimate how many first- and second-generation Americans are Muslim from the answers provided during the screening of 57,000 households. Using further data from the survey and the Census Bureau, Passels model estimates that there are approximately 850,000 Muslim Americans under the age of 18 in addition to the 1.5 million adults, for a total of 2.35 million Muslims nationwide.
10 MUSLIM AMERICANS

The U.S. Census Bureau, as a matter of policy, does not ask about a respondents religion in the decennial census, the yearly American Community Surveys, or its monthly Current Population surveys. In addition, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services does not ask the religion of immigrants or naturalized citizens, leaving researchers to extrapolate the size of the population from information about nationality and language. Diverse Population Efforts to determine the size of the U.S. Muslim population date back to at least 1960, when the Federation of Islamic Associations in America put the number at 1.2 million. Depending on the methods used, subsequent estimates have varied considerably. The American Religious Identification Survey estimated in 2001 that there were approximately 1.1 million adult Muslims in the U.S. The 2005 Britannica Book of the Year reported the total number of Muslims to be 4.7 million. Several leading national Muslim groups cite estimates of 6-7 million, or more. Some of the difficulties in counting U.S. Muslims are related to the diverse nature of the population itself. Muslim immigrants to the United States come from at least 68 countries, and have different traditions, practices, doctrines, languages and beliefs. In addition, large numbers are native-born Americans who have converted to Islam or have returned to the faith; estimates of the proportion of native-born Muslims who are African American range from 20% to 42%. Finally, there are the children born to either immigrants or converts. While each of these sources accounts for a significant share of the total U.S. Muslim population, the actual proportions who are immigrants, converts and native-born Americans remain unknown. Absent a hard count from the census, researchers have attempted to extrapolate the current size of the Muslim population from other data. These estimates fall broadly into two types: those based on surveys of the general population or specifically targeted populations, and non-survey methods typically based on census and immigration counts, adjusted to reflect mortality and birth rates over time. Previous Survey Estimates Researchers long have relied on public opinion surveys for estimates of religious affiliation. So it is logical that researchers would turn to surveys to provide estimates of the U.S. Muslim population. These polls, conducted with varying degrees of methodological rigor, have produced relatively consistent estimates of the U.S. Muslim population. The General Social Survey (GSS), generally regarded as one of the most reliable barometers of social trends in the United States, has been administered every other year since
11 MUSLIM AMERICANS

1972 to more than 2,000 randomly sampled adults nationally. The GSS asks people their religion, and their verbatim response is recorded and later coded. In combined data from the five GSS surveys conducted between 1998 and 2006 Muslims made up 0.5% of the U.S. adults interviewed, which projects to about 1.2 million adults nationwide. The 2001 American Religious Identification survey, which surveyed a random sample of 50,281 adults, also found the proportion of the adult population who identify themselves as Muslim to be 0.5%. Other surveys, including national surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center, Gallup and Washington Post-ABC News, estimate that Muslims make up less than 1% of the U.S. adult population. In 2002, Tom W. Smith, director of the GSS, published a review of every major national survey conducted over the previous five years that produced an estimate of the Muslim American population.1 Overall, these polls, on average, estimated that Muslims constitute 0.5% of the total population. That average, combined with an estimate of the number of Muslim children, produced an estimate of the Muslim population of about 2 million. Researchers also have used data from surveys of special populations to estimate the U.S. Muslim population. Every year since 1966, UCLA researchers have surveyed incoming college freshmen. In 2006, a total of 271,441 first-time, full-time students at 393 colleges and universities were interviewed. This study estimated the proportion of Muslims in this group at 0.8%, virtually identical to the proportion recorded in previous waves of the freshmen survey. A similar estimate was obtained by another research team that examined the stated religious preference of high school students who took the SAT college admissions exam. But there are reasons to question all of these estimates, as Smith and other researchers have noted. The UCLA study is limited only to incoming college students and is not an accurate reflection of the percentage of Muslims or any other group in the general population. For example, less affluent young people and those with limited English language abilities are underrepresented among the students who take these college entrance exams. Language difficulties also pose obstacles to the major national polls. Researchers who study immigrant populations estimate as many as a quarter of all recent arrivals have limited or no English-language ability, meaning they could not be interviewed by the GSS, Gallup, the Washington Post-ABC News survey, the American Religious Identification Survey, or other polls done primarily or exclusively in English. Other critics of survey-based estimates say that

Smith, Tom W. 2002. The Polls Review: The Muslim population of the United States: The Methodology of Estimates. Public Opinion Quarterly Volume 66:404-417.

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Muslims, particularly newly arrived Muslims, may be reluctant to participate in surveys, an assertion that, based on the experience of interviewers in the Pew study, has some basis in fact. Other Estimates Other studies have produced higher estimates of the U.S. Muslim population. An ambitious 2001 survey led by researchers from Hartford Institute for Religious Research provided a basis for the frequently cited estimate of 6-7 million Muslim adults and children. The study, sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, attempted to identify every mosque in the U.S. Leaders from a representative sample of mosques were then questioned about a host of issues, including the number of worshippers associated with each one. This study concluded that 2 million Muslims in the U.S. are involved with a mosque, at least tangentially. Based on this number, the authors surmise that estimates of a total Muslim population of 6-7 million in America seem reasonable. Some critics speculated that mosque representatives may have inflated or otherwise misreported the number of people associated with the mosque, a tendency researchers have found among religious leaders in other faiths. Other estimates of this population bypass surveys and use data from the U.S. Census and immigration records that identify an individuals country-of-origin and preferred language. The 2000 Census found that about 0.7% of the population, or about 2 million people, reported a majority-Muslim country as their country-of-origin. To this number must be added an estimate of Muslims born in the U.S. as well as converts. But as Smith has noted, using an individuals country-of-origin or preferred language assumes that every immigrant from these majorityMuslim countries is a Muslim and that no Muslim emigrated from a minority-Muslim country. There is considerable evidence that immigrant waves from the same country can be very different in terms of religious composition. For example, only about 1% of immigrants who arrived in the U.S. from predominantly Muslim Iran in the 1980s were believed to be Muslims, with larger proportions assumed to be Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, and Bahais. Similarly, the 1975 civil war in Lebanon resulted in disproportionately larger numbers of Christians than Muslims immigrating to the United States during the 1980s. Other factors further complicate projections of the U.S. Muslim population based on immigration and Census data. These estimates must be adjusted to reflect the presence of Muslims who arrived earlier, with each new wave added to those who are already in the United States. These numbers also must be adjusted to account for births and deaths of Muslims already in the United States. These adjustments require researchers to use estimates of the birth and death rates, and then apply them to each generation of immigrants. However, the available evidence suggests that it may be at least as difficult to get a reliable estimate of the growth rate of the
13 MUSLIM AMERICANS

Muslim population as it is to estimate the total population. A careful study in San Diego, California, found that the Muslim population there was capable of doubling every six years. But a more rigorous study in Illinois found the Muslim population in that state doubled every 17 years, or only about a third of the increase estimated in San Diego. American-born converts to Islam also increase the U.S. Muslim population, and researchers say getting accurate estimates of this group may be the most difficult challenge of all. Data on conversion from another religion to Islam is virtually non-existent, and what estimates exist are based on conversion rates to other faiths that may not apply to the Muslim experience.

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MUSLIM AMERICANS

CHAPTER 2 Who Are the Muslim Americans? A Demographic Portrait

he Muslim American population is youthful, racially diverse, generally well-educated, and financially about as well-off as the rest of the U.S. public. Nearly two-thirds (65%) are immigrants while 35% were born in the Nativity and Immigration United States. Roughly half (51%) live in households All U.S. Foreign with at least one Muslim child under the age of 18, and Muslims born Generation % % the marriage rate (60%) is comparable with that of other First 65 100 adult Americans (57%). Second 7 -Third + 28 --

Nativity, Immigration, and Citizenship Most U.S. Muslims (65%) are first-generation immigrants. But more than a third (35%) were born in the United States. One-fifth (21%) of the native-born (or 7% of all Muslims in this country) are secondgeneration, with one or both parents having been born outside of the U.S. The nearly two-thirds who were born outside of the United States come from at least 68 different nations, with no single nation accounting for more than 12% of the immigrants. More than a third (37%) of all foreign-born Muslim Americans arrived from the Arab region, including Arabic-speaking countries in the Middle East and North Africa. An additional 27% emigrated from the South Asian region, including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Another 8% come from European countries and 6% from other parts of Africa. In terms of specific countries, 12% of foreign-born Muslims arrived from Pakistan, and the same proportion from Iran. No more than 7% of first-generation immigrants were born in any other single country. A majority of the foreign-born arrived in the U.S. in the 1990s (33%) or in this decade (28%). An additional 23% came during the 1980s, while just 16% came earlier than that.
15

Born in United States Arab region* South Asia Iran Europe Other Africa* Other Country of birth Pakistan Iran India Lebanon Yemen Bangladesh Iraq Bosnia & Herzegovina Year of arrival 2000-2007 1990-1999 1980-1989 1979 and earlier Native born Reason for emigrating Educational opportunity Economic opportunity Family reasons Conflict/persecution Other Dont know U.S. Citizen Yes No
Sample size

35 24 18 8 5 4 6 8 8 4 4 4 3 3 3 18 21 15 11 35 ------77 23
1,024

-37 27 12 8 6 10 12 12 7 6 6 5 4 4 28 33 23 16 -26 24 24 20 3 3 65 35
752

Results repercentaged to exclude nonresponse. * Based on UNDP classification of the Arab region, which includes 22 Middle Eastern and North African countries.

MUSLIM AMERICANS

The reasons for immigrating are highly varied. Roughly equal numbers cite educational opportunities (26%), economic opportunities (24%), and family reasons (24%) for moving to the U.S. An additional 20% say they came to the U.S. because of conflict or persecution in their home country. Conflict or persecution is cited as a reason for immigrating by roughly equal shares of those emigrating from Iran (26%), Arab nations (19%) and South Asian countries (19%). Despite the heavy presence of immigrants among the Muslim population, more than three-quarters (77%) of all U.S. Muslims are American citizens. In addition to the 35% who are citizens by birth, a 65% majority of those who were born outside of the U.S. report that they are now naturalized citizens. The vast majority of immigrant Muslims who arrived prior to 1990 have been naturalized (92%), as have most of those who arrived during the 1990s (70%). Among more recent arrivals (2000 and later), 22% so far have become citizens. Gender and Age Estimating the proportion of male and female Muslims in America is more complicated than it may seem. Previous surveys of Muslim Americans including the selfidentified Muslims reached in the Pew Research Centers nationwide surveys over the past decade tended to complete more interviews with male Muslims than female Muslims. However, potential cultural factors in particular, the possibility that some Muslims consider it inappropriate for Muslim women to be interviewed by a stranger, especially if the interviewer is male make these unreliable as measures of the overall gender balance among U.S. Muslims.2

Sex, Age, and Family Status

U.S. General Muslims public % % 54 48 46 52 100 100 30 26 31 13 60 6 3 3 28 21 19 30 30 57 11 2 6 24

Male Female 18-29 30-39 40-54 55+ Married Divorced Separated Widowed Never married

For this reason, the current survey asked Muslim respondents for information about the number of people living in their household, and the gender and religious affiliation of each person. When compiled, these figures indicate that 54% of all adult Muslims in the U.S. are male, while 46% are female. The surveys finding that most adult Muslims in the U.S. are male is consistent with U.S. Census data on immigrants from majority-Muslim nations. Males constitute a majority of immigrants from several Muslim nations that are the source of significant numbers of people coming to the U.S.
The current survey made an effort to avoid this problem by matching female interviewers with female respondents whenever possible. See the methodology chapter for a more extensive discussion of this issue.
2

General public figures based on U.S. Census Bureau data.

16

MUSLIM AMERICANS

The balance of men and women is similar across most immigrant groups, including South Asians and Arabs. In addition, more than six-in-10 native-born African American Muslims are male (64%); there is a closer division between males and females (52% male vs. 48% female) among other native-born Muslims. Muslim Americans are significantly younger than the non-Muslim population. More than half of adult Muslims (56%) are between the ages of 18 and 39; in the general public, just 40% of adults are in this category. The survey finds that 13% of Muslim adults are ages 55 and older; in the broader population, 30% of adults fall into this age group.
Adult Muslim Population in U.S. Tilts Young
18-29 30-39 40-54 55+ % % % % 30 26 31 13=100 36 28 46 26 36 29 17 26 29 21 26 27 28 29 24 26 21 35 28 36 36 14=100 17=100 12=100 13=100 9=100 7=100 18=100

All U.S. Muslims Native-born African American Other Foreign-born Self/Parent from Arab region Pakistan Other South Asia

Muslim adults who were born in the United States are younger than those who were U.S. general public 21 19 30 30=100 born elsewhere, and it is the non-black nativeResults repercentaged to exclude non-response. born who are the youngest. Nearly half (46%) of General public figures based on U.S. Census Bureau data. native-born Muslim adults who are not African American are between 18 and 29 years of age. The share under age 30 is lower among both native-born African American Muslims (28%) and foreign-born Muslims (26%), though these groups are significantly younger than the public at large. Marriage rates are similar for Muslims and non-Muslims. Sixty percent of the surveys respondents say they are married, compared with 57% among the general public. The percentage of Muslim Americans who report being divorced or separated (9%) is slightly lower than among the general public (13%). Race and Ethnicity No single racial group constitutes a majority among the Muslim American population: 38% describe themselves as white, 26% black, 20% Asian, and 16% other or mixed race. Foreign-born Muslims are 44% white, 28% Asian, and 18% mixed or other. Just 10% say they are black. By comparison, a 56% majority of native-born Muslims are black, 31% are white and just 2% describe themselves as Asian.
Racial Composition of the U.S. Muslim Population
----U.S. Muslims---U.S. Foreign Native general public* Total born born % % % % 38 44 31 77 26 10 56 11 20 28 2 5 18 11 7 16 100 100 100 100 4 1 10 13

White Black Asian Other/mixed Hispanic

Results repercentaged to exclude non-response. General public figures based on U.S. Census Bureau data.

17

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Within specific ethnic heritages, 64% of Muslims from the Arab region say they are white, while 20% say they are some other or mixed race. By contrast, 85% of Pakistanis and 77% of those from other South Asian nations describe their race as Asian. Overall, just 4% of Muslim Americans say they are of Hispanic origin or descent, though this number is 10% among native-born Muslims. This includes 8% among African American Muslims and 11% among others who were born in the U.S. Income and Education Muslim Americans generally mirror the U.S. public in education and income. Compared with the general public, somewhat fewer Muslims have finished high school and considerably fewer own their home, but just as many have earned college degrees and attended graduate school. More than one-fifth of U.S. Muslims (22%) currently are enrolled in college classes, with similar rates of college enrollment among foreign-born (22%) and native-born (20%) Education and Income Muslims. ----U.S. Muslims---U.S. About a quarter (24%) of Muslim Americans have a college degree, including 10% who have gone on to graduate study. These numbers are similar to the U.S. general public. A somewhat larger proportion of Muslims have not finished high school (21%) than is true for the public at large (16%). Economically, family income among Muslim Americans is roughly comparable with that of the population as a whole. Among adults nationwide, 44% report household incomes of $50,000 or more annually, as do 41% of Muslim American adults. At the highest end of the income scale, Muslim Americans are about as likely to report household incomes of $100,000 or more as are members of the general public (16% for Muslims compared with 17% among the public). Roughly a third of both Muslim Americans (35%) and adults nationwide (33%) report household incomes of less than $30,000
18
Education Graduate study College grad Some college HS graduate Not HS grad Currently enrolled in college Household income $100,000+ $75-$99,999 $50-$74,999 $30-$49,999 Less than $30,000 Home owner Personal financial situation Excellent/Good Fair/Poor DK/Refused Total % 10 14 23 32 21 100 22 16 10 15 24 35 41 Foreign Native born born % % 13 3 16 10 19 31 28 40 24 16 100 100 22 19 9 17 20 35 44 20 11 12 12 30 35 39 general public* % 9 16 29 30 16 100 n/a 17 11 16 23 33 68

42 52 6 100

47 49 4 100

37 62 1 100

49 50 1 100

Results for education and income repercentaged to exclude nonresponse. General public figures for education and based on U.S. Census Bureau data. General public figures for home ownership from April 2007 and financial situation from Feb. 2007 Pew nationwide surveys.

MUSLIM AMERICANS

annually. The extent to which Muslims are integrated into the economic mainstream in America is in stark contrast to the position of Muslims living in four major Western European nations. Surveys of Muslim populations in Great Britain, France, Germany and Spain conducted in 2006 as part of the Pew Global Attitudes Project found Muslims to be much less affluent relative to the general populations of those nations. For example, a majority of Muslims in Germany (53%) reported family incomes of less than 18,000 euros annually compared with 35% of Germans overall. A similar gap exists in France. In Great Britain, 61% of Muslims reported incomes of less than 20,000 pounds, compared with 39% of the general public. And 73% of Spanish Muslims report incomes of less than 14,500 euros compared with half of the public nationwide.
Income Disparities in Advanced Democracies
General Muslims public United States % % $75,000 or more 26 28 $30,000-$74,999 39 39 33 Less than $30,000 35 100 100 France 29,500 or more 20 32 17,500-29,499 35 41 27 Less than 17,500 45 100 100 Spain 21,500 or more 7 26 14,500-21,499 20 24 Less than 14,500 73 50 100 100 Germany 30,000 or more 12 26 18,000-29,999 35 39 35 Less than 18,000 53 100 100 Great Britain 40,000 or more 20,000-39,999 Less than 20,000 13 23 diff -2 0 +2 -12 -6 +18 -19 -4 +23 -14 -4 +18

Economic Satisfaction and Employment 26 38 -12 39 +22 61 Muslim Americans are slightly less likely than 100 100 members of the general public to express overall Note: Exactly comparable income ranges were not available across countries. satisfaction with their personal financial situation (42% excellent or good vs. 49% in a recent national survey). Immigrant Muslims are happier with their finances than are native-born Muslims (47% excellent/good among immigrants vs. 37% among native-born). Differences between individual subgroups are especially large: 68% of Muslims of Pakistani heritage Employment Status rate their situation excellent or good, compared ----U.S. Muslims---U.S. with 42% among those of Arab descent and Foreign Native general public* Total born born just 30% among African American Muslims. Although Muslim Americans as a group are doing reasonably well financially, a lower percentage reports being employed fulltime than among the general public. Overall 41% say they work full-time, compared with 49% of the general population. There is little
19
Employed full-time Employed part-time Not employed % 41 16 43 100 % 40 14 46 100 24 % 42 20 38 100 27 % 49 11 40 100 21

-10

Self employed or small business owner 24

Employment status figures based on U.S. Census Bureau data. Self-employment figures from April 2007 Pew nationwide survey.

MUSLIM AMERICANS

difference in the overall rate of employment between foreign-born (40%) and native-born Muslims (42%). But there are significant differences by subgroups. Immigrants who came to the U.S. prior to 1990 have a full-time employment rate comparable to the general publics (55%), while more recent immigrants lag behind (33% work full-time). Among Arab Americans, only 29% are employed full-time. African American Muslims (at 45%) match the full-time employment rate for all Muslims (41%). Part-time employment is fairly common among Muslim Americans, with rates exceeding the U.S. publics (16% vs. 11% in the public). In addition, a significant number of Muslims say that they are self-employed or own a small business (24%), including 32% among African American native-born Muslims and 29% among Muslims of Pakistani heritage. Household Composition Most U.S. Muslims (61%) live in multiple-person households in which everyone is a Muslim. But nearly one-infour (23%) live in a household with at least one non-Muslim. Among nativeborn Muslims, the number living in mixed households is considerably higher (43%); 57% of native-born African American Muslims share a home with one or more non-Muslims.

Household Composition
----U.S. Muslims---Foreign Native Total born born % % % 6 5 9 84 88 86 61 74 43 23 14 43 7 5 10 100 100 100 59 48 3 8 33 8 100 61 56 1 4 34 5 100 60 36 7 17 35 5 100

Percent living in One-person household Multiple-person household All Muslim household Mixed Muslim & non-Muslim Dont know/Refused Households with children Muslim children only Muslim & non-Muslim children Non-Muslim children only No children Dont know/Refused

One-third of adult Muslims (33%) live in households with no children; half (48%) live in households where all of the children are Muslim, and smaller numbers live in households with one or more non-Muslim child. Native-born Muslims are especially likely to live in households with at least one nonMuslim child (24%).

20

MUSLIM AMERICANS

CHAPTER 3 Religious Belief and Practice

ust like the larger American public of which they are a part, most U.S. Muslims say that religion is very important to them and that they accept the basic tenets of their faith. Most pray every day and four-in-10 attend a mosque at least once a week. Yet there is considerable religious diversity in American Islam, resembling the diversity of American Christianity. A large majority of Muslims accept the Koran as the word of God, but only half say that it should be taken literally, word for word. Most Muslims also say there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of Islam. One distinctive feature of the Muslim American population is the relatively large number of converts from outside of the tradition. Nearly one-quarter have converted to Islam, most of them from Christianity. Nearly all of the conversions to Islam are among the native-born population, and the majority of all converts to Islam are African Americans. Islamic Affiliation Muslims in the United States belong to diverse religious traditions within Islam. Half identify with Sunni Islam, the largest Muslim tradition worldwide. The second largest segment of the Muslim American population about one-fifth of the total (22%) volunteers they are just Muslim, without any particular affiliation. An additional 16% identify with Shia Islam, which is the second largest Muslim tradition Muslim Religious Affiliation worldwide. Only 5% of U.S. Muslims identify with another Muslim tradition, and Nonspecific Other/ 7% did not offer a response. Sunni Shia (Vol.) DK/Ref Sunni Muslims make up about half of Native-born 50 7 30 13=100 both the native-born (50%) and foreign-born African American 48 2 34 16=100 Foreign-born 53 21 18 8=100 (53%) segments of the U.S. Muslim Self/Parent from population, but there are bigger differences Arab region 56 19 23 2=100 Pakistan 72 6 10 12=100 when it comes to other traditions. Among Other South Asia 82 4 7 7=100 Muslim Americans who were born in the Iran 6 91 3 0=100 United States, just 7% identify with Shia Question: Are you Shia, Sunni, or another tradition? Islam, while 30% say they are Muslim without specifying a tradition. Among Muslims who immigrated to the United States, at least as many identify themselves as Shia (21%) as say they do not have a particular affiliation (18%).
All U.S. Muslims % 50 % 16 % 22 % 12=100

21

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Not surprisingly, religious affiliation is strongly linked to a persons country of origin. Muslim Americans who are first- or second-generation immigrants from Arab countries are mostly Sunni (56%), with about one-fifth each either Shia (19%) or just Muslim (23%). Large majorities of Pakistanis (72%) and other South Asians (82%) are Sunni, while Iranians are overwhelmingly Shia (91%). Overall, 20% of U.S. Muslims are native-born African Americans, nearly half of whom (48%) identify as Sunni. Another third (34%) of native-born African Americans say they are just a Muslim, and 15% have another affiliation, including Shia and the Nation of Islam. Converts to Islam More than three-quarters (77%) of Muslim Americans say they have always been a Muslim, while 23% say they converted to Islam. Nine-in-10 (91%) converts to Islam were born in the United States, and almost three-fifths (59%) of converts to Islam are African American. A 55% majority of converts identify with Sunni Islam and another quarter (24%) identify with no specific tradition. Only 6% of Muslim converts in America identify themselves as Shia. Almost half (49%) of Muslim converts in America report that their conversion occurred when they were under 21 years of age, another third (34%) converted when they were between ages 21 and 35, and 17% when they were older than 35. The early age of most conversions to Islam resembles the typical pattern of conversion in the general public, where religious change is concentrated in adolescence and early adulthood. Two-thirds (67%) of all converts to Islam in the U.S. came from Protestant churches, 10% came from Catholicism, and just 5% from other religions. Nearly one-in-seven converts to Islam (15%) had no religion before their conversion.

Profile of Converts to Islam

Percent of Muslim converts who are Born in the U.S. Foreign-born African American White Other race Tradition Sunni Shia Non-specific (Vol.) Other/no response Age when converted to Islam Less than 21 21 to 35 36 and older Converted to Islam from Protestant denomination Roman Catholic Orthodox Christian Other religion No religion Dont know/Refused % 91 9 100 59 34 7 100 55 6 24 15 100 49 34 17 100 67 10 4 1 15 3 100

Reason for converting Religious beliefs/practices 58 Family/marriage 18 Other 22 No answer 2 100

Based on 179 U.S. Muslims who

converted to Islam. Most converts to Islam (58%) cite aspects of the religion as the reason for their conversion. These include references to the truth or appeal of Islams teachings, the belief that Islam is superior to

22

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Christianity, or that the religion just made sense to them. Just 18% of converts mentioned family reasons, such as marrying a Muslim, as the reason for their conversion. Religious Beliefs Overall, Muslim Americans are fairly traditional in their religious beliefs. For example, 86% say that the Koran is the word of God and half (50%) say that the Koran is to be read literally, word for word. Fewer than one-in-10 U.S. Muslims (8%) say the Koran is a book written by men. In this regard, Muslims in this country are more likely to adopt a strict literal view of the Koran than American Christians are to adopt a strict literal view of the Bible (50% to 40%).

Views of the Koran and the Bible

U.S. U.S. Muslims Christians Koran/Bible is % % The word of God 86 78 Literally, word for word 50 40 Not everything literal 25 32 Dont know 11 6 Book written by men 8 15 7 Other/DK/Refused 5 100 100
Muslims asked about the Koran, Christians about the Bible. See topline Q.E4 and Q.E5 for question wording. Christian comparisons from March 2007 Pew Research Center for the People & the Press nationwide survey.

Large majorities of Muslim Americans accept the basic teachings of Islam. For example, nearly all (96%) believe in One God, Allah, and the Prophet Muhammad (94%). Belief in a future Day of Judgment (91%) and the existence of angels (87%) is nearly as common. While U.S. Muslims hold many traditional Islamic beliefs, a 60% majority also says that there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of Islam. A third says that there is only one true way to interpret the teachings of Islam. Views on diverse interpretations of Islam are associated with views of the Koran. Two-thirds (66%) of those who believe there is only one true way to interpret the teachings of Islam accept a literal view of the Koran. In contrast, less than half (45%) of those who believe there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of Islam hold a literal view of the Koran.
Many Interpretations of Islam
Ways to interpret Islamic teachings* Only More Other/ one than one DK % % % 33 60 7=100 % 92 66 19 7 5 3 100

All U.S. Muslims Believe Koran is The word of God Taken literally Not literally Other/DK/Refused Book written by men Other/DK/Refused

% 82 45 28 9 11 7 100

* Question: Which statement comes closest to your view? There is only ONE true way to interpret the teachings of Islam, (OR) There is MORE than one true way to interpret the teachings of Islam.

23

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Religious Practices Muslims in the United States take their faith seriously. For example, 72% say religion plays a very important role in their life. Another 18% say it is somewhat important, and just 9% say that religion is not too important or not at all important to them. While religion is very important to the vast majority, not all Muslim Americans practice their faith in the same way. For instance, when asked about attending a mosque or Islamic center for salah and Jumah prayer, 40% say they attend either more than once a week (17%) or Muslim Religious Attendance once a week (23%). An additional 8% say they Weekly Less Seldom/ DK/ attend once or twice a month, and 18% report Ref or more often Never % % % % attending a mosque a few times a year, All U.S. Muslims 40 26 34 *=100 especially for the Eid services. Roughly a third Native-born 45 24 31 0=100 African American 54 20 27 0=100 of Muslim Americans say they either seldom Other race 34 29 37 0=100 (16%) or never (18%) attend worship services. Foreign-born 37 27 36 *=100
45 23 31 1=100 Mosque attendance among U.S. Muslims 57 29 14 0=100 varies by nativity and nationality. Native-born 38 37 25 *=100 7 16 77 0=100 Muslims (45%), especially African Americans (54%), are more likely to attend mosque weekly than are the foreign-born (37%). Muslims of Pakistani descent (57%) are more likely to be frequent attendees compared with other South Asians (38%). Muslims of first- or secondgeneration Iranian descent stand out for their very low levels (7%) of weekly mosque attendance. Self/Parents from Arab region Pakistan Other South Asia Iran

Overall, nearly three-quarters Quality of Mosques Available Where You Live (74%) of Muslim Americans say they are (Vol.) Satis- Dissat- None DK/ satisfied with the quality of mosques in isfied nearby Ref fied their area, while 15% say they are % % % % All U.S. Muslims 74 15 3 8=100 dissatisfied. Among those who attend Attend mosque services services weekly or more often, 83% are More than weekly 83 16 * 1=100 satisfied, while 16% are not. Satisfaction Once a week for Jumah 83 16 * 1=100 Once or twice a month 81 17 1 1=100 is lower among the 18% of Muslim Few times a year for Eid 80 15 2 3=100 Seldom 75 12 6 7=100 Americans who never attend a mosque, Never 42 14 10 34=100 but mostly because they dont have an opinion one way or the other. Nationwide, 3% of Muslims volunteer that there is no mosque nearby, a response that is most common among those who seldom (6%) or never (10%) attend. Three-in-10 Muslim Americans report taking part in other social and religious activities at a mosque or Islamic center outside of regular salah and Jumah prayers, and more than three24 MUSLIM AMERICANS

quarters (78%) of those who are active in this regard also say they are satisfied with the quality of mosques available to them. A solid majority of Muslim Americans (61%) say they pray every day. Roughly four-in10 (41%) report praying all five salah daily, one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Another 20% say they make some of the five salah every day; 20% make salah Daily Prayer occasionally, while just (6%) only make Eid prayers. About U.S. one-in-10 Muslim Americans (12%) say that they never pray. Muslims Muslim Americans also assign considerable importance to other Islamic religious practices included among the Five Pillars of Islam. For example, about three-quarters of Muslim Americans say that giving charity or zakat (76%) to the poor and fasting during Ramadan (77%) are very important to them. A pilgrimage to Mecca is very Islamic Practices important to 63% of U.S. Muslims. Small minorities of Muslim Americans Giving Fasting Taking charity during pilgrimage say that these practices are not too or How important (zakat) Ramadan to Mecca not at all important, ranging from 8% % % % Very important 76 77 63 for zakat to 15% for the Hajj Somewhat important 14 11 21 pilgrimage. Not too important 3 4 8
Not at all important Dont know/Refused 5 2 100 6 2 100 7 1 100 All five salah Some of five salah Occasionally make salah Only make Eid Prayers Never pray Dont know/Refused % 41 20 20 6 12 1 100

Most Muslim Americans (58%) also say that it is very important to read or listen to the Koran daily. Another 23% say this is somewhat important, while 17% say it is not too or not at all important to read or hear the Koran every day. Levels of Religious Commitment Nearly one-quarter (23%) of Muslim Americans have a high level of religious commitment, which is defined as attending mosque at least once a week, praying all five salah every day, and reporting that religion is very important in their lives. About as many (26%) have a relatively low level of religious commitment, rarely engaging in these practices and generally regarding religion as less important in their lives. A majority of Muslim Americans (51%) fall somewhere in between. Religious commitment varies by religious affiliation. Among Sunni Muslims, 28% are highly religious, compared with just 13% of Shia Muslims. Those who volunteer that they are just Muslim, without specifying an Islamic tradition, closely resemble U.S. Muslims as a whole

Reading Koran daily % 58 23 10 7 2 100

25

MUSLIM AMERICANS

(21% high commitment). Muslim immigrants who arrived before 1990 are more likely than native-born Muslims to report low levels of religious commitment. Muslim men and women practice their faith in different ways. Men tend to attend services at mosques or Islamic centers more often than women (48% attend weekly or more vs. 30% of Muslim women). However, nearly half of Muslim women (48%) say that they pray all five salah every day, compared with barely a third (34%) of men. Regular mosque attendance is particularly high among younger Muslim Americans. Fully half (51%) of Muslims under age 30 say they attend at least weekly, compared with 36% of those ages 30 to 54 and just 26% of those ages 55 and older. But daily prayer is observed somewhat more frequently by older Muslims. Nearly twothirds (64%) of those ages 55 and older say that they pray every day, compared with 54% of Muslims under age 30.

Religious Commitment*
High Med Low % % % 23 51 26=100 26 24 20 19 25 21 52 46 53 55 22=100 30=100 27=100 26=100

Total 18-29 30-39 40-54 55+ Men Women

48 27=100 54 25=100 54 18=100 44 43=100 51 28=100 49 27=100 58 23=100 56 65 45 49 41 52 20=100 10=100 32=100 29=100 38=100 25=100

Sunni 28 Shia 13 Non-specific (Vol.) 21 Born Muslim Convert Native-born African American Other race Foreign-born Pre-1990 1990 & later 24 19 24 25 23 22 21 23

*An index based on self-reported mosque attendance, prayer and the importance of religion.

Women and Islam Fully 69% of Muslim Americans say that the Islamic religion treats men and women equally well. Only about a quarter of Muslims (23%) believe that Islam treats men better than women. Notably, Muslim women are about as likely as men to say that Islam treats members of both sexes equally well (71% of Muslim women vs. 66% of men). The small group of Muslim Americans (9% overall) who say that religion is not that important in their lives stand out for their belief that Islam treats men better than women; 52% express this view. But among Muslims who say religion is very important 72% of all U.S. Muslims an overwhelming majority (80%) says that Islam treats men and No Gender Gap in Views of Separating Men and Women at Mosques women equally well. Muslim American women and men also express similar opinions about keeping the sexes separated when praying at mosques. About half of all U.S. Muslims (46%) and comparable
When praying at a mosque women should pray Separately from men Behind men, not separately Alongside men Other/dont know U.S. Muslims % 46 23 21 10 100 Men Women % % 48 45 20 26 21 20 11 9 100 100

26

MUSLIM AMERICANS

percentages of men and women say that when praying, Women should be separate from men, in another area of the mosque or behind a curtain. Smaller percentages of Muslim American men and women (23% overall) say that women should pray behind men, but with no curtain. Only about one-in-five Muslim men and women (21% of all Muslim Americans) believe that women should pray in an area alongside men, with no curtain. Similarities with American Christians Although Muslim Americans have distinctive beliefs and practices, their religiosity is similar to American Christians in many respects. For example, U.S. Muslims are a little more likely than American Christians to say religion is very important in their life (72% and 60%, respectively) but a little less likely to say that they pray every day (61% vs. 70%). The two religious communities are about equally likely to attend religious services at least weekly (40% for Muslims vs. 45% for Christians). Thus in terms of the broad patterns of religiosity, American Islam resembles the mainstream of American religious life.

American Muslims & Christians

U.S. U.S. Muslims Christians % % Religion is very important in your life Pray every day Attend mosque/church at least once a week 72 61 40 60 70 45

Christian comparisons taken from the following Pew nationwide surveys: May 2006, Aug 2005, Jan-Apr 2007

27

MUSLIM AMERICANS

28

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CHAPTER 4 The Muslim Experience: Identity, Assimilation and Community

hile Muslim Americans are somewhat less upbeat about their life and circumstances than are other Americans, the differences are modest, and Muslims in the United States are mostly satisfied with their communities and their lives. As with the general public, however, Muslims are less satisfied with the overall direction of the country. On the question of assimilation, a plurality of U.S. Muslims (43%) say that Muslim immigrants arriving in the U.S. should mostly adopt American customs and ways of life, though a significant minority (26%) thinks that new immigrants should try to remain distinct. Nearly half of Muslims say they think of themselves as Most U.S. Muslims Happy With Lives a Muslim first, while 28% say they think of themselves as an American first. However, Would you say you are Very Pretty Not too DK/ Muslims in Western Europe and in happy happy happy Ref % % % % predominantly Muslims countries are generally All U.S. Muslims 24 54 18 4=100 much more likely to think of themselves Men 24 52 20 4=100 primarily as Muslims, rather than as citizens of Women 25 56 15 4=100 their countries. 18-29 26 63 10 1=100 Happiness and Community Nearly eight-in-10 U.S. Muslims say they are either very happy (24%) or pretty happy (54%) with their lives. This is modestly lower than the proportion of the general public expressing this view (36% very happy and 51% pretty happy). Few notable demographic differences emerge in overall levels of personal satisfaction. Muslim immigrants are somewhat less content (74% very or pretty happy) than Muslims who were born in the United States (84%). Bigger differences emerge among younger and older Muslims: Just one-in-10 Muslims younger than 30 say they are not too happy with their lives, while 89% are very or
29
30-39 40-54 55+ 23 25 21 56 46 52 20 26 12 1=100 3=100 15=100 3=100 3=100 4=100 3=100 4=100 1=100 4=100 3=100 3=100 2=100 4=100 2=100

College graduate Some college HS or less Native-born African American Other Foreign-born Arrived pre-1990 1990 or later Self/Parents from Arab region Pakistan Other South Asia Religious commitment High Medium Low

27 26 22 22 22 23 26 24 26 27 27 33

56 60 50 62 59 66 48 54 47 51 60 54

14 11 24 13 15 10 22 19 24 20 9 11

25 24 26

51 57 50 51

20 16 19 12

4=100 3=100 5=100 1=100

U.S. general public* 36

* September 2006 Pew Research Center for the People & the Press national survey.

MUSLIM AMERICANS

pretty happy. Among Muslims ages 30 and older, 21% are unhappy with how things are in their lives, while 74% say they are very or pretty happy. A similar age-related difference is evident in the general public. Like other Americans, Muslims are generally pleased with the communities in which they live. More than seven-in-10 rate their community as an excellent (28%) or good (44%) place to live. In the general population, 41% rate their communities as excellent, and 41% as good. Three-in-four Muslim immigrants (76%), compared with 65% of all native-born Muslims, rate their home communities as either excellent or good places to live. Contentment with their lives and communities does not extend to their views about the country. Most Muslim Americans (54%) say they are dissatisfied with the overall direction of the county a critical view shared by an even larger proportion of the general public (61%). Hard Work Pays Off If anything, Muslim Americans are more likely than the general public to believe that hard work is the path to success: 71% of Muslim Americans say that most people who want to get ahead can make it if they work hard. A somewhat smaller percentage of the general public (64%) agrees with this statement. Notably, African American Muslims are less convinced than other U.S. Muslims both native-born and immigrants that hard work brings success. Fewer than six-in-10 African American Muslims (56%) agree with this principle, compared with 75% of other native-born Muslims, and 74% of all foreignborn Muslims. The views of African American Muslims about whether hard work leads to success are on par with those of African Americans more generally. When the same question was asked last year in a nationwide Pew survey, 59% of African Americans agreed that hard work brought success.
U.S. Muslims See Hard Work Leading to Success
Most can get ahead w/ hard work % All U.S. Muslims 71 Men Women 18-29 30-39 40-54 55+ Native-born African American Other race Foreign-born Arrived pre-1990 1990 or later Self/Parents from Arab country Pakistan Other South Asia U.S. general public* White African American Hispanic American 66 76 76 68 71 64 64 56 75 74 69 76 78 72 76 64 66 59 61

Question: Which comes closer to your view? (One) Most people who want to get ahead can make it if theyre willing to work hard, or (Two) Hard work and determination are no guarantee of success for most people. * March 2006 Pew Research Center for the People & the Press national survey.

30

MUSLIM AMERICANS

U.S. Muslims: Americans First? Asked whether they think of themselves first as an American or first as a Muslim, a 47% plurality of U.S. Muslims say they consider themselves Muslims first; 28% say they think of themselves first as Americans. In May 2006, when U.S. Christians were asked a parallel question, 42% said they think of themselves as Christians first, while 48% said they are Americans first. The survey findings suggest the question is as much a measure of personal religious commitment as an expression of patriotism to the United States. Among Muslim Americans who have a high level of religious commitment, 70% say they consider themselves to be Muslims first. But among those with low religious commitment, just 28% see themselves this way, while a 47% plurality identifies first as American, and 12% say they consider themselves equally Muslim and American.

Do You Think of Yourself First as an American or First as a Muslim?

American Muslim (Vol) Other/ first first Both DK % % % % All U.S. Muslims 28 47 18 7=100 18-29 30-39 40-54 55+ College grad Some college HS or less 25 31 29 32 33 31 25 60 43 40 39 34 46 54 50 58 40 46 39 49 53 58 54 10 21 24 21 5=100 5=100 7=100 8=100

23 10=100 20 3=100 16 5=100 10 10 10 23 24 23 30 25 17 5=100 6=100 4=100 6=100 5=100 7=100 2=100 5=100 5=100

Native-born 35 African American 26 Other race 46 Foreign-born Arrived pre-1990 1990 or later 25 32 21

Self/Parents from Arab country 15 Pakistan 12 Other South Asia 25 Religious commitment High Medium Low

9 27 47

70 46 28

18 22 12

3=100 5=100 13=100

The link between religiosity and self* May 2006 Pew Global Attitudes Project national survey. identity is similar among Christians in America. By roughly two-to-one (59% vs. 30%), U.S. Christians who say religion is very important identify as Christians first, while those who say religion is less important identify as Americans first, by a margin of 76% to 18%. Similarly, most white evangelical Protestants (62%) say they primarily identify themselves as Christians rather than Americans, while most white mainline Protestants (65%) identify as Americans first. The relationship between religious attendance and religious identity may partially explain why younger Muslims are more likely to consider themselves as Muslim first. By a margin of more than two-to-one (60% vs. 25%), most Muslim Americans under age 30 say they think of
Mosque Attendance and Self-Identity
Think of yourself as American Muslim (Vol) first Both Muslims who attend first mosque services % % % Once a week or more 20 58 19 Once or twice a month 27 57 12 Few times a year 25 38 29 Seldom/never 41 36 13 Other/ DK % 3=100 4=100 8=100 10=100

American Christian (Vol) Other first first Both DK U.S. Christians* 48 42 7 3=100

31

MUSLIM AMERICANS

themselves as Muslims first. About half of all Muslims under age 30 say they attend mosque at least once a week compared with slightly more than a third of Muslims age 30 and older. Among young people who attend weekly, nearly seven-in-10 (68%) say they identify first as Muslim compared with 36% of all Muslims who seldom or never attend services. Muslim Identity and Extremism The poll finds that ones identification as Muslim or American also relates to opinions about Muslim extremism. For example, 13% of those who think of themselves primarily as Muslims believe that suicide bombing to defend Islam from its enemies can be often or sometimes justified, compared with 4% of those who say they are American first. Still, overwhelming majorities of both groups reject suicide bombing as a strategy, including 85% of those who identify primarily as Americans and 79% who consider themselves Muslims first.

Self-Identity and Views On Suicide Bombing, Sept. 11

Identify as American Muslim first first % % 4 13 85 79 8 11 100 100

Suicide bombing can be justified Often/sometimes Rarely/never DK/Refused Believe groups of Arabs carried out 9/11 attacks? Yes No DK/Refused

61 20 19 100

28 40 32 100

Somewhat larger differences emerge when it comes to views about who carried out the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Those who identify themselves first as Muslim are twice as likely (40% vs. 20%) to say these attacks were not carried out by groups of Arabs. Slightly fewer than three-in-10 U.S. Muslims (28%) who think of themselves primarily as Muslim say they believe the 9/11 attacks were carried out Conflict in Being a Devout Muslim and Living in Modern Society? by groups of Arabs while six-in-10 Muslims (61%) who think of themselves first as American say Arabs were DK/ Yes No Ref responsible.
U.S. Muslims % 32 % 63 % 5=100

Assimilation vs. Maintaining Identity Like other U.S. religious groups, Muslims believe that their religious convictions can fit comfortably in a world of rapid change and shifting values. More than sixin-10 U.S. Muslims (63%) say they see no conflict between being a devout Muslim and living in a modern society, a belief they share with many Muslims around the world. Still, Muslim Americans struggle to find a balance between two worlds and two very different cultures. They
32

Muslims in Great Britain Germany France Spain Pakistan Indonesia Jordan Nigeria Turkey Egypt

47 36 28 25 48 43 34 33 29 28

49 57 72 71 17 54 64 64 61 70

4=100 7=100 *=100 4=100 35=100 3=100 2=100 3=100 10=100 2=100

Question: Do you think there is a natural conflict between being a devout Muslim and living in a modern society, or dont you think so?

MUSLIM AMERICANS

divide over the best strategy for Muslim immigrants to pursue when they arrive in the United States. The largest share (43%) say new arrivals should mostly adopt American customs and ways of life. But 26% believe Muslims should mostly try to remain distinct from the larger American society. Another 16% volunteer that new immigrants should try to do both.

Muslims Coming to America Today Should

Adopt Remain (Vol) American distinct from (Vol) Neither/ DK customs U.S. society Both % % % % 43 26 16 15=100 48 38 43 41 49 41 26 26 39 24 22 17 37 26 17 15 18 13 18 16 17 18 18 12 11=100 18=100 5=100 17=100 13=100 25=100 8=100 17=100 13=100

All U.S. Muslims Men Women 18-29 30-39 40-54 55+

Muslims who were born in the United States particularly African Native-born 37 38 11 14=100 African American 31 47 9 13=100 American Muslims are more likely Other races 44 27 15 14=100 than Muslim immigrants to argue Foreign-born 47 21 18 14=100 against new arrivals assimilating fully Arrived pre-1990 55 15 15 15=100 1990 or later 43 25 19 13=100 into American life. Nearly half of Question: Which comes closer to your view? Muslims coming to African American Muslims (47%) say the US today should mostly adopt American customs and ways of life, OR Muslims coming to the US today should mostly try to that Muslim newcomers to the U.S. remain distinct from the larger American society. should strive to keep their religious and cultural identities; just 31% believe they should try to assimilate. By contrast, pluralities of other native-born Muslims and foreign-born Muslims say that Muslims arriving in the U.S. should try to adopt American customs. Gender and religiosity also are linked to views about whether new Muslim immigrants should assimilate. Men are more likely than women to say Muslims should adapt (48% vs. 38%). Devout Muslims are less inclined to favor new arrivals integrating into American life. Among those Muslims with the strongest religious commitment, fewer than four-in-10 (37%) say immigrants should adopt American customs, a view held by more than half (58%) of less religious Muslims. In general, Muslim Americans reject the idea that their fellow Muslims in the U.S. are becoming less religious. Roughly four-in-10 (43%) say that Muslims in the United States are not changing very much in terms of their religiosity. If anything, a greater percentage says that U.S. Muslims are becoming more religious (31%) rather than less religious (17%). Two-thirds of those who say that Muslims in the United States are becoming
Faith Remains Strong
Think Muslims in the U.S. are becoming More religious Less religious Not changing Dont know/Refused % 31 17 43 9 100

Religious commitment High 37 Medium 39 Low 58

33

MUSLIM AMERICANS

more religious say that is a good thing, while about half of those who say Muslims are becoming less religious view this as a bad thing. Other questions portray U.S. Muslims as a community in the process of assimilating with the larger society. Nearly half (47%) report that all or most of their close friends are Muslims, while 51% report having relatively few Muslims in their inner friendship circle. Muslim American women are particularly likely to have mostly Muslim friends. A majority of Muslim women (56%) say that all or most of their close friends are Muslims, compared with 39% of Muslim men. For the most part, Muslim Americans say it is acceptable for a Muslim to marry a non-Muslim, even though Islamic law prohibits a Muslim woman but not a man from marrying outside the faith. Overall, 62% believe it is okay for a Muslim to marry a non-Muslim, while 24% say it is unacceptable; 11% volunteered that it depends. More than eight-in-10 (84%) Muslim Americans with a relatively low level of religious commitment say there is nothing significantly wrong with interfaith marriages, compared with just 45% of highly religious U.S. Muslims. In addition, many more men (70%) than women (54%) think it is okay to marry a non-Muslim.
Men, Women Differ On Marrying a Non-Muslim
OK for a Muslim to marry a non-Muslim % 62 70 54 64 60 64 59 61 58 65 62 64 59

Total Men Women 18-29 30-39 40-54 55+

Native-born African American Other races Foreign-born Arrived pre-1990 1990 or later

Self/Parents from Arab region 48 Pakistan 50 Other South Asia 66 Religious commitment High Medium Low

45 58 84

Question: Do you personally think it is OK or not OK for a Muslim to marry someone who is not a Muslim?

34

MUSLIM AMERICANS

CHAPTER 5 The Muslim Experience: Challenges, Worries and Problems

he terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 continue to cast a long shadow over Muslim Americans. Most say life has become more difficult for Muslims in this country in the post-9/11 era. Many worry about government surveillance, job discrimination, and being harassed in public. When asked to name the biggest problem facing U.S. Muslims, concerns about discrimination and prejudice top the list. Fewer Muslim Americans than African Americans report that they have encountered bigoted acts in the past year. Still, a third of U.S. Muslims More Difficult to be Muslim in the U.S. Since Sept. 11? report that, in the past year, they have been verbally harassed, physically threatened, or More Not (Vol.) DK/ difficult changed Easier Refused treated with suspicion because of their faith.
All U.S. Muslims % 53 % 40 % 1 2 1 1 2 2 0 * 2 1 2 0 4 3 1 1 3 % 6=100

Life Since 9/11 A majority (53%) of all Muslim Americans say that, since the 9/11 attacks, it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the United States. This view is particularly prevalent among highly educated and wealthier Muslims: Nearly two-thirds of U.S. Muslims (65%) who have attended graduate school, and 68% of those with household incomes of $100,000 a year or more, say 9/11 has made it harder to be a Muslim. In addition, highly religious Muslims also are more likely to say things have become more difficult for Muslims in the post-9/11 era compared with those who are less religious (by 57%-46%).

Men Women 18-29 30-39 40-54 55+ Post grad College grad Some college H.S. or less

51 54 58 53 53 48 65 48 49 54

42 38 36 36 40 48 33 45 46 37 30 34 41 41 38 40

5=100 7=100 5=100 9=100 5=100 4=100 2=100 5=100 4=100 7=100 2=100 1=100 2=100 3=100 10=100 6=100

Household income $100,000 + 68 $75-99,000 61 $50-75,000 54 $30-50,000 55 $20-30,000 51 Under $20,000 51 Religious commitment High Medium Low

57 54 46

35 40 44 39 44 32 39 38 37

3 1 1 1 1 * 2 2 1

5=100 5=100 9=100 1=100 2=100 1=100 8=100 3=100 12=100

Native-born 59 African American 53 Other 67 Foreign-born 51 Arrived pre-1990 57 1990 or later 50

Question: Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, has it become more difficult to be a Muslim in the U.S., or hasnt it changed very much?

35

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Biggest Problems Discrimination, Prejudice Prejudice, being viewed as terrorists, ignorance about Islam, and negative stereotyping lead the list of the biggest problems that U.S. Muslims say they face. At the same time, other problems that typically rank among the publics top worries barely make the list of Muslim concerns. For example, just 2% volunteer economic and job worries. The rankings display a consistent pattern: Problems rooted in prejudice, ignorance or misunderstandings dominate the list. Beyond discrimination (19%), Muslim Americans say that their most important problems are being viewed as terrorists (15%), ignorance about Islam (14%), and stereotyping (12%). Significantly, an overwhelming majority of Muslims named at least one of these problems as a top concern for U.S. Muslims. Most Say Muslims Are Singled Out More than half of Muslim Americans (54%) believe the governments anti-terrorism efforts single out Muslims for increased surveillance and monitoring. And most of those who believe the government gives extra scrutiny to Muslims say this attention bothers them either a lot (40%) or some (34%). The belief that government anti-terrorist policies target Muslims is much more widespread among immigrants who came to the U.S. before 1990 (61%) than among more recent Muslim immigrants (40%). However, a relatively large proportion of recent immigrants declined to respond to this question (22%). A large majority of native-born Muslim Americans say that U.S. anti-terrorism policies single out Muslims for extra surveillance. This view is shared as widely among African American Muslims (72%) as
36

Most Important Problems Facing U.S. Muslims

Discrimination/racism/prejudice Being viewed as terrorists Ignorance about Islam Stereotyping Negative media portrayals Not treated fairly/harassment Religious/cultural problems War/U.S. foreign policy Radical Islam/extremists Hatred/fear/distrust of Muslims Jobs/financial problems Lack of representation/ not involved in community Other Dont know/Refused No problems % 19 15 14 12 7 6 5 3 3 2 2 1 5 6 19

Figures add to more than 100% because multiple responses were allowed.

Do Anti-Terrorism Policies Single Out Muslims?

Yes % 54 59 49 56 53 58 55 73 72 74 47 61 40 47 55 53 45 DK/ No Ref % % 31 15=100 31 10=100 32 19=100 33 28 34 32 23 26 20 36 28 38 11=100 19=100 8=100 13=100 4=100 2=100 6=100 17=100 11=100 22=100

All U.S. Muslims Men Women 18-29 30-39 40-54 55+ Native-born African Americans Other Foreign-born Arrived pre-1990 1990 or later Self/Parent from Arab region Pakistan Other South Asia U.S. general public*

33 20=100 33 12=100 34 13=100 43 12=100

Question: Do you think that the governments anti-terrorism policies single out Muslims in the U.S. for increased surveillance and monitoring, or dont you think so? * April 2007 Pew Research Center for the People & the Press national survey.

MUSLIM AMERICANS

among native-born Muslims who are not black (74%). Notably, many non-Muslims also believe that government anti-terrorism policies single out Muslims. Nearly half of the public (45%) believes these policies do target Muslims, while 43% say they do not. However, only about half of the Americans who think Muslims are singled out (52%) say they are bothered a lot or some by this, compared with 74% of Muslim Americans. Specific Concerns About one-in-five Muslim Americans (22%) say they are very worried that women who wear the hijab the traditional Muslim headscarf will be treated poorly because it identifies them as Muslim; 29% say they are somewhat worried about this.

Worried that Women Wearing the Hijab Will be Treated Poorly?

Very/ Not too/ Somewhat Not at all DK/ worried Ref worried % % % 51 45 4=100 52 51 45 44 3=100 5=100

All U.S. Muslims Men Women

Muslim American men and women are Women who equally likely to worry that Muslim women Always wear hijab 44 53 3=100 Most/sometimes 45 54 1=100 wearing a hijab will be treated poorly. Notably, Never wear hijab 58 35 7=100 Muslim women who always wear a hijab are slightly less concerned about this than are women who never wear it. Overall, 43% of Muslim American women say they wear the hijab all the time (38%) or most of the time (5%), while another 8% wear one only some of the time. Nearly half of Muslim women (48%) report they never wear the traditional headcovering. In terms of their personal concerns, 37% of Muslim Americans say they are very or somewhat worried about not being hired for a job or promoted because of their religion. Slightly fewer (32%) are very or somewhat concerned about their telephone calls and emails being monitored by the government because of their religion. Experiences with Intolerance A quarter of Muslim Americans say that, in the past year, people have acted as if they were suspicious of them. Somewhat fewer (15%) say they have been called offensive names. Smaller proportions report they have been singled out by law enforcement (9%) or physically threatened or assaulted (4%) because they are Muslim. Overall, a third of Muslim Americans interviewed report that they experienced at least one of these hostile acts in the past 12 months.

37

MUSLIM AMERICANS

To place these findings in context, Encounters with Intolerance Pew conducted a separate survey of African Percent who report Muslim African Americans and measured personal that in past year they Americans Americans* have been: % % experiences with racial discrimination. A Treated or viewed with suspicion 26 33 third of all African Americans report that Called offensive names 15 20 Singled out by police 9 20 people have acted as if they are suspicious Physically attacked or threatened 4 10 of them in the past year, compared with 26% Any of the four 33 46 of Muslim Americans. Roughly the same Percent saying someone expressed support for them 32 n/a share of blacks and U.S Muslims report they * Muslims were asked to report experiences that occurred had been called offensive names (20% vs. because you are a Muslim. A separate nationwide survey 15%). And, while the overall percentages conducted in April, 2007 asked African Americans to report experiences that occurred because of your race. are small, African Americans also are more than twice as likely as U.S. Muslims to say they have been singled out by police, or physically threatened or attacked, in the past 12 months. Taken together, nearly half (46%) of all blacks report that they have had at least one of these four experiences in the past year, or 13 percentage points greater than the proportion of Muslims who have personally encountered similar acts of intolerance. In the past year, younger Muslim Americans are more likely to say they have been victims of discrimination or intolerance based on their religion. Roughly four-in-10 (42%) Muslims under the age of 30 say in the past year they have experienced verbal taunts, been treated with suspicion, been physically threatened or attacked, or been targeted by police because they are Muslims, compared with 29% of Muslims who are 30 years old or older.
Younger Muslims Get More Suspicion, But Also More Support
Percent who report that in past year they have been: Treated or viewed with suspicion Called offensive names Singled out by police Physically attacked or threatened Any of the four Percent saying someone expressed support for them 18-29 % 32 17 10 2 42 40 30 and older % 22 14 8 5 29 28

African Americans who are Muslim appear to bear a double burden, as they say they face racial as well as religious intolerance. Overall, half of all Muslims who are African American say they have been the target of bigotry based on their religion in the past 12 months, compared with 28% of white Muslims and 23% of Asian Muslims. However, expressions of support are just as common as incidents of bigotry and intolerance, the survey suggests. Overall, about a third of U.S. Muslims (32%) say someone had offered them support because they were Muslim, which is virtually identical to the proportion that reported experiencing an act of prejudice or hostility. Native-born Muslims are significantly
38 MUSLIM AMERICANS

more likely than immigrants (54% vs. 22%) to report having been the recipients of supportive words. While younger Muslims appear to encounter more intolerant acts, they also are more likely to have had positive encounters: 40% say someone has expressed support for them because they are Muslim, compared with 29% of those 30 or older. In addition to overt expressions of prejudice, 18% of Muslim Americans report they have been singled out by airport security for inspection or questioning in the past year. When the analysis is limited to Muslims who report having taken a trip by airplane in the past year, 30% report having been singled out by security because they are Muslim, while 68% say this experience did not happen to them.
Singled Out by Airport Security In the Past Year?
Among Among All U.S. those who Muslims have flown % % 18 30 41 68 40 -2 1 100 100

Yes No Have not flown DK/Refused

39

MUSLIM AMERICANS

40

MUSLIM AMERICANS

CHAPTER 6 Political and Social Values

uslim Americans show a decided preference for the Democratic Party, a preference that is reflected in their voting patterns and many of their political attitudes. Most U.S. Muslims identify as Democrats or lean to the Democratic Party. By a lopsided margin (71%-14%), more Muslims say they voted for John Kerry than George Bush in the 2004 presidential election. Muslim Americans views of President Bushs job performance also are highly negative. Indeed, while the presidents overall job approval rating is low nationwide (35% in April 2007), Muslims are less than half as likely as the general public to say they approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president (15%). On balance, more Muslims in the United States characterize their political views as moderate (38%) rather than liberal (24%); just 19% describe themselves as conservatives. In the general public, self-described conservatives outnumber liberals by a margin of 34% to 19%. Muslims attitudes regarding both the size and scope of government are quite liberal. By a wide margin, more Muslim Americans say they prefer a bigger government, providing more services, than a smaller government with fewer services. A large majority also favors greater government aid for the poor, even if it adds to the national debt. But the political attitudes of U.S. Muslims are not uniformly liberal. On key social issues, Muslims in the U.S. are much more conservative than the general public. Most say that homosexuality is a way of life that should be discouraged, rather than accepted, by society. A large majority of Muslims (59%) also say that government should do more to protect morality in society.
Muslim Americans Political Views
U.S. Muslims Party Identification % Dem/lean Democratic 63 Rep/lean Republican 11 Ind/other/no preference 26 100 Ideology Conservative 19 Moderate 38 Liberal 24 Dont know 19 100 2004 Vote* Kerry 71 Bush 14 Other/dont know 15 100 Bush approval Approve 15 Disapprove 69 Dont know 16 100 Prefer Big govt/more services 70 Small govt/few services 21 Depends/Dont know 9 100 Government Should do more for needy 73 Cant afford to do more 17 Neither/Both/DK 10 100
* Among those who report having voted in the 2004 election.

41

MUSLIM AMERICANS

On the question of mixing religion with politics, Muslims in the United States are divided, much like the general public. About four-in-ten (43%) say that mosques should express their views on social and political matters, while a slightly larger share (49%) say that mosques should keep out of political matters. On this question, there are substantial differences between native-born and foreign-born Muslims. Native-born Muslims express overwhelming support for the notion that mosques should express their views on social and political matters. By contrast, a large majority of foreign-born Muslims many of whom come from countries where religion and politics are often closely intertwined say that mosques should keep out of political matters. Compared with the general public, Muslims are somewhat less engaged in political matters. In part, this is because many Muslim immigrants are not citizens of the United States, and thus are not eligible to participate in elections. But even among those eligible to register and vote, Muslims are somewhat less likely than the public as a whole to do so. Party Affiliation and Views of Bush When asked about their general outlook on politics, 38% of Muslim Americans describe their political views as moderate; a quarter describe themselves as liberal, while 19% describe themselves as conservative. U.S. Muslims, considered as a whole, are much less likely than the general population to describe themselves as political conservatives. Overall, 63% of Muslims are Democrats (37%) or say that they lean toward the Democratic Party (26%). Only about one-in-ten (11%), by contrast, are Republicans or Republican leaners, with the remainder (26%) unaffiliated with either political party. Democratic affiliation is much higher among Muslims than it is among the public as a whole: about half of Americans (51%) identify themselves as Democrats or lean Democratic. Republican affiliation is much lower among Muslims than among the general public (11% vs. 36%).
Party Affiliation
Rep/ lean R % 11 25 9 10 7 4 10 15 12 17 36 61 31 11 Dem/ Ind, lean D no leaning % % 63 26=100 60 72 81 78 78 78 57 73 51 51 31 56 81 15=100 19=100 9=100 15=100 18=100 12=100 28=100 15=100 32=100 13=100 8=100 13=100 8=100

All U.S. Muslims Conservative Moderate Liberal Native-born African American Other Foreign-born Arrived pre-1990 1990 or later U.S. general public* Conservative Moderate Liberal

Political ideology, which is closely linked *Based on national surveys January-March 2007 by the to partisanship among the public as a whole, Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. seems to have less of an impact on Muslim Americans. Even among those Muslims who describe their political views as conservative, a large majority (60%) aligns with the Democratic Party while only 25% identify with the
42 MUSLIM AMERICANS

Republican Party. Among the general public, by contrast, most conservatives are Republicans or Republican leaners (61%), while most liberals are Democrats or lean Democratic (81%). Muslim immigrants who have arrived in the U.S. since 1990 are less likely to identify with the Democratic Party than are Muslims who were born in the United States, or earlier waves of immigrants. This is largely due to the fact that recent arrivals are less likely than others to identify with either of the major parties. Muslim Americans preference for the Democrats over the Republicans carries over into the ballot box. Overall, Muslim voters supported Kerry over Bush by about five-to-one. These figures roughly correspond with estimates from the 2004 exit polls, which found that 85% of Muslim Americans voted for Kerry, while 13% supported Bush. Self-described liberal Muslim Americans report voting for Kerry at higher rates than do conservative Muslims. But even among conservatives, a sizable majority (63%) chose Kerry, while only about one-in-five (21%) voted for Bush.
Bushs Job Performance

Majorities of both native-born and foreignborn Muslims voted for Kerry. But foreign-born Muslim voters are more than twice as likely as Muslims born in this country to say they voted for Bush (21% vs. 8%). Negative evaluations of Bush among Muslim Americans continue to the present. Only 15% of Muslims in the U.S. say that they approve of Bushs performance in office; more than four times as many (69%) say that they disapprove of Bushs job performance. Again, there are few demographic or ideological differences in views of Bush; even self-described conservatives disapprove rather than approve of Bushs job performance by 70%-21%.

All U.S. Muslims Conservative Moderate Liberal Native-born Foreign-born Arrived pre-1990 1990 or later Religious Commitment High Medium Low

Approve % 15 21 12 12 6 20 12 24

Disapp- DK/ rove Ref % % 69 16=100 70 74 83 85 61 81 51 9=100 14=100 5=100 9=100 19=100 7=100 25=100

11 15 18

76 67 68 57

13=100 18=100 14=100 8=100

U.S. general public* 35

*April, 2007 Pew Research Center for the People & the Press national survey.

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MUSLIM AMERICANS

Role of Government By more than three-to-one, Muslim Americans say they prefer a bigger government that provides more services (70%) over a smaller government providing fewer services (21%). In contrast with the general public, there are only small ideological differences among Muslims in views of the size and scope of government. Large majorities of Muslim American liberals (77%), moderates (66%) and conservatives (70%) express support for a bigger government that delivers more services. Among the general public, by contrast, there are sharp ideological divisions: 57% of liberals support bigger government, while 58% of conservatives support smaller government. Consistent with their preference for a larger government providing more services, most Muslims (73%) say that government should do more to help the needy even if it means going deeper into debt. Just 17% believe that the government cannot afford to do much more to help the needy. Support for greater government aid to the poor also cuts across ideological and demographic groups, though native-born Muslims express even more support for this position than do immigrants (84% vs. 69%).

Most Muslims Favor Activist Government

Prefer government that is Depends/ Smaller Bigger DK/Ref % % % 21 70 9=100 19 26 19 26 19 45 70 66 77 66 72 43 11=100 8=100 4=100 8=100 9=100 12=100

All U.S. Muslims Conservative Moderate Liberal Native-born Foreign-born U.S. general public*

Question: Would you rather have a smaller government providing fewer services, or a bigger government providing more services? * January 2007 Pew Research Center for the People & the Press national survey.

And More Help for the Needy

The federal government Should do Cant afford more to help to do more Neither/ the needy for needy Both/DK % % % All U.S. Muslims 73 17 10=100 Conservative Moderate Liberal Native-born Foreign-born 71 72 84 84 69 20 22 13 13 19 28 9=100 6=100 3=100 3=100 12=100 9=100

U.S. general public* 63

Question: Which comes closer to your view? The government should do more to help needy Americans, even if it means going deeper into debt (OR) The government today cant afford to do much more to help the needy. * January 2007 Pew Research Center for the People & the Press national survey.

44

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Social Conservatives Despite their support for the Democratic Party and liberal views on the role of government, Muslim Americans tend to be more conservative when it comes to social and moral issues. By more than two-to-one (61% vs. 27%), U.S. Muslims say that homosexuality is a way of life that should be discouraged by society, not accepted. By contrast, 51% of the general public says homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society, while 38% believe it should be discouraged. As is the case with the general public, religious commitment is strongly related to views about homosexuality. The most highly religious U.S. Muslims the 23% of Muslims who attend mosque at least weekly, pray all five salah a day, and say religion is very important to them personally overwhelmingly oppose homosexuality, with 73% saying it should be discouraged by society. Muslim Americans with a medium level of religious commitment, who constitute about half of all Muslims, also generally believe homosexuality should be discouraged (66% vs. 21%). By comparison, Muslim Americans with relatively low religious commitment (about a quarter of the total) are divided: 43% say homosexuality should be discouraged while 47% say it should be accepted. Both native-born Muslims and foreign-born Muslims express similar levels of disapproval of homosexuality. But native-born African American Muslims stand out for their particularly high levels of opposition to homosexuality (75% say homosexuality should be discouraged).
Homosexuality Should Be
Discour- Accep- Neither/ ted Both/DK aged % % % 61 27 12=100 57 58 69 59 69 60 54 32 26 26 22 23 27 38 11=100 16=100 5=100 19=100 8=100 13=100 8=100

All U.S. Muslims 18-29 30-39 40-54 55+ Conservative Moderate Liberal Religious commitment High Medium Low

73 66 43 61 75 44 60 67 65 70

16 21 47 30 20 42 26 21 28 25 51

11=100 13=100 10=100 9=100 5=100 14=100 14=100 12=100 7=100 5=100 11=100

Native-born African American Other Foreign-born Self/Parents from Arab region Pakistan Other South Asia

U.S. general public* 38

Question: Which comes closer to your view? Homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society (OR) homosexuality is a way of life that should be discouraged by society. *September, 2006 Pew Research Center for the People & the Press national survey.

Muslim Americans strongly believe that government should be involved in promoting and protecting morality in society. Overall, 59% say that government should do more to protect morality in society about half as many say they worry that the government is becoming too involved in the issue of morality (29%). Here again, Muslims differ from the overall population. Overall, 51% of the public worries that the government is becoming too involved in the issue of morality.

45

MUSLIM AMERICANS

The view that government should be involved in protecting morality is widely shared among Muslim Americans. Young (61% of those under 30), old (56% of those over 55), native-born (54%), and foreign-born (63%) all agree about governments role in regulating morality. The view that government should work to protect morality is especially common among recently arrived immigrants (69%).

Government Involvement in Protecting Morality

Should do Too Neither/ more involved Both/DK % % % All U.S. Muslims 59 29 12=100 18-29 30-39 40-54 55+ Native-born Foreign-born Arrived pre-1990 1990 or later 61 58 59 56 54 63 56 69 28 32 29 31 38 25 35 19 11=100 10=100 12=100 13=100 8=100 12=100 9=100 12=100

Even though most agree that government Self/Parents from should be involved in protecting morality, U.S. Arab region 72 20 8=100 Pakistan 61 27 12=100 Muslims are divided on the question of whether Other South Asia 56 28 16=100 mosques should be involved in politics. Slightly U.S. general public* 37 51 12=100 more than four-in-ten Muslims (43%) say that Question: Which comes closer to your view? The mosques should express their views on day-to-day government should do more to protect morality in social and political matters, while slightly less than society (OR) I worry the government is getting too involved in the issue of morality. half (49%) believe that mosques should keep out * September 2006 Pew Research Center for the of political matters. Among the public as a whole, People & the Press national survey. 51% support churches and other houses of worship Should Mosques Express expressing their views on social and political Political Views? questions, while 46% say they should keep out of Express Keep DK/ politics. The roughly even division on this question among all U.S. Muslims reflects the deep disagreement on this issue between native-born Muslims and foreign-born Muslim Americans. Nativeborn Muslims, especially African Americans, express overwhelming support for the notion that mosques should express their views on social and political matters (68% among all native-born Muslims and 79% among native-born African American Muslims). U.S. Muslims who were born abroad take the opposite view, with six-in-10 saying that mosques should keep out of political matters.
All U.S. Muslims Native-born African American Other race Foreign-born Self/Parents from Arab region Pakistan Other South Asia Iran views % 43 68 79 54 30 42 32 25 10 out % 49 28 19 39 60 43 67 61 82 46 47 35 Ref % 8=100

4=100 2=100 7=100 10=100 15=100 1=100 14=100 8=100 3=100 3=100 3=100

U.S. general public* 51 White African American 50 62

Question: Should mosques keep out of political matters, or should they express their views on day-to-day social and political questions? * July 2006 Pew Research Center for the People & the Press national survey. General public asked same question about churches and other houses of worship.

46

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Voting Participation On several measures of political engagement, Muslim Americans demonstrate less active involvement in politics than the general public. In part, this reflects the large number of immigrants and the fact that as many as 23% of Muslims in America are not U.S. citizens. But even among the 77% of U.S. Muslims who are citizens, fewer report being registered to vote than in the public at large. While 76% of Americans nationwide say that they are absolutely certain they are registered to vote, 63% of Muslim citizens say the same.

Voter Registration and Turnout

U.S. Muslim General citizens public % % 63 76 30 20 4 7 100 100 58 39 3 100 74 22 4 100

Registered to vote? Yes No Dont know/Refused Vote in 2004 election? Yes No Dont know/Refused

Young Muslim Americans, like young people in the general population, are much less likely than older people to be registered to vote. Less than half of eligible U.S. Muslims (48%) under 30 are registered to vote, at least 20 points lower than Voter Registration Lags among Muslims who are older than 30. There is little difference among U.S. Muslims in registration rates between native-born Muslims and Registered to vote immigrants who have gained citizenship.
U.S. Muslim citizens % 63

In addition, Muslim Americans with higher annual incomes are no more likely than poorer Muslims to say they are registered to vote. Among the general public, annual income traditionally is correlated with political engagement in general and voter registration in particular. But income is not related to registration rates among Muslim Americans. Consistent with patterns in voter registration, eligible Muslim voters are less likely to say they voted in the 2004 general election compared with the population as a whole. Fewer than six-in-ten Muslim American citizens who were age 18 or older in 2004 (58%) say they voted in the presidential election, compared with 74% of all registered voters.

18-29 30-39 40-54 55+ Household income $75,000+ $50-$74,999 $30-$49,999 Less than $30,000 Native-born Foreign-born Self/Parent from Arab region Pakistan Other South Asia

48 68 73 69

67 74 64 67 65 62 50 83 65

47

MUSLIM AMERICANS

48

MUSLIM AMERICANS

CHAPTER 7 Foreign Policy, Terrorism and Concerns About Extremism

uslim Americans express broad dissatisfaction with the direction of U.S. foreign policy. Most say that the U.S. made the wrong decision in using force against Iraq, and while there is greater support for the decision to use force in Afghanistan, more say it was the wrong thing to do than say it was right. A majority of Muslim Americans say that the U.S.-led war on terror is not a sincere effort to reduce international terrorism, and fewer than half say they believe the attacks of 9/11 were carried out by groups of Arabs. At the same time, Muslims in the United States are widely concerned about Islamic extremism, and express strong disapproval of terrorists and their tactics. In fact, about threequarters (76%) say they are very or somewhat concerned about the rise of Islamic extremism around the world, and 61% say they are concerned about the possible rise of Islamic extremism in the U.S. Similarly, more than three-in-four say that suicide bombing in defense of Islam is never justified, and just 5% express favorable views of al Qaeda. On the question of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, most Muslims in the U.S say that a way can be found for Israel to exist so that the rights and needs of Palestinians are met, a view that is not shared by Muslims in predominantly Muslim countries. Iraq, Afghanistan and the War on Terror By an overwhelming margin, most Muslim Americans say that the U.S. made the wrong decision in using military force against Iraq (75% wrong decision vs. 12% right decision). Even with the gradual erosion in overall public support for the war, Muslims are much more likely than Americans in general (47% in April 2007) to Views of U.S. Military Force say that invading Iraq was the wrong decision. in Iraq and Afghanistan Broad opposition to the use of force in Iraq is found across all groups of Muslims in the U.S., although native-born Muslims are more likely than the foreign-born to say that using force in Iraq was the wrong decision (85% vs. 70%). About twothirds of Muslim Americans are Democrats or lean Democratic and, not surprisingly, opposition to the war is strongest among them. But even among the small minority of Muslims who describe themselves as Republicans or lean toward the Republican Party, most (54%) say that using force
49
Iraq Right Wrong % % 12 75 14 9 40 8 8 11 13 79 71 54 86 57 85 70 47 Afghanistan Right Wrong % % 35 48 42 27 60 34 26 26 40 61 46 50 32 57 32 65 40 29

All U.S. Muslims Men Women Rep/lean Rep Dem/lean Dem Ind, no leaning Native-born Foreign-born

U.S. general public* 45

* April 2007 Pew Research Center for the People & the Press national survey.

MUSLIM AMERICANS

in Iraq was the wrong decision. By contrast, among Republicans and Republican leaners in the public as a whole, a large majority (76%) says that using force in Iraq was the right decision. While more Muslim Americans (35%) express support for the use of force in Afghanistan, nearly half (48%) say it was the wrong decision. This is in contrast to the views of the general public, which says that taking military action in Afghanistan was the right decision by a margin of about two-to-one (61% to 29%). When it comes to Americas military action in Afghanistan, Muslims born in the United States express far more opposition than those who immigrated to the U.S. About two-thirds of all native-born Muslims (65%) say that using force in Afghanistan was the wrong decision, compared with 40% of foreign-born Muslims. A majority of Republicans and Republican leaners (60%) say using force in Afghanistan was the right decision, while a majority of Democrats and Democratic leaners (57%) take the opposite point of view. The relatively low levels of support among U.S. Muslims for using force in Iraq and Afghanistan are consistent with their doubts about the U.S.-led war on terrorism. A majority of Muslims in America (55%) say that they do not believe the war on terrorism is a sincere attempt to reduce international terrorism, while half as many (26%) say the U.S. effort is genuine. Native-born Muslims are even more likely than the foreign-born to express skepticism about U.S. intentions in the war on terrorism (71% vs. 49%, respectively).
Is U.S.-Led War on Terrorism a Sincere Effort to Reduce Terrorism?
Yes % 26 20 30 20 17 11 6 No % 55 71 49 63 66 52 59 (Vol.) DK/ Both Ref % % 2 17=100 1 8=100 2 19=100 7 4 23 5 10=100 13=100 14=100 30=100

All U.S. Muslims Native-born Foreign-born Muslims in* Turkey Morocco Jordan Pakistan

Muslim Americans views on the war on * Pew Global Attitudes Project, March 2004. terrorism are similar to levels of skepticism about U.S. intentions among Muslims in other parts of the world. A majority of Muslims in Morocco (66%), Turkey (63%), Pakistan (59%) and Jordan (52%) doubt the sincerity of the U.S.-led war on terrorism, according to the 2004 Pew Global Attitudes study.

Question: Do you believe the US led war on terrorism is a sincere effort to reduce international terrorism, or dont you believe that?

50

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Responsibility for 9/11 Attacks Asked whether they believe groups of Arabs carried out the attacks against the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, 40% of Muslim Americans say yes, while 28% say they do not believe this, and about a third (32%) say they do not know or decline to answer the question.

Who Was Responsible for 9/11?

US Muslims % Believe groups of Arabs responsible 40 Dont believe Arabs responsible 28 Bush/U.S. conspiracy responsible 7 Israel/Jews responsible 1 Insane/misguided people 1 Other/non-Muslims responsible 1 Dont know/Refused 18 Dont know/Refused 32 100

When those who say Arabs were not involved in the 9/11 attacks are asked who they believe was responsible, most say they do not know or declined to answer. Seven percent of Muslims overall say that the attacks were the result of a conspiracy involving the United States government or the Bush Do You Believe Groups of Arabs administration. Very small proportions hold others Carried Out the 9/11 Attacks? responsible, including individuals other than Muslims DK/ (1%), Israel or Jewish interests (1%), and crazy or Yes No Ref misguided people (1%). % % %
All U.S. Muslims 40 38 37 45 49 55 43 34 28 38 30 24 16 24 30 30 32=100 24=100 33=100 31=100 35=100 22=100 27=100 36=100

Despite widespread doubts about the official accounts of 9/11, Muslims in the U.S. are more likely than Muslims living in a number of European and majority-Muslim countries to believe that groups of Arabs carried out the attacks. For instance, Muslims in the U.S. are more than twice as likely as Muslims in Great Britain (17%), Turkey (16%), Indonesia (16%) and Pakistan (15%) to say that groups of Arabs carried out the 9/11 attacks. In all of these countries, clear majorities or pluralities reject the official account of the attacks. In the U.S., younger Muslims are more likely than older Muslims to say they do not believe that groups of Arabs carried out the 9/11 attacks. Indeed, among Muslims under the age of 30, 38% reject the fact that groups of Arabs were responsible for 9/11. By comparison, among Muslims 55 and older, just 16% say that Arabs were not responsible for the attacks.

18-29 30-39 40-54 55+ College grad Some college HS or less Religious commitment High Medium Low Muslims in* France Germany Spain Great Britain Nigeria Jordan Egypt Turkey Indonesia Pakistan

29 38 53 48 35 33 17 42 39 32 16 16 15

46 24 22 46 44 35 56 47 53 59 59 65 41

25=100 38=100 25=100 6=100 21=100 32=100 27=100 11=100 8=100 9=100 25=100 20=101 44=100

Question: Do you believe that groups of Arabs carried out the attacks against the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, or dont you believe this? * Pew Global Attitudes Project, May 2006.

51

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Views on this question also are linked to education and religious commitment. A majority (55%) of Muslims with college degrees attribute the attacks to the activities of Arab groups. This drops to 43% among those with some college and 34% among those who have not attended college. Muslims who are most committed to their religion are approximately twice as likely as those who express relatively low religious commitment to say they do not believe groups of Arabs were responsible for 9/11 (46% vs. 22%). Concern about Islamic Extremism Though Muslims in the U.S. have doubts about the war on terrorism and the official account of 9/11, they are nonetheless concerned about Islamic extremism and express high levels of opposition to both terrorists and their tactics. Indeed, the vast majority of Muslims say that they are either very concerned (51%) or somewhat concerned (25%) about the rise of Islamic extremism around the world.

How Concerned Are You about the Rise of Islamic Extremism Around the World?
Very % 51 42 63 51 54 54 50 65 43 Some- Not too/ DK/ what not at all Ref % % % 25 19 5=100 39 18 21 18 25 26 20 31 16 17 23 18 19 19 12 21 3=100 2=100 5=100 10=100 2=100 5=100 3=100 5=100

All U.S. Muslims 18-29 30-39 40-54 55+ Native-born Foreign-born Arrived pre-1990 1990 or later

By this measure, Muslims in the U.S. Muslims in* Great Britain 52 25 20 4=101 are more concerned about Islamic extremism France 35 38 27 0=100 Spain 29 31 38 3=101 around the world than are Muslims in many Germany 29 29 37 5=100 European and majority-Muslim countries. In Pakistan 43 29 9 19=100 France, Germany and Spain, for example, only Indonesia 30 38 32 *=100 about a third of Muslims say they are very Jordan 31 30 38 1=100 Nigeria 24 33 41 2=100 concerned about the rise of Islamic extremism Egypt 22 31 45 2=100 Turkey 15 24 43 18=100 around the world, compared with 51% in the United States. And with the exception of * Pew Global Attitudes Project, May 2006 Pakistan (where 43% are very concerned about Islamic extremism), less than a third of the Muslims in predominantly Muslim countries surveyed by Pew last year say they are very concerned about Islamic extremism. While native-born and foreign-born Muslims express similar levels of concern over global Islamic extremism, there is a sizable difference between immigrants who arrived in the U.S. long ago and those who immigrated more recently. About two-thirds (65%) of Muslims who immigrated to the U.S. prior to 1990 say they are very concerned about Islamic extremism around the world, a view shared by 43% of those who have arrived more recently.

52

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Fewer U.S. Muslims express concern about the potential for Islamic extremism to arise in the United States. Slightly more than a third (36%) say they are very concerned about this possibility. Still, 61% of Muslims in the U.S. say they are at least somewhat concerned about the possible rise of extremism in the U.S. The American population as a whole is somewhat more concerned about Islamic extremism in the U.S. than are Muslim Americans: 78% of the public say they are very or somewhat concerned about Islamic extremism at home.

How Concerned Are You about the Rise of Islamic Extremism in the United States?
U.S. U.S. general Muslims public % % Very concerned 36 46 Somewhat concerned 25 32 Not too concerned 14 13 Not at all concerned 20 5 4 Dont know/Refused 5 100 100

Can Suicide Bombing be Justified? In addition to being more concerned about the rise of Islamic extremism, Muslims in the U.S. are far less likely than Muslims in other parts of the world to accept suicide bombing as a justifiable tactic. The overwhelming majority of Muslims in the U.S. (78%) say that the use of suicide bombing against civilian targets to defend Islam from its enemies is never justified. In this regard, American Muslims are more opposed to suicide bombing than are Muslims in nine of the 10 other countries surveyed in 2006; opposition is somewhat greater among Muslims in Germany (83%). Overall, 8% of Muslim Americans say suicide bombings against civilian targets tactics are often (1%) or sometimes (7%) justified in the defense of Islam. Muslims in France, Spain and Great Britain were twice as likely as Muslims in the U.S. to say suicide bombing can be often or sometimes justified, and acceptance of the tactic is far more widespread among Muslims in Nigeria, Jordan and Egypt.
Can Suicide Bombing of Civilian Targets to Defend Islam be Justified?
How often justified Often/ DK/ sometimes Rarely Never Ref % % % % All U.S. Muslims 8 5 78 9=100 Muslims in* France Spain Great Britain Germany Nigeria 16 16 15 7 46 19 9 9 6 23 64 69 70 83 28 1=100 7=101 6=100 3=99 3=100

There are few differences on this question Jordan 29 28 43 *=100 Egypt 28 25 45 3=101 in the United States across Muslim ethnic groups, Turkey 17 9 61 14=101 but age is an important factor. Younger Muslims Pakistan 14 8 69 8=99 Indonesia 10 18 71 1=100 in the U.S. are more willing to accept suicide See topline Q.H1 for full question wording. bombing in the defense of Islam than are their * Pew Global Attitudes Project, May 2006. older counterparts. Among Muslims younger than 30, for example, 15% say that suicide bombing can often or sometimes be justified (2% often, 13% sometimes), while about two-thirds (69%) say that such tactics are never justified. Among

53

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Muslims who are 30 or older, by contrast, just 6% say suicide bombings can be often or sometimes justified, while 82% say such attacks are never warranted.

More Support for Suicide Bombing Among Younger Muslims

(NET) Often/ Never DK/ Ever justified sometimes Rarely justified Ref % % % % % 8 5 78 9=100 All U.S. Muslims 13 18-29 26 15 11 69 5=100 6 3 82 9=100 30 or older 9

The higher levels of support for suicide bombing seen among young Muslims in* 15 9 70 6=100 Great Britain 24 American Muslims resembles patterns 19 16 59 6=100 18-29 35 found among Muslims in Europe, where 30 or older 17 13 4 77 6=100 France 35 16 1 9 64 1=100 Muslims also constitute a minority 18-29 42 19 23 57 1=100 population. In Great Britain, France and 15 16 69 *=100 30 or older 31 Germany, Muslims under the age of 30 Germany 13 7 6 83 3=99 18-29 22 13 9 77 1=100 are consistently the least likely to say 30 or older 10 5 5 86 4=100 that suicide bombing is never justified. Spain 25 16 9 69 7=101 17 12 65 6=100 18-29 29 In other words, the share who think 30 or older 22 14 8 71 7=100 suicide bombing against civilians can * Pew Global Attitudes Project, May 2006. ever be justified, even if rarely, is higher among those younger than 30 compared with those who are older. About a quarter (26%) of Views of al Qaeda younger U.S. Muslims say suicide bombing can Favor- Somewhat Very DK/ at least rarely be justified, 17 percentage points unfav Ref able* unfav % % % % higher than the proportion of Muslims ages 30 All U.S. Muslims 5 10 58 27=100 and older (9%) who share that view. The age 18-29 7 16 58 19=100 30-39 4 8 59 29=100 gap is about as wide in Great Britain (18 40-54 4 7 60 29=100 percentage points) but somewhat narrower in 55+ 2 7 62 29=100 Germany (12 points), France (11 points) and College graduate 1 7 78 14=100 Some college 1 14 68 17=100 Spain (7 points). HS or less 7 10 48 35=100 Views of al Qaeda Overall, 68% of Muslim Americans view al Qaeda either very unfavorably (58%) or somewhat unfavorably (10%). Of the rest, a large proportion (27%) declined to express an opinion on the terrorist group, while just 5% of Muslims in the U.S. have a very (1%) or somewhat (4%) favorable view of al Qaeda. While no group of Muslim Americans
54
Native-born African American Other race Foreign-born Arrived pre-1990 1990 or later Religious commitment High Medium Low Always a Muslim Convert to Islam 7 9 4 3 1 5 16 25 6 7 5 8 51 36 69 63 75 57 26=100 30=100 21=100 27=100 19=100 30=100

5 6 * 3 7

13 11 5 7 19

51 58 66 60 54

31=100 25=100 29=100 30=100 20=100

* Combined very and somewhat favorable.

MUSLIM AMERICANS

expresses high levels of support for al Qaeda, there are notable differences in the degree to which certain groups express disapproval of the organization. For instance, fewer than half (36%) of native-born African American Muslims express a very unfavorable view of al Qaeda. By contrast, roughly two-thirds of other native-born Muslims (69%), as well as foreign-born Muslims (63%), hold very unfavorable views of al Qaeda. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Most Muslims in the U.S. express optimism that a balanced solution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict can be found. Indeed, 61% of Muslim Americans say that a way can be found for Israel to exist so that the rights and needs of the Palestinian people can be taken care of, compared with 16% who say that the rights and needs of Palestinians cannot be taken care of as long as Israel exists. In this regard, the opinions of U.S. Muslims closely resemble those expressed by the U.S. public as a whole, and are starkly in contrast to the views of Muslims in other parts of the world. In eight predominantly-Muslim populations surveyed by Pew in 2003, roughly half or more of the Muslims interviewed said that: The rights and needs of the Palestinian people cannot be taken care of as long as the state of Israel exists. This view was particularly strong in Morocco (90%), as well as among Muslims in Jordan (85%), the Palestinian Authority (80%), Lebanon (75%) and Kuwait (73%). By contrast, the 2003 study found two-thirds (67%) of Americans and an equal proportion of Israelis expressing confidence that a way can be found for the needs of both Israel and the Palestinian people to be met. The view that Israel can exist in a way that addresses Palestinians rights is more common among well-educated Muslims in the United States: Nearly three-in-four college graduates express this view, compared with 51% of those with only a high school education or less.
Can a Way be Found for Israel and Palestinian Rights to Coexist?
Yes % 61 74 74 51 64 61 71 57 No % 16 10 12 22 18 17 13 20 32 6 11 15 29 90 85 80 75 73 58 60 49 DK/ Ref % 23=100 16=100 14=100 27=100 18=100 22=100 16=100 23=100 19=100 27=100 30=100 18=100 5=101 5=100 1=100 3=100 8=100 5=100 19=100 14=100 18=100

All U.S. Muslims College grad Some college HS or less Native-born Foreign-born Arrived pre-1990 1990 or later

Self/Parents from Arab region 49 Pakistan 67 Other South Asia 59 General public in* United States 67 Israel 67 Muslims in* Morocco Jordan Palestinian Auth. Lebanon Kuwait Pakistan Indonesia Turkey 5 14 17 17 22 23 26 33

See topline Q.H4 for question wording. * Pew Global Attitudes Project, May 2003.

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MUSLIM AMERICANS

Native-born and foreign-born Muslims hold similar opinions on this issue, but recently arrived Muslim immigrants are somewhat less optimistic about finding a way for Palestine and Israel to coexist peacefully than are immigrants who have been in the U.S. for a longer period of time (57% vs. 71%). Muslims who came from Arab countries are significantly more skeptical about the Israel/Palestinian situation than are immigrants from elsewhere: Nearly a third (32%) of Muslim Americans who are first- or second-generation immigrants from the Arab region say that the rights of Palestinians cannot be taken care of as long as Israel exists.

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MUSLIM AMERICANS

CHAPTER 8 Study Methodology

uslim Americans constitute a population that is rare, dispersed, and diverse. It includes many recent immigrants from multiple countries with differing native tongues who may have difficulty completing a public opinion survey in English. The intense attention paid to Muslims in the aftermath of 9/11 may have made them more reluctant to cooperate with a survey request from an unknown caller. Collectively, these characteristics present a significant challenge to anyone wishing to survey this population. Despite the challenges, the Pew study was able to complete interviews with 1,050 Muslim American adults 18 years old and older from a probability sample consisting of two sampling frames. Interviews were conducted by telephone between January 24 and April 30, 2007 by the research firm of Schulman, Ronca & Bucuvalas, Inc. (SRBI). After taking into account the complex sample design, the average margin of sampling error on the 1,050 completed interviews with Muslims is +/-5 percentage points at the 95% level of confidence. This chapter describes how the study was designed and executed. 1. Sample Design In random digit dial (RDD) surveys of the English-speaking U.S. population, roughly one-half of one percent of respondents typically identify themselves as Muslim in response to a question about religious tradition or affiliation. This extremely low incidence means that building a probability sample of Sources for the Sample Muslim Americans is difficult and costly. The demographic Interviews diversity of the population especially with respect to race and RDD sample 887 Geographic strata 354 national origins adds to the challenge. Moreover, analysis of List stratum 533 Recontact sample 163 previous research indicates that the Muslim population is not Total interviews 1,050 concentrated in a few enclaves but is highly dispersed throughout the U.S. Pews sample design attempted to address the low incidence and dispersion of the population by employing two separate sampling frames: 1. An RDD frame divided into five strata, four of which were based on the estimated density of the Muslim population in each county of the United States as determined through an analysis of Pews database of more than 125,000 survey respondents and U.S. Census Bureau data on ethnicity and language. To increase the efficiency of the calling, the lowest density stratum estimated to be home to approximately 5%-21% of U.S.
57 MUSLIM AMERICANS

Muslims was excluded. A disproportionate sampling strategy was employed to maximize the effective sample size from the other three geographic strata (total N=354). The fifth stratum was a commercial list of approximately 450,000 households believed to include Muslims, based on an analysis of first and last names common among Muslims. This stratum yielded completed interviews with 533 respondents. 2. A sample of previously identified Muslim households drawn from Pews interview database and other RDD surveys conducted in recent years. Recontacting these respondents from prior surveys yielded 163 completed interviews for this study. The strength of this research Summary of Strata Used in Sampling design was that it yielded a probability Estimated sample. That is, each adult in the U.S. Percentage incidence Number of of all of Muslim had a known probability of being completions completions households included in the study. The fact that New RDD Sample N % Strata some persons had a greater chance of Lowest density (excluded) 0 1 in 2,500 Lower density 51 5 1 in 200 being included than others (e.g., Medium density 179 17 1 in 100 because they live in places where there High density 124 12 1 in 50 are more Muslims) is taken into List sample 533 51 1 in 3 account in the statistical adjustment Recontact Sample 163 15 1 to 1 1,050 100 described below (section 4). One limitation of this design is that the samples were of landline telephone numbers. Thus, Muslims living in homes with no telephone or who only have a cell phone had no chance of being sampled for the study. To account for this, we used the most recent government data on telephone service to adjust our estimate of the total size of the Muslim population. RDD Geographic Strata Pew Research Center surveys conducted in English typically encounter a little more than four Muslim respondents per thousand interviews, an unweighted incidence rate of 0.42%. This rate has varied somewhat over the past seven years, ranging from a high of 0.57% thus far in 2007 to 0.33% in 2005. The rate is also very similar to that encountered by other national surveys (for instance, see Tom Smiths The Muslim Population of the United States: The Methodology of Estimates in Public Opinion Quarterly, Fall 2002). This low incidence means that the costs of building an RDD sample of Muslim Americans by screening a general public sample are prohibitive. Accordingly, it was necessary to develop alternative approaches that would allow for estimation of the probabilities of selection but increase the yield from screening. An analysis of the geographic distribution of the Muslim population was undertaken, using several different sources of data. A key resource was the Pew Research Center database of
58 MUSLIM AMERICANS

more than 125,000 telephone interviews conducted between 2000 and 2006 (when planning for this project was completed); it was used to estimate the density of Muslims in each U.S. county. Another resource was data from large government surveys. The U.S. Census Bureau does not collect information about religion, but it does include measures of ancestry, nationality for immigrants, and languages spoken. These measures were used to analyze the geographic distribution of adults who are from (or whose parents are from) countries with significant or majority Muslim populations, or who speak languages commonly spoken by Muslims. This yielded additional county-level estimates of the density of Muslims. These measures were Survey Coverage by RDD Geographic Strata highly correlated and were Among Stratum used to sort counties into four Lowest Lower Medium High Density Density Density Density different groups based on the Share of % % % % estimated incidence of U.S. Population (Census) 47 24 25 4=100 U.S. Muslim Population (Pew surveys) 5 29 51 15=100 Muslims in each county. We Completed screeners (RDD, excl. list) 0 33 53 14=100 refer to these mutually Completed interviews (RDD, excl. list) 0 14 51 35=100 exclusive groups as the geographic strata. The lowest density stratum accounts for 5% of all Muslim interviews conducted by Pew over the past seven years; the second lowest accounts for 29% of Muslim interviews; the medium density stratum accounts for 51%; and the highest density stratum accounts for 15%. Drawing on the analysis of previous Pew surveys, Census Bureau data, and the results of a pilot test, an optimal sampling allocation plan was developed for the RDD geographic strata. The sampling plan called for conducting roughly 33% of all RDD screening interviews in the lower density stratum, 53% of all RDD screening interviews in the medium density stratum, and 14% in the high density stratum. In total, 57,549 screening interviews were completed, and the distribution of completed interviews was nearly identical to the original allocation plan. The lowest density stratum, which included 5% of all U.S. Muslims in Pew surveys (and up to 21% as based on estimates derived from U.S. Census Bureau data), also includes 47% of the total U.S. population. As a practical matter, the analysis of the Pew database indicated that 25,000 screening interviews would have to be conducted in this stratum to yield an estimated 10 Muslim respondents. In order to put the studys resources to the most efficient use, this stratum was excluded from the geographic strata of the RDD sample design, although persons living in these counties were still covered by the list stratum and recontact frame. The danger in excluding this very low density stratum is that the individuals excluded may be significantly different from the rest of the population. To assess this potential bias,
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interviews from the list stratum and the recontact frame were used to compare Muslims in the lowest density stratum (the excluded area) with those living in the higher density areas. Muslims in the excluded area are more satisfied with their financial situation, somewhat more tolerant of homosexuality, less likely to say that it has become harder to be a Muslim in the U.S. since 9/11, and somewhat more secular in their approach to religion. However, Muslims living in the lowest density stratum comprise a relatively small proportion of all U.S. Muslims, and these differences are not so large that their exclusion would be expected to significantly affect the overall estimates. RDD List Stratum Within the RDD frame of U.S. telephone numbers, we used a targeted, commercial list to identify roughly 450,000 numbers that had a relatively high probability of belonging to a household with a Muslim adult. We defined this list as its own stratum within the RDD frame. This list was constructed from a commercial database of households where someone in the household has a name commonly found among Muslims. The list was prepared by Experian, a commercial credit and market research firm that collects and summarizes data from approximately 110,000,000 U.S. households. The analysis of names was conducted by Ethnic Technologies, LLC, a firm specializing in multicultural marketing lists, ethnic identification software, and ethnic data appending services. According to Experian, the analysis uses computer rules for first names, surnames, surname prefixes and suffixes, and geographic criteria in a specific order to identify an individuals ethnicity, religion and language preference. In late 2006, Pew purchased Experians database of more than 450,000 households thought to include Muslims. This list consists of contact information, including telephone numbers. A test of the list, combined with the results of the screening interviews conducted in the course of the main survey, found that the Experian list was a highly efficient source for contacting Muslims; roughly one-third of households screened from the Experian list included an adult Muslim. The list does not, however, by itself constitute a representative sample of American Muslims. Muslims in the Experian database earn higher incomes, are better educated, are more likely to be of South Asian descent and are much less likely to be African American compared with Muslim Americans as a whole. By combining the Experian list with the RDD frame, however, the list can be used as one component of a probability sample.3 All telephone numbers drawn for the geographic strata of
3

A study by Abt Associates and the Centers for Disease Control using a similar list was the model for our use of the Experian list in this fashion. See K.P. Srinath, Michael P. Battaglia, Meena Khare. 2004. A Dual Frame Sampling Design for an RDD Survey that Screens for a Rare Population. 2004. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Statistical Association [CD-ROM], Alexandria, VA: American Statistical Association.

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the RDD frame were compared to the entire Experian list of numbers. Any numbers that appeared in both the RDD geographic sample and the Experian list were removed from the former, and were available to be sampled only as part of the list stratum. This method makes it possible to determine the probability that any given Muslim has of being sampled, regardless of whether he or she is included in the Experian list. It also permits estimation of the proportion of all Muslims in the U.S. who are covered by the Experian list, which in turn makes it possible, in the final analysis, to give cases from the Experian sample an appropriate weight. More details on the statistical procedures used to incorporate the list into the overall sample are provided below. Recontact Frame In addition to contacting and interviewing a fresh sample of Muslim Americans, the phone numbers of all Muslim households from previous Pew surveys conducted between 2000 and 2006 were called. Adults in these households were screened and interviewed in the same manner used for the RDD frame. No attempt was made to re-interview the same respondent from earlier surveys. Pews survey partners, Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) and SRBI, also provided lists of Muslims interviewed in the course of other national surveys conducted in recent years. In total, the recontact frame consisted of phone numbers for 796 Muslims interviewed in recent national surveys; 309 of these households were successfully screened, resulting in 163 completed interviews with Muslims. The greatest strengths of the recontact frame are that it consists entirely of respondents originally interviewed in the course of nationally representative surveys based on probability samples and that it includes respondents who live in the geographic stratum that was excluded from the RDD sample. However, there also are certain potential biases of the recontact frame. Perhaps most obviously, since all of the previous surveys from which the recontact frame was drawn were conducted either entirely in English, or in English and Spanish, Muslims who do not speak English (or Spanish) are likely absent in the recontact frame. Another potential source of bias relates to the length of time between when respondents were first interviewed and the current field period; respondents still residing in the same household in 2007 as in an earlier year may represent a more established, less mobile population compared with those from households that could not be recontacted. Analysis of the survey results suggests that there are some differences between Muslims in the recontact frame and those in the RDD frame. Not surprisingly, Muslims from the recontact frame are more likely than others to own their home. They express somewhat higher levels of satisfaction with their own financial situations, report lower levels of mosque attendance and religious salience, and express somewhat higher levels of dissatisfaction with the direction of the country. These differences, however, are not sufficiently large so as to be able to substantially affect the surveys estimates.
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2. Questionnaire Design The principal goal of the study is to provide a broad overview of the Muslim population in the U.S. since very little is known about it. Among the key topics of interest are the demographics of the population, their religious beliefs and practices, social and political attitudes, and their experiences as Muslims living in the U.S. Thus, the questionnaire needed to cover a wide range of topics, but also needed to be short so that respondents would be willing to finish the interview. Where possible, questions were taken from Pews U.S. and Global Attitudes Project surveys to provide comparisons with the U.S. public and Muslim publics in many other nations, including those in Western Europe. From its initial planning stages, the project sought the advice of scholars and experts in the field of Islamic studies. The project created a panel of eight leading experts on Muslim Americans, headed by Princeton University Assistant Professor Amaney Jamal, which met twice in Washington to provide advice on the project. Two members of the advisory panel conducted six focus groups of Muslim Americans in four U.S. cities to explore topics and potential reactions to questions for the survey. These groups included Arab Americans in the Detroit area, African American Muslims in Atlanta, a mixed group of Muslim Americans in Washington, D.C., and Iranian Americans in the Los Angeles area. Because this population includes many immigrants who have arrived in the U.S. relatively recently, the survey was translated and conducted in three languages (aside from English) identified as the most common among Muslim immigrants -- Arabic, Urdu, and Farsi. Census Bureau data, considered in conjunction with the results of the survey, make it possible to estimate the proportion of Muslims in the U.S. who speak these languages and cannot speak English well. Analyzing these data produces an estimate that between 9% and 22% of Muslims in the U.S. fall into this category. A total of 131 of the 1050 interviews were conducted in these languages, or 17% of the weighted cases. All three translated instruments were back-translated by native speakers. Project staff and the back-translators then compared the original English and the back-translated versions, and the back-translators also compared the translated versions. On the basis of this review, several changes were made and the translated instruments were modified accordingly. After a draft questionnaire was constructed, two extensive English-language pretests were conducted, along with a separate test of several open-ended questions. Another issue confronted in the questionnaire design was the sensitivity of the population to being interviewed. The survey clearly shows that many Muslim Americans believe they are
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targeted by the government for surveillance. Many are also concerned about stereotyping and prejudice directed toward them. These attitudes plausibly lead to greater reluctance to be interviewed and thus a potential nonresponse bias. Several aspects of the study were tailored to deal with this. The initial phase of the questionnaire included neutral or innocuous questions about satisfaction with the community, personal happiness, and personal characteristics such as home ownership, entrepreneurship, and newspaper subscription. After these items, respondents were asked about their religious affiliation, choosing from a list that included major Western traditions such as Protestantism and Catholicism but also non-Western traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. Respondents who identified as Muslim proceeded to the substantive portion of the questionnaire, and those who were not Muslim were asked if anyone in the household practiced a different religion; in 58 households where a non-Muslim answered the phone, it was determined that there was a Muslim living in the household, and 52 of these subsequently yielded a completed interview. After identifying as a Muslim, a respondent was told that: As mentioned before, this survey is being conducted for the Pew Research Center. We have some questions on a few different topics, and as a small token of our appreciation for your time, we would like to send you $50 at the completion of this survey. After this introduction, a relatively short series of questions followed (including presidential approval and political and social values such as homosexuality, immigration and poverty, and opinions about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan). At the conclusion of this series, respondents were told that The Pew Research Center conducts many surveys on religion and public life in the United States. Earlier, you mentioned that you are a Muslim, and we have some questions about the views and experiences of Muslims living in the United States. I think you will find these questions very interesting. The logic for revealing the principal focus of the study a practice not common in survey research was that Muslim respondents would quickly discover that the study was focused on Muslims and Islam, and that there would be a greater chance of establishing a bond of trust by revealing the intent of the study earlier. Indeed, in initial pretesting of the study without the early presentation of the goal, some respondents expressed suspicion about the purpose of the study and eventually broke off the interview. These efforts to convince Muslims to complete the survey were reasonably successful: overall, 79% of respondents who identified as Muslim eventually completed the interview. This compares with an average of 85% to 90% in other Pew Research Center surveys. Given that the average survey length was 30 minutes, a slightly higher-than-normal breakoff rate was not unexpected. (The 79% completion rate does not include respondents who dropped off during the
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short screener interview prior to answering the religion question; this was approximately 3% of households that answered at least the first question in the screener.) Whether this nonresponse results in a bias in our estimates is difficult to determine. For the most part, nonresponse in well-designed surveys has not been shown to create serious biases because the reasons for nonresponse are not related to the key survey measures.4 But because of the motivation for some of the nonresponse in the Muslim community, it is possible that reluctant Muslims hold different views on key questions than those who easily consented to the interview. To assess this possibility, we compared respondents in households who completed the survey easily (i.e., within the first four attempts) with respondents with whom it was more difficult to obtain a completed interview (i.e., a successfully completed interview was obtained only after five or more attempts). This analysis revealed some differences between the two groups. On many questions, respondents who were more difficult to interview were somewhat more likely to express no opinion. (This may reflect, in part, that respondents interviewed in foreign languages were more numerous among the group who required five or more attempts compared with respondents who spoke English). And respondents who required multiple attempts appear to be somewhat more traditional in their approach to the practice of Islam. Approximately half (51%) of those requiring five or more attempts pray all five salah daily, compared with 33% of those requiring fewer attempts. The harder to reach are also more likely to interpret the Koran literally (67% versus 53% among the easier to reach). Muslims requiring five or more attempts before completing the interview were no more likely than others to say suicide bombing is justifiable or to express favorable views of al-Qaeda, nor were they more likely to doubt the sincerity of the war on terror. And they seem to be about as content with their lives as are other Muslims, expressing comparable levels of personal happiness and agreement with the belief that those who work hard can get ahead. Nonresponse bias can also be assessed by comparing the opinions expressed early in the questionnaire by Muslims who did not complete the interview with the views of those who did complete the interview. Here, there were only minor differences; there was no evidence that the survey estimates were affected by respondents breaking off the interview. Those who terminated the interview expressed slightly higher levels of personal happiness; 34% reported being very happy compared with 28% among those who completed the interview. They also were slightly

See, for example, Scott Keeter, Courtney Kennedy, Michael Dimock, Jonathan Best, and Peyton Craighill. "Gauging the Impact of Growing Nonresponse on Estimates from a National RDD Telephone Survey." Public Opinion Quarterly, 70 (#5), 2006: 759-779. Also Merkel, Daniel and Murray Edelman (2002), Nonresponse in Exit Polls: A Comprehensive Analysis, Chapter 16 in Groves, Robert M., Don A. Dillman, John L. Eltinge, Roderick J.A. Little, Survey Nonresponse. New York: Wiley, pp. 243-258.

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more likely to express belief that those who work hard can get ahead. And, as might be expected, those who eventually terminated the interview are more likely than others to offer no opinion in response to many questions. All in all, though, the substantive views of those who terminated the interview appear to be comparable with those who completed the interview. 3. Issues in Survey Administration The administration of this survey posed four challenges. First, the volume of interviewing was very large. The survey firm that conducted the interviewing, SRBI, estimated that 20,800 interviewer hours within a 14-week timeframe would be needed, with the bulk of this devoted to screening to locate this rare population. A total of 59,770 households were screened, with 560,863 unique phone numbers and 1,737,509 phone dialings made over a period of 14 weeks. This was achieved by deploying 357 English-speaking and 6 foreign language-speaking interviewers. Recruitment, supervision, and training of foreign language interviewers posed another operational challenge. SRBI has four interviewing centers, but the center with the greatest success in recruiting highly educated foreign language interviewers was located in the university city of Huntington, West Virginia. The six interviewers (who spoke Arabic, Farsi or Urdu) recruited for the study were highly educated and motivated. All had college degrees. As a data quality check, foreign language interviewers monitored each others performance, and many of the foreign language interviews were recorded and reviewed by Pews project staff who spoke the relevant languages. Building trust with respondents was critical for the surveys success. For the RDD sample, fewer than 1 out of 100 households screened included a Muslim. This made it extremely important to minimize mid-interview terminations. Hence, it was important for all of the interviewers Muslim and non-Muslim to have experience in interviewing this population. To achieve this, all interviewers worked on the Experian list sample first; after having completed a few interviews with Muslim respondents, they were allowed to dial the RDD geographic sample.
Summary of Key Survey Elements
Sample size............... N=1,050 Field period .............. January 24 April 30, 2007 Average survey length .. 30 minutes Interview languages..... English, Arabic, Urdu, Farsi Incentive .................. $50 for completed interview with qualified respondent Call design ................ Ten calls for screeners; No limit for qualified households Refusal conversions ..... Up to two attempts Letters .................... Letters sent to all qualified callback and refusal cases where a match could be made. Letters in English and in Arabic or Farsi also sent to households believed to include Arabic or Farsi speakers

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To compensate respondents for their time and to make participation in the survey more attractive, an incentive of $50 was offered for completing the interview. The study began with $25 incentive, but this was subsequently increased to $50 to further minimize mid-interview termination. Three-quarters of the respondents provided name and address information for receiving the incentive payment. In addition, for the RDD sample, all qualified Muslim households and Muslim language barrier cases (Arabic, Urdu, Farsi) that we were unable to complete during the initial calls were sent, where possible, a letter explaining the purpose and scope of the study. All language-barrier letters were translated into the respective languages. A total of 258 such letters were mailed. Determining and achieving an accurate balance of male and female interviews was a further challenge. Pew Research Center surveys have found that a significant majority of Muslim American respondents are male (about 67% in Pew polls conducted since the beginning of 2000); this finding has been corroborated by other survey organizations and also noted in the 2004 NEP exit polls. An analysis of Census Bureau data on adult immigrants from the countries thought to provide the largest numbers of Muslim immigrants found that a majority of these immigrants are male. The final results of the study indicate that there likely are, in fact, more Muslim American adult males than females in the population (54% male, 46% female), but the imbalance is not as great as indicated by the male-female distribution among respondents in the earlier surveys. But cultural differences in willingness to be interviewed may still be important. To mitigate any potential bias in this respect, the interviewing protocols attempted to match male interviewers with male respondents, and female interviewers with female respondents, a practice that is common among survey researchers conducting face-to-face interviews in majority Muslim nations. After a period of testing the default strategy of asking first for males (the Pew Research Center practice with U.S. general public samples), it was determined that gender matching was yielding higher levels of cooperation. Accordingly, the experiment was terminated and all further contacting entailed men asking for men and women asking for women. If a respondent of the interviewers gender was not available, the interviewer asked for the youngest available adult of the other gender. Response rates for the study were comparable with other RDD surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center. A response rate of 27% was achieved for list sample, 58% for the recontact sample and 29% for RDD sample, using the Response Rate 3 definition devised by the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR). Detailed AAPOR sample disposition reports are provided at the end of this section.

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4. Weighting Several stages of statistical adjustment (weighting) were needed to account for the use of multiple frames and higher sampling rates in certain geographic areas. The first stage involved identifying all of the adults (Muslims and non-Muslims) who completed the screener in the RDD frame. These cases were adjusted, based on their probability of being sampled for the survey. This adjustment accounted for three factors: (1) the percent of telephone numbers that were sampled in the stratum; (2) the percent of residential numbers that were completed screeners in the stratum; and, (3) the number of adults in the household. This can be written as:
bwhi = N h Rh Ahi nh Ch

where Nh is the number of telephone numbers in the frame in stratum h, nh is the number of telephone numbers sampled, Rh is the number of telephone numbers that are determined to be residential, Ch is the number of completed screener interviews, and Ahi is the number of adults in household i in stratum h. As noted earlier, telephone numbers on the Experian list (irrespective of whether they were sampled) were excluded from the RDD geographic strata. Whenever a substantial proportion of the population is not sampled due to expected low incidence of the target population, the method of adjusting the estimates to account for the exclusion is important and yet difficult because of the lack of data from the survey itself. As noted earlier, the lowest density stratum (those areas that were identified as having very low incidence rates of Muslim Americans), were excluded from the RDD sample. The base weights for the RDD sample were adjusted differentially depending on whether the respondent was Muslim American. The coverage adjustment for those who were not Muslim Americans was 1.64 and for those who were Muslim Americans it was 1.25. The 1.25 factor was derived from the proportion of the entire Experian list that fell into the areas that were excluded from the RDD sample; this proportion was consistent with the 2000 Census counts of U.S.-born persons whose ancestors lived in predominantly Muslim countries, but higher than the Census counts of persons born in predominantly Muslim countries and speaking Muslim languages. The coverage factor for those who were not Muslim Americans was determined by examining the percentage of all adults in the excluded areas from the Census (47%), and the percentage of all RDD interviews in previous Pew studies in the excluded areas (53%). The factor was further adjusted to account for the fact that the Experian list did not exclude these areas. The Experian list and recontact cases did not require coverage adjustment because they did not exclude any areas of the country. These cases from the RDD frame (including both Muslims and non-Muslims alike) were then statistically adjusted to match (weighted to) known totals for all U.S. adults. The cases were balanced on sex, age in categories, education categories, race/ethnicity and region. This set of
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respondents and weights was used to estimate the total number of Muslims and the proportion of all adults in the U.S. that are Muslim. Only cases from the RDD frame were used to estimate population totals. Having estimated population totals, the next objective was to estimate characteristics of the Muslim American population (e.g., percent Sunni). First, all non-Muslim cases were dropped from the analysis at this point. We sought to increase the precision of estimates for Muslim Americans by combining cases from the RDD frame with the recontact cases. Prior to this combining, it was necessary to address several outstanding issues. The outstanding issue in the RDD and list samples was residual nonresponse bias. Based on screener information, it was clear that certain segments of the Muslim population were overrepresented in the combined RDD and Experian sample. In particular, the estimate from the screener respondents was that 61% of adult Muslims were male, but household roster questions indicated that only 54% of the American Muslim population is male. We attempted to correct for this disparity by aligning (raking) the distribution of gender*education level among all Muslims screened with this distribution among Muslims completing the full interview. This adjustment relies on the problematic assumption that the respondent education distribution by sex is the same as the education by sex distribution for the entire U.S. Muslim population. That said, this adjustment seems the most reasonable given limited alternatives. Large-scale government surveys, which are the most common source for such population distribution estimates, do not collect data on religious affiliation. This realignment was sample-based, so it retained the variability in the estimates of the number and type of Muslims observed in the screening estimates.

RDD sample

U.S. Population Totals All screened cases - Base weighting - Coverage adjustment - Raking to population totals

Experian sample

Muslim cases - Residual nonresponse adjustment

Muslim totals based on RDD/Experian Final sample

Muslim totals based on Recontacts Recontact sample Recontact cases (All Muslim) - Base weighting - Raking to sample-based control totals

Muslim cases - Combine in proportion to effective n's

Figures are only intended to illustrate the process. They are not drawn to actual proportions.

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One outstanding issue in the recontact sample was accounting for the probability of selection into the Muslim American study. Recall that the recontacts are Muslim adults who live in households in which a Muslim had previously been interviewed for an unrelated survey conducted between 2000 and 2006. Each of these previous surveys was based on an independent, equal probability RDD sample. For weighting purposes, we assume that the population totals did not vary over the 2000-2006 time period. The initial adjustment for the recontact cases accounts for two factors: (1) the standardized weight from the previous survey; and, (2) the sample size of the previous survey. This can be written as:
bwi = 100 wstd ,i Ni

where wstd,i is the standardized weight for household i in the previous survey and Ni is the sample size of the previous survey in which the household participated. This formula essentially created weights from the previous surveys as if the previous surveys all had the same sample size. An attempt also was made to adjust for differences in response rates between recontacts from the older versus the more recent surveys. There were too few recontact cases, however, for this adjustment to be fine-tuned. At this point, we had accounted for the selection probabilities in both sampling frames. The penultimate step in the process was aligning the recontact cases with sample-based control totals for the entire Muslim American population. We derived the control totals from the RDD and list samples and weighted up the recontact cases to match them. This ensured that the totals for the categories of sex, race/ethnicity, region, and education were consistent with the estimates from the RDD and list samples.
Screener Incidence by Nativity

Finally, we combined the RDD frame with the recontact frame. Had we simply added them together, they would have estimated twice the Muslim American population total. Rather than dividing the weights of both frames by 2 (equally weighting the samples), we used a factor that was proportional to the effective sample sizes. This worked out to be 0.8 for the RDD frame and 0.2 for the recontact cases. Due to the complex design of the Muslim American study, formulas commonly used in RDD surveys to estimate margins of error (standard errors) are inappropriate. Such formulas would understate
69

Expected % United States 88.0 Iran 0.1 Arab countries 0.3 South Asian countries 0.8 African countries 0.5 Latin America 4.5 Europe 2.3 Other Asian countries 2.4 Other/DK/Ref 1.1 100

Actual % 87.3 0.1 0.4 0.6 0.5 3.9 2.5 1.1 3.6 100

Expected figures based on 2005 ACS, excluding individuals who do not speak English well. Arab countries include Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine/Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, West Bank, and Yemen. South Asian countries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

MUSLIM AMERICANS

the true variability in the estimates. Accordingly, we used a repeated replication technique, specifically jackknife repeated replication (JRR), to calculate the standard errors for this study. Repeated replication techniques estimate the variance of a survey statistic based on the variance between sub-sample estimates of that statistic. The sub-samples (replicates) were created using the same sample design, but deleting a portion of the sample, and then weighting each subsample up to the population total. The units to be deleted were defined separately for each of the three samples (RDD geographic strata, list, recontacts), and within each frame by the strata used in the sampling. A total of 100 replicates were created by combining telephone numbers to reduce the computational effort. A statistical software package designed for complex survey data, WesVar 4.2, was used to calculate all of the standard errors and test statistics in the study. 5. Assessing bias and other error Surveys whose target population includes large numbers of immigrants may be subject to sources of bias in addition to those known to have the potential to affect even those surveys with relatively few immigrants. It is important, for instance, for this survey to accurately reflect the views of Muslims born in a wide variety of countries, as well as the views of those who do not speak English. It is possible to assess the degree to which screening interviews included respondents from a variety of countries. Analysis of the U.S. governments 2005 American Community Survey (ACS) makes it possible to estimate the proportion of all Americans born outside of the U.S. In order to compare these estimates with the results of the survey, the analysis of the ACS is restricted to respondents who speak English at least well or very well. The ACS indicates that among EnglishHow Many Muslims Speak Arabic, Urdu, Farsi and English? speaking people in the U.S., 88% were born in the U.S.; nearly 5% were born in Latin America (including Estimated Survey Range Result Mexico, Central America, South America, and the % % Caribbean); roughly 2% were born in Europe; and 2% Arabic 5 - 12 11 Farsi 3-6 3 were born in Asian countries outside of South Asia. Urdu 2-5 3 Perhaps most important for the purposes of this survey, English 78 91 83 the ACS estimates that 0.1% of the population was born Estimates derived by multiplying the incidence rate of Muslims among screeners in Iran; 0.3% were born in Arab countries; and nearly 1% conducted in each language by the number of people who speak each language (as were born in South Asian nations. Overall, the screener determined by the ACS). For Arabic, Urdu, interviews for this survey closely match the ACS and Farsi, the low estimates assume that those who speak each language and also estimates for these countries, providing confidence that speak English at least well would be screened and interviewed in English; high the survey adequately covers the immigrant population. estimates assume that only those who speak The ACS data also make it possible to estimate the proportion of Muslims who do not speak English.
70
each language and also speak English very well would be screened and interviewed in English. Survey estimate reflects weighted totals.

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These analyses suggest that between 78% and 91% of Muslims in the U.S. speak English well enough to complete a survey in English; the lower estimate assumes that only those people who speak English at least very well could be interviewed in English, while the higher estimate assumes that all those who speak English at least well could be interviewed in English. The weighted results of the survey line up closely with these projections; 83% of interviews were conducted in English, 11% in Arabic, 3% in Farsi, and 3% in Urdu.

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APPENDIX SAMPLE DISPOSITION REPORTS

RDD GEOGRAPHIC STRATA SAMPLE DISPOSITION REPORT (AAPOR FORMAT): Muslims screened during pre-test 38 13 5 1 12 1 1 0 0 5 ---- Geographic Stratum ---Lower density 167261 51 18222 114 17876 9178 4421 17096 8845 91458 Medium density 292171 177 29083 236 29136 15902 8400 34625 16180 158432 High density 92277 113 7780 105 9044 5075 3501 10828 5451 50380 Totals 551747 354 55090 456 56068 30156 16323 62549 30476 300275

Total phone numbers used Completed full interviews (1.0) Screen-out short interviews (1.1) Partial Interviews (1.2) Refusal and break off (2.1) Non Contact (2.2) Other (2.3) Unknown household (3.1) Unknown other (3.2, 3.9) Not Eligible (4.0) e = Estimated proportion of cases of unknown eligibility that are eligible Response Response Response Response Rate 1 Rate 2 Rate 3 Rate 4

35% 24% 24% 31% 31% 45% 45% 50% 51% 24% 30% 36% 54% 69% 82%

34% 22% 22% 29% 29% 44% 44% 50% 50% 22% 29% 35% 50% 67% 81%

34% 19% 19% 25% 26% 38% 39% 46% 47% 22% 29% 35% 49% 66% 80%

35% 22% 22% 29% 29% 43% 44% 50% 50% 22% 29% 35% 51% 67% 81%

Cooperation Rate 1 Cooperation Rate 2 Cooperation Rate 3 Cooperation Rate 4 Refusal Rate 1 Refusal Rate 2 Refusal Rate 3 Contact Rate 1 Contact Rate 2 Contact Rate 3

72

MUSLIM AMERICANS

LIST SAMPLE DISPOSITION REPORT (AAPOR FORMAT): Totals 8320 553 1230 50 1916 810 508 488 1425 1360

Total phone numbers used Completed full interviews (1.0) Screen-out short interviews (1.1) Partial Interviews (1.2) Refusal and break off (2.1) Non Contact (2.2) Other (2.3) Unknown household (3.1) Unknown other (3.2, 3.9) Not Eligible (4.0) e = Estimated proportion of cases of unknown eligibility that are eligible Response Response Response Response Rate 1 Rate 2 Rate 3 Rate 4

79% 25% 26% 27% 28% 42% 43% 47% 49% 28% 29% 38% 61% 65% 84%

Cooperation Rate 1 Cooperation Rate 2 Cooperation Rate 3 Cooperation Rate 4 Refusal Rate 1 Refusal Rate 2 Refusal Rate 3 Contact Rate 1 Contact Rate 2 Contact Rate 3

73

MUSLIM AMERICANS

RE-CONTACT SAMPLE DISPOSITION REPORT (AAPOR FORMAT): Totals 796 163 124 7 104 22 44 22 29 281

Total phone numbers used Completed full interviews (1.0) Screen-out short interviews (1.1) Partial Interviews (1.2) Refusal and break off (2.1) Non Contact (2.2) Other (2.3) Unknown household (3.1) Unknown other (3.2, 3.9) Not Eligible (4.0) e = Estimated proportion of cases of unknown eligibility that are eligible Response Response Response Response Rate 1 Rate 2 Rate 3 Rate 4

62% 56% 57% 58% 59% 65% 67% 72% 74% 20% 21% 22% 86% 89% 95%

Cooperation Rate 1 Cooperation Rate 2 Cooperation Rate 3 Cooperation Rate 4 Refusal Rate 1 Refusal Rate 2 Refusal Rate 3 Contact Rate 1 Contact Rate 2 Contact Rate 3

74

MUSLIM AMERICANS

PEW RESEARCH CENTER SURVEY OF AMERICAN MUSLIMS FINAL TOPLINE JANUARY 24 APRIL 30, 2007 N = 1,050 Hello, I am ________ calling for the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan research group. We are conducting a telephone opinion survey about the publics views on a few things. IF INTERVIEWER IS MALE, READ: I'd like to ask a few questions of the YOUNGEST MALE, 18 years of age or older, who is now at home. [IF NO MALE, ASK: May I please speak with the YOUNGEST FEMALE, 18 years of age or older, who is now at home?] IF INTERVIEWER IS FEMALE, READ: I'd like to ask a few questions of the YOUNGEST FEMALE, 18 years of age or older, who is now at home. [IF NO FEMALE, ASK: May I please speak with the YOUNGEST MALE, 18 years of age or older, who is now at home?] Q.1 Overall, how would you rate your community as a place to live? (READ) 10-05 General Public 41 41 14 4 * 100

28 44 20 7 1 100 Q.2

Excellent Good Only fair Poor Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

Generally, how would you say things are these days in your life -- would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy? 9-06 GP 36 51 12 1 100

24 54 18 4 100 Q.3

Very happy Pretty happy Not too happy Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

As I read from a short list, please tell me which if any of the following descriptions apply to you. First/Next, [INSERT; RANDOMIZE], does this apply to you, or not? 4-07 ---------GP--------DK/ Yes No Ref. 21 79 *=100 48 51 1=100

a. Self-employed or small business owner NO ITEM b c. A subscriber to a daily newspaper NO ITEM d 75

Yes 24 22

No 76 78

DK/ Ref. *=100 *=100

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Q.3 CONTINUED DK/ Ref. *=100 *=100 *=100

e. A homeowner f. Ever run for public office g. Currently enrolled in a college or university class

Yes 41 4 22

No 59 96 78

4-07 ---------GP--------DK/ Yes No Ref. 68 32 *=100 -------

RELIG What is your religious preference Protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or something else? 2007 GP5 54 25 1 2 1 3 12 2 100

0 0 0 0 100 0 0 0 0 0 100

Protestant Roman Catholic Orthodox Christian Jewish Muslim Hindu Buddhist Other religion (SPECIFY) No religion, not a believer, atheist, agnostic (VOL) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

[SCREENER QUESTIONS] READ: As mentioned before, this survey is being conducted for the Pew Research Center. We have some questions on a few different topics, and as a small token of our appreciation for your time, we would like to send you $50 at the completion of this survey. The next question is, ASK ALL: Q.A1 Overall, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in this country today? April 2006 -----Muslims in Europe----Brit Fra Ger Spa 51 33 44 76 38 67 52 19 11 * 4 5 100 100 100 100 April 2006 ----Muslims only in Muslim Countries---Egypt Tur Indo Pak Jor Nig 56 40 26 35 53 8 42 56 74 58 44 92 2 4 * 7 3 * 100 100 100 100 100 100

38 54 8 100

1-07 GP 32 61 7 100

Satisfied Dissatisfied DK/Refused

In 2007, the general public question asked, What is your religious preference Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Mormon, or an orthodox church such as the Greek or Russian Orthodox Church? Results for Mormon category are combined with Other Religion category. Results based on 8,235 interviews conducted between January and April 2007.

76

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Q.B1

Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president? [IF DK ENTER AS DK. IF DEPENDS PROBE ONCE WITH: Overall do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president? IF STILL DEPENDS ENTER AS DK] 4-07 GP 35 57 8 100

15 69 16 100 Q.B2

Approve Disapprove Don't know/Refused (VOL.)

Here are a few pairs of statements. For each pair, tell me whether the FIRST statement or the SECOND statement comes closer to your own views even if neither is exactly right. The first pair is... (READ AND RANDOMIZE ITEMS; INTERVIEWER PRECEDE THE FIRST STATEMENT IN EACH PAIR WITH one AND THE SECOND STATEMENT IN EACH PAIR WITH two) 9-06 GP 37 51 7 5 100 9-06 GP 41 41 14 4 100 3-06 GP 64 33 1 2 100 9-06 GP 51 38 8 3 100

a. 59 29 4 8 100 b. 73 16 6 5 100 c. 71 26 2 1 100 d. 27 61 5 7 100

The government should do more to protect morality in society [OR] I worry the government is getting too involved in the issue of morality Neither/Both equally (VOL.) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

Immigrants today strengthen the U.S. because of their hard work and talents [OR] Immigrants today are a burden on the U.S. because they take our jobs, housing and health care Neither/Both equally (VOL.) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

Most people who want to get ahead can make it if they're willing to work hard [OR] Hard work and determination are no guarantee of success for most people Neither/Both equally (VOL.) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

Homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society [OR] Homosexuality is a way of life that should be discouraged by society Neither/Both equally (VOL.) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

77

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Q.B2 CONTINUED e. 4-07 GP 63 28 5 4 100 The government should do more to help needy Americans, even if it means going deeper into debt [OR] The government today cant afford to do much more to help the needy Neither/Both equally (VOL.) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

73 17 4 6 100 Q.B3

If you had to choose, would you rather have a smaller government providing fewer services, or a bigger government providing more services? 1-07 GP 45 43 4 8 100

21 70 3 6 100

Smaller government, fewer services Bigger government, more services Depends (VOL.) Don't know/Refused (VOL.)

Turning to foreign affairs ROTATE Q.C1 AND Q.C2 Q.C1 Do you think the U.S. made the right decision or the wrong decision in using military force in Afghanistan? 12-06 GP 61 29 10 100

35 48 17 100 Q.C2

Right decision Wrong decision Don't know/Refused (VOL.)

Do you think the U.S. made the right decision or the wrong decision in using military force against Iraq? 4-07 GP 45 47 8 100

12 75 13 100

Right decision Wrong decision Don't know/Refused (VOL.)

78

MUSLIM AMERICANS

[IF RESPONDENT HAS NOT ALREADY BEEN TOLD THAT THIS IS A SURVEY OF MUSLIMS, READ): The Pew Research Center conducts many surveys on religion and public life in the United States. Earlier, you mentioned that you are a Muslim, and we have some questions about the views and experiences of Muslims living in the United States. I think you will find these questions very interesting. First, [IF RESPONDENT HAS ALREADY INQUIRED ABOUT REASONS FOR SURVEY AND BEEN TOLD THIS IS A SURVEY OF MUSLIMS, SAY): Now I have some questions about the views and experiences of Muslims living in the United States. Q.D1 In your own words, what do you think are the most important problems facing Muslims living in the United States today? [RECORD VERBATIM RESPONSE. PROBE FOR CLARITY; IF RESPONDENT SAYS none OR INDICATES THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS, SOFT PROBE ONCE WITH nothing in particular? OR there are no right or wrong answersdoes anything come to mind?; PROBE ONCE FOR ADDITIONAL MENTIONS any other problems?; IF MORE THAN ONE MENTION RECORD UP TO THREE RESPONSES IN ORDER OF MENTION] Discrimination/racism/prejudice Viewed as terrorists Ignorance/misconceptions of Islam Stereotyping/generalizing about all Muslims Negative media portrayals Not treated fairly/harassment Religious/cultural problems War/U.S. foreign policy Radical Islam/fundamentalists/extremists Hatred/fear/distrust of Muslims Jobs/financial problems Lack of representation/community involvement Other No problems Dont know/Refused

19 15 14 12 7 6 5 3 3 2 2 1 5 19 6

Q.D1a Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, has it become more difficult to be a Muslim in the U.S., or hasnt it changed very much? 53 40 1 6 100 Has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the U.S. since 9/11 Hasnt changed very much Has become easier to be a Muslim in the US (VOL.) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

79

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Q.D2 12 35 40 10 1 2 100 Q.D3

How many of your close friends are Muslims? Would you say (READ LIST) All of them Most of them Some of them, or Hardly any of them None of them (VOL.) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

Do you think that coverage of Islam and Muslims by American news organizations is generally fair or unfair? Fair Unfair Depends (VOL.) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

26 57 6 11 100 Q.D4

32 63 5 100

Do you think there is a natural conflict between being a devout Muslim and living in a modern society, or dont you think so? April 2006 April 2006 -----Muslims in Europe--- ----Muslims only in Muslim Countries---5-06 GP Brit Fra Ger Spa Egypt Tur Indo Pak Jor Nig 40 Yes, there is a conflict 47 28 36 25 28 29 43 48 34 33 42 No, dont think so 49 72 57 71 70 61 54 17 64 64 18 DK/Refused (VOL.) 4 * 7 4 2 10 3 35 2 3 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 DEVOUT CHRISTIAN QUESTION COMPARISON: Do you think there is a natural conflict between being a devout Christian and living in a modern society, or dont you think so? 5-06 April 2006 U.S. -----Muslims in Europe--Brit Fra Ger Spa GP 29 Yes, there is a conflict 22 23 27 18 62 No, dont think so 65 77 64 74 9 DK/Refused (VOL.) 13 1 10 8 100 100 100 101 100

80

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Q.D5 43 26 16 6 9 100 Q.D6

Which comes closer to your view [READ AND ROTATE]? Muslims coming to the U.S. today should mostly adopt American customs and ways of life [OR] Muslims coming to the U.S. today should mostly try to remain distinct from the larger American society Both (VOL.) Neither (VOL.) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

How worried are you [READ ITEM; ROTATE]? Are you very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried, or not at all worried? And how worried are you [READ ITEM; ROTATE]? Are you very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried, or not at all worried? Somewhat worried 18 13 Not at all worried 42 49

a.

About not being hired for a job or promoted because of your religion b. About your telephone calls and e-mails being monitored by the government because of your religion c. That women who wear the headcover or hijab (hee-jab) in public will be treated poorly because it identifies them as Muslim Q.D7

Very worried 19 19

Not too worried 18 17

DK/ Refused 3=100 2=100

22

29

20

25

4=100

Do you personally think it is okay or not okay for a Muslim to marry someone who is not a Muslim? [IF RESPONDENT SAYS it depends, PROBE ONCE WITH Just your own view, do you personally think it is okay or not okay for a Muslim to marry someone who is not a Muslim? IF STILL DEPENDS, ENTER AS 3 Depends] Okay for a Muslim to marry someone who is not a Muslim Not okay for a Muslim to marry someone who is not a Muslim Depends (VOL.) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

62 24 11 3 100

NO Q.D8

81

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Q.D9

On the whole, do you think that Muslims in the U.S. are becoming more religious, less religious, or is this not changing very much? ASK IF THINK MUSLIMS ARE BECOMING MORE RELIGIOUS OR LESS RELIGIOUS (Q.D9=1,2): Q.D10 All in all, do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing or does it not matter very much? BASED ON TOTAL: Muslims in the U.S. are becoming more religious Good thing Bad thing Doesnt matter very much Dont know (VOL.) Muslims in the U.S. are becoming less religious Good thing Bad thing Doesnt matter very much Dont know (VOL.) Not changing very much Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

31 21 3 5 2 17 3 9 5 * 43 9 100

ASK ALL: Q.D11 Next, I am going to read a list of things that some Muslims in the U.S. have experienced. As I read each one, please tell me whether or not it has happened to you in the past twelve months. First, in the past twelve months, [INSERT; RANDOMIZE; ITEM e ALWAYS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS ITEM d] because you are a Muslim, or not? 4-07 Among African Americans nationwide6 Yes No DK/Ref 33 66 1=100 ---20 80 *=100 ---20 80 0=100 10 89 1=100

Yes 26 32 15 18 9 4

No 73 66 85 81 90 96

DK/ Ref 1=100 2=100 *=100 1=100 1=100 *=100

a. Have people acted as if they are suspicious of you b. Has someone expressed support for you c. Have you been called offensive names d. Have you been singled out by airport security e. Have you been singled out by (other) law enforcement officers f. Have you been physically threatened or attacked

An April 12-16, 2007 national survey asked 286 African Americans about things that some African Americans in the U.S. have experienced and whether the experience was because of your race, or not?

82

MUSLIM AMERICANS

IF R HAS NOT BEEN SINGLED OUT BY AIRPORT SECURITY (Q.D11d=2), ASK IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING Q.D11d: Q.D11dd And is that because it hasnt happened or because you havent taken a trip by airplane in the past twelve months? BASED ON TOTAL: 18 Have been singled out by airport security 81 Have not been singled out by airport security 41 Because it hasnt happened 39 Havent taken a trip by airplane in the past twelve months 1 Dont know/Refused (VOL.) 1 Dont know/Refused (VOL.) 100 Q.D12 And thinking more generally NOT just about the past 12 months have you ever been the victim of discrimination as a Muslim living in the United States? 4-07 Among African Americans nationwide7 47 53 * 100

25 73 2 100

Yes, have been the victim of discrimination No, have not been the victim of discrimination Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

Now I have a few questions on religion Q.E1 On average, how often do you attend the mosque or Islamic center for salah (sal-AH) and Jumah (joom-AH) prayer? (READ LIST) April 2006 -----Muslims in Europe---Brit Fra Ger Spa 31 5 11 25 23 5 11 6 23 1 100 17 5 18 10 45 * 100 19 10 19 14 26 1 100 21 9 10 5 24 6 100 April 2006 -----Muslims only in Muslim Countries----Egypt Tur Indo Pak Jor Nig 16 18 53 43 18 50 28 6 11 16 22 1 100 23 4 10 18 23 4 100 17 7 7 15 * 1 100 15 2 5 2 32 1 100 30 11 10 9 21 1 100 19 9 9 6 7 * 100

17 23 8 18 16 18 * 100

2007 GP8 13 26 14 19 16 11 1 100

More than once a week Once a week for Jumah prayer Once or twice a month A few times a year, especially for the Eid (EED) Seldom, OR Never DK/Refused (VOL.)

An April 12-16, 2007 national survey asked N=286 African Americans have you ever been the victim of discrimination because of your race, or not? In 2007, the general public question asked, Aside from weddings and funerals, how often do you attend religious services... more than once a week, once a week, once or twice a month, a few times a year, seldom, or never? Results based on 8,235 interviews conducted between January and April 2007.

83

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Q.E2

And outside of salah (sal-AH) and Jumah (joom-AH) prayer, do you take part in any other social or religious activities at the mosque or Islamic center? 3-07 GP9 40 60 * 100

30 70 * 100 Q.E3

Yes No Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

How important is religion in your life very important, somewhat important, not too important, or not at all important? April 2006 -----Muslims in Europe----Brit Fra Ger Spa 88 58 67 75 11 33 20 17 * 1 * 100 5 4 0 100 5 6 2 100 4 3 1 100 April 2006 -----Muslims only in Muslim Countries----Egypt Tur Indo Pak Jor Nig 64 70 97 98 72 98 34 21 3 1 24 2 1 1 0 100 5 1 3 100 0 0 0 100 * 0 1 100 3 1 * 100 0 0 0 100

72 18 5 4 1 100

5-06 GP 54 29 10 6 1 100

Very important Somewhat important Not too important Not at all important DK/Refused (VOL.)

Q.E4 Which comes closest to your view? [READ, IN ORDER] IF BELIEVE KORAN IS WORD OF GOD (Q.E4=1), ASK: Q.E5 And would you say that [READ, IN ORDER]? 3-07 GP10 69 35 28 6 22 2 7 100

86 50 25 11 8 1 5 100

The Koran is the word of God, (NET) The Koran is to be taken literally, word for word, That not everything in the Koran should be taken literally, word for word. Other/Dont know/Refused (VOL. DO NOT READ) The Koran is a book written by men and is not the word of God (NET) Other (VOL. DO NOT READ) Dont know/Refused (VOL. DO NOT READ)

10

In March 2007, the general public question asked, And outside of worship services, do you take part in any other social or religious activities at your (church/synagogue/mosque/place of worship)? In March 2007, the general public questions asked Jews about the Torah, Muslims about the Koran and all others about the Bible.

84

MUSLIM AMERICANS

ASK ALL: Q.E6 Concerning daily salah (sal-AH) or prayer, do you, in general, pray all five salah daily, make some of the five salah daily, occasionally make salah, only make Eid (EED) prayers, or do you never pray? 61 41 20 20 6 12 1 100 Pray daily (NET) Pray all five salah Make some of the five salah daily Occasionally make salah Only make Eid prayers Never pray Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

GENERAL PUBLIC COMPARISON: Regardless of whether you practice any particular religion, please tell me, in general, how often you do each of the following religious or spiritual activities. How often do you pray? (READ) 8-0511 GP 64 10 5 4 2 6 8 1 100 Q.E7

Every day Several times a week Once a week Once or twice a month A few times a year Seldom Never Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

Overall, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the quality of mosques available to you where you live? Satisfied Dissatisfied No mosques nearby (VOL.) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

74 15 3 8 100

11

Results are from an August 2-4, 2005 Newsweek/Princeton Survey Research Associates International poll.

85

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Q.E8

In your opinion, should mosques keep out of political matters or should they express their views on day-to-day social and political questions? 7-06 GP12 46 51 3 100

49 43 8 100 Q.E9 33 60 2 5 100

Should keep out Should express views Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

Which statement comes closest to your view? [READ; ROTATE] There is only ONE true way to interpret the teachings of Islam, OR There is MORE than one true way to interpret the teachings of Islam Other (VOL. DO NOT READ) Dont know/Refused (VOL. DO NOT READ)

TREND FOR COMPARISON: Some people believe Islam should tolerate diverse interpretations of its teachings. Others believe there is only one true interpretation of the teachings of Islam. Which of these two points of view is closer to your own? Summer 2002 -----------Muslims only in Muslim Countries--------Tur Pak Indo Bang Nig13 Uzbek 67 43 44 52 75 67 20 11 100 20 37 100 54 2 100 40 8 100 23 2 100 17 16 100

There is only one true interpretation of the teachings of Islam Islam should tolerate diverse interpretations of its teachings DK/Refused (VOL.)

Q.E10 Here are a few religious activitiesfor each one, please tell me if it is important to you or not. (First/next), is (INSERT ITEM; ROTATE) very important to you, somewhat important, not too important, or not at all important? Somewhat important 14 11 21 23

a. Giving charity, or zakat b. Fasting during Ramadan c. Undertaking a pilgrimage to Mecca d. Reading or listening to Koran daily

Very important 76 77 63 58

Not too important 3 4 8 10

Not at all important 5 6 7 7

DK/ Refused 2=100 2=100 1=100 2=100

12

13

In July 2006, the general public question asked about churches and other houses of worship instead of mosques. Trend for other African countries (Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda) is available.

86

MUSLIM AMERICANS

SHOW THIS INTERVIEWER NOTE FOR C only: SOME RESPONDENTS WILL HAVE ALREADY UNDERTAKEN THE PILGRIMAGE. IF SO, ASK Was the pilgrimage very important, somewhat important, not too important, or not at all important to you? Q.E11 As I read from a list, please tell me if you believe in each of the things I read. Do you believe [RANDOMIZE AND INSERT], or not? Yes, believe 96 94 91 87 No, do not believe 2 3 7 11 DK/ Refused 2=100 3=100 2=100 2=100

a. In One God, Allah b. In the Prophet Muhammad NO ITEMS c OR d e. In Day of Judgment f. In angels

Q.E12 Do you think of yourself first as an American or first as a Muslim? Christian 5-06 U.S.14 48 42 7 1 2 100 April 2006 ---Muslims in Europe--Brit Fra Ger Spa 7 42 13 3 81 46 66 69 8 10 9 25 1 3 100 * 2 100 8 3 100 2 * 99 April 2006 ----Muslims only in Muslim Countries---Egypt Tur Indo Pak Jor Nig 23 19 39 6 21 25 59 51 36 87 67 71 18 30 25 7 12 2 * 0 100 * * 100 0 0 100 * 0 100 0 0 100 * 2 100

28 47 18 6 1 100

American15 Muslim Both equally (VOL.) Neither/Other (VOL.) DK/Refused (VOL.)

14

15

In April 2006, the question asked Christians living in the U.S., Do you think of yourself first as American or first as a Christian? In April 2006, Muslims living outside of the U.S. were asked about their respective nationalities (e.g., British, French, Turkish, etc.) instead of American.

87

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Q.E13 Have you always been a Muslim, or not? 77 23 * 100 Yes No Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

ASK IF RESPONDENT HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN A MUSLIM (Q.E13=2) [N=179]: Q.E14 What were you before? (RECORD VERBATIM RESPONSE) 67 10 4 * * 0 1 15 3 100 Protestant (include Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Pentecostal, Jehovah's Witness, Church of Christ, etc.) Roman Catholic Orthodox Christian Jewish Hindu Buddhist Other religion (SPECIFY) No religion, not a believer, atheist, agnostic (VOL.) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

Q.E15 How old were you when you became a Muslim? (RECORD VERBATIM RESPONSE) [N=179]: 49 34 17 * 100 Under 21 21-35 Over 36 Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

Q.E16 And what was the main reason that you converted to Islam? (OPEN END; RECORD VERBATIM ) [N=179]16: 58 18 22 2 100 Religious beliefs & practices Family / Marriage Other No answer

16

Multiple responses were accepted, but results are condensed into single category per respondent.

88

MUSLIM AMERICANS

ASK ALL: Q.F1 How concerned, if at all, are you about the rise of Islamic extremism around the WORLD these days? Are you very concerned, somewhat concerned, not too concerned or not at all concerned about the rise of Islamic extremism around the world these days? April 2006 -----Muslims in Europe----Brit Fra Ger Spa 52 35 29 29 25 38 29 31 10 14 15 19 10 13 22 19 4 0 5 3 101 100 100 101 April 2006 ----Muslims only in Muslim Countries---Egypt Tur Indo Pak Jor Nig 22 15 30 43 31 24 31 24 38 29 30 33 29 21 26 4 26 23 16 22 6 5 12 18 2 18 * 19 1 2 100 100 100 100 100 100

51 25 9 10 5 100 Q.F2

4-07 GP 48 33 11 5 3 100

Very concerned Somewhat concerned Not too concerned Not at all concerned DK/Refused (VOL.)

How concerned, if at all, are you about the possible rise of Islamic extremism in the U.S.? Are you very concerned, somewhat concerned, not too concerned or not at all concerned about the possible rise of Islamic extremism in the U.S.? 4-07 GP 46 32 13 5 4 100

36 25 14 20 5 100

Very concerned Somewhat concerned Not too concerned Not at all concerned Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

On another subject Q.G1 Overall, do you think that the quality of life for Muslim women in the U.S. is better, worse, or about the same as the quality of life for women in most Muslim countries? April 2006 -----Muslims in Europe17----Brit Fra Ger Spa 58 62 50 46 13 16 17 16 25 21 31 36 4 * 2 2 100 99 100 100

62 7 23 8 100

Better Worse About the same DK/Refused (VOL.)

17

In April 2006, Muslims in Europe were asked about their own countries instead of the U.S.

89

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Q.G2

Do you think that the Islamic religion treats men and women equally well, or does it treat one better than the other? [IF ONE BETTER THAN THE OTHER, ASK: Who does it treat better men or women?] The Islamic religion treats men and women equally well Treats men better than women Treats women better than men Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

69 23 2 6 100 Q.G3

When men and women pray in a mosque, do you think that [READ OPTIONS IN ORDER TO HALF OF SAMPLE, IN REVERSE ORDER TO OTHER HALF OF SAMPLE] [INTERVIEWER: IF RESPONDENT INDICATES THAT WOMEN SHOULD PRAY BEHIND A CURTAIN, CODE AS OPTION 1] Women should be separate from men, in another area of the mosque or behind a curtain [OR] Women should pray behind men, with no curtain [OR] Women should pray in an area alongside men, with no curtain Other (VOL.) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

46 23 21 4 6 100

IF FEMALE, ASK [N=495]: Q.G4 When you are out in public, how often do you wear the headcover or hijab (hee-jab)? Do you wear it all the time, most of the time, only some of the time, or never? 38 5 8 48 1 100 All the time Most of the time Only some of the time Never Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

90

MUSLIM AMERICANS

ASK ALL: Now, on another subject Q.H1 Some people think that suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilian targets are justified in order to defend Islam from its enemies. Other people believe that, no matter what the reason, this kind of violence is never justified. Do you personally feel that this kind of violence is often justified to defend Islam, sometimes justified, rarely justified, or never justified? April 2006 -----Muslims in Europe----Brit Fra Ger Spa 3 6 1 6 12 10 6 10 9 19 6 9 70 64 83 69 6 1 3 7 100 100 99 101 April 2006 -----Muslims only in Muslim Countries----Egypt Tur Indo Pak Jor Nig 8 3 2 7 5 8 20 14 8 7 24 38 25 9 18 8 28 23 45 61 71 69 43 28 3 14 1 8 * 3 101 101 100 99 100 100

1 7 5 78 9 100

Often justified Sometimes justified Rarely justified Never justified DK/Refused (VOL.)

NO Q.H2 Q.H3 Do you believe that groups of Arabs carried out the attacks against the United States on September 11 2001, or dont you believe this? April 2006 -----Muslims in Europe---Brit Fra Ger Spa 17 48 35 33 56 46 44 35 27 6 21 32 100 100 100 100 April 2006 -----Muslims only in Muslim Countries----Egypt Tur Indo Pak Jor Nig 32 16 16 15 39 42 59 59 65 41 53 47 9 25 20 44 8 11 100 100 101 100 100 100

40 28 32 100

Believe Do not believe DK/Refused

IF DONT BELIEVE GROUPS OF ARABS RESPONSIBLE FOR 9/11 (Q.H3=2), ASK: Q.H3a Who do you think might have been responsible for the attacks of 9/11? [RECORD VERBATIM RESPONSE; IF DK OR REFUSE TO ANSWER, DO NOT PROBE] BASED ON TOTAL18: Do not believe in Q.H3 and Dont know in Q.H3a U.S. government conspiracy/President Bush Israel/Jews Others/Non-Muslims Crazy/misguided people

18 7 1 1 1 28%

18

Multiple responses were accepted, but results are condensed into single category per respondent.

91

MUSLIM AMERICANS

ASK ALL: Q.H4 Do you think the U.S.-led war on terrorism is a sincere effort to reduce international terrorism or dont you believe that? March 2004 --Muslims only in Muslim Countries-Tur Pak Jor Mor19 20 6 11 17 63 59 52 66 7 5 23 4 10 30 14 13 100 100 100 100

26 55 2 17 100

3-04 GP 67 25 2 6 100

Sincere effort Dont believe that Both (VOL.) DK/Refused (VOL.)

Q.H4a And which statement comes closest to your opinion? [READ] May 2003 -----Muslims only in Muslim Countries----Pal Tur Indo Leb Pak Kuw Jor Mor20 A way can be found for the state of Israel to exist so that the rights and needs of the Palestinian people are taken care of The rights and needs of the Palestinian people cannot be taken care of as long as the state of Israel exists Dont know/Refused (VOL.) 17 33 26 17 23 22 14 5

5-03 GP 61 67

16 23 100 Q.H5

15 18 100

80 3 100

49 18 100

60 14 100

75 8 100

58 19 100

73 5 100

85 1 100

90 5 100

Overall, do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Al Qaeda? [IF FAVORABLE, FOLLOW WITH: And is that very favorable or only somewhat favorable? IF UNFAVORABLE, FOLLOW WITH: and is that very unfavorable or only somewhat unfavorable?] Very favorable Somewhat favorable Somewhat unfavorable Very unfavorable Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

1 4 10 58 27 100

19

20

March 2004 results for Morocco are based on the general public. According to the CIA World Factbook 2007, the Moroccan population is 99% Muslim. May 2003 results for Morocco are based on the general public. According to the CIA World Factbook 2007, the Moroccan population is 99% Muslim.

92

MUSLIM AMERICANS

Q.H6

Do you think that the governments anti-terrorism policies single out Muslims in the U.S. for increased surveillance and monitoring, or dont you think so? 4-07 GP 45 43 12 100 (N=1508)

54 31 15 100 (N=1050)

Yes, think government singles out Muslims for increased surveillance and monitoring No, dont think so Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

IF THINK MUSLIMS ARE SINGLED OUT (Q.H6=1), ASK: Q.H7 And how much does this bother you? Would you say it bothers you (READ LIST) 4-07 GP21 17 35 19 29 * 100 (N=690)

40 34 10 16 * 100 (N=594)

A lot Some Not much, [OR] Not at all Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

ASK ALL: Now, our last questions are for statistical purposes only and then well be done. SEX [ENTER RESPONDENT'S SEX:] 2005 Census 48 Male 52 Female 100 * Represents projected male-female proportion among all Muslim adults What is your age?

54 46 100

AGE

2005 Census 30 21 18-29 26 19 30-39 31 30 40-54 13 30 55+ 100 100 (N=1027) * Results repercentaged to exclude non-response

21

In April 2007, the general public question asked And how much, if at all, does it bother you that Muslims in the U.S. are singled out for increased surveillance and monitoring?

93

MUSLIM AMERICANS

EDUC

What is the last grade or class that you completed in school? [DO NOT READ]

2005 Census 21 16 Less than high school 32 30 High school graduate 23 29 Some college 14 16 College graduate 10 9 Post graduate 100 100 (N=1031) * Results repercentaged to exclude non-response HISP Are you, yourself, of Hispanic origin or descent, such as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or some other Spanish background?

2005 Census 4 13 Yes, Hispanic 96 87 Not Hispanic 100 100 (N=1033) * Results repercentaged to exclude non-response [INTERVIEWER: IF RESPONDENT ANSWERED 1 HISPANIC IN HISP, ASK: Are you white Hispanic, black Hispanic, or some other race? IF NON-HISPANIC ASK:] RACE What is your race? Are you white, black, Asian, or some other? 2005 Census 38 77 White 26 11 Black 20 5 Asian 16 7 Other or mixed race 100 100 (N=1030) * Results repercentaged to exclude non-response BIRTH In what country were you born? [CODE FOR U.S.; PROBE FOR COUNTRY IF CONTINENT OR REGION GIVEN] 2005 Census 35 84 U.S. 65 16 Other 100 100 (N=1024) * Results repercentaged to exclude non-response

94

MUSLIM AMERICANS

IF ANSWER GIVEN IS OTHER (2), GO TO BIRTH1: BIRTH1 (Interviewer record other country here) [In what country were you born?] BASED ON RESPONSE TO COUNTRY OF BIRTH: 8 Pakistan 8 Iran 4 India 4 Lebanon 4 Yemen 3 Bangladesh 3 Iraq 3 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 Afghanistan 2 Morocco 2 Palestine 2 Jordan 2 Israel 1 Somalia 1 Saudi Arabia 1 Sudan 1 Egypt 1 Africa (unspecified) 13 Other * Dont know/Refused 65% (N=1024) * Results repercentaged to exclude non-response to BIRTH: In what country were you born? IF NOT BORN IN U.S. (BIRTH=2), ASK: Q.Z1 What would you say is the MAIN reason you came to the United States? Was it [READ LIST; INSERT; ROTATE; ITEM 5 ALWAYS COMES LAST] [INTERVIEW INSTRUCTION; RECORD ONE RESPONSE ONLY. IF RESPONDENT OFFERS MORE THAN ONE RESPONSE, PROBE ONCE FOR MAIN REASON. IF RESPONDENT STILL OFFERS MORE THAN ONE RESPONSE, CODE AS 5 (OTHER) AND RECORD VERBATIM RESPONSE] BASED ON RESPONSE TO COUNTRY OF BIRTH: 17 Educational opportunities 16 Economic opportunities 13 Conflict or persecution in your home country 15 For family reasons 2 OR, Was it for some other reason (SPECIFY)? 2 Don't know/Refused (VOL.) 65% (N=1024) * Results repercentaged to exclude non-response to BIRTH: In what country were you born?

95

MUSLIM AMERICANS

IF BORN IN U.S. (BIRTH=1), ASK : FATHER In what country was your father born? ONE OPTION HERE IF SAME, SELECT PROBE FOR COUNTRY IF CONTINENT OR REGION GIVEN. IF ANSWER GIVEN IS OTHER (2), GO TO FATHER1: FATHER1 (Interviewer record other country here) [In what country was your father born?] BASED ON RESPONSE TO COUNTRY OF BIRTH: 28 United States 1 Palestine 1 Pakistan 1 Lebanon 1 Egypt 3 Other * Dont know 35% (N=1024) * Results repercentaged to exclude non-response to BIRTH: In what country were you born? IF BORN IN U.S. (BIRTH=1), ASK: MOTHER In what country was your mother born? ONE OPTION HERE IF SAME, SELECT PROBE FOR COUNTRY IF CONTINENT OR REGION GIVEN. IF ANSWER GIVEN IS OTHER (2), GO TO MOTHER1: MOTHER1 (Interviewer record other country here) [In what country was your mother born?] BASED ON RESPONSE TO COUNTRY OF BIRTH: 29 United States 1 Palestine * Mexico 5 Other * Dont know 35% (N=1024) * Results repercentaged to exclude non-response to BIRTH: In what country were you born? ASK IF RESPONDENT WAS BORN OUTSIDE U.S. (BIRTH NOT EQUAL TO 1): CITIZEN Are you currently a citizen of the United States, or not? 2005 Census 46 Yes 54 No 100 * Results repercentaged to exclude non-response

65 35 100 (N=758)

96

MUSLIM AMERICANS

ASK ALL: MARITAL

Are you married, divorced, separated, widowed, or never been married?

2005 Census 60 57 Married 6 11 Divorced 3 2 Separated 3 6 Widowed 28 24 Never been married 100 100 (N=1029) * Results repercentaged to exclude non-response Q.Z2 Are you Shia [PRONOUNCED SHE-uh], Sunni [PRONOUNCED SUE-knee], or another tradition? Shia Sunni Muslim, non-specific (VOL.) Another tradition (SPECIFY) Dont know/Refused (VOL.)

16 50 22 5 7 100

Q.Z2a How would you rate your own personal financial situation? Would you say you are in excellent shape, good shape, only fair shape or poor shape financially? 2-07 GP 8 41 36 14 1 100

8 34 37 15 6 100

Excellent shape Good shape Only fair shape Poor shape Don't know/Refused (VOL.)

97

MUSLIM AMERICANS

INC1

Last year, that is in 2006, was your total family income from all sources before taxes, over or under $50,000? ASK IF UNDER $50,000 (INC1=3): INC2 Was it over or under $30,000? ASK IF UNDER $30,000 (INC2=3): INC3 Was it over or under $20,000? ASK IF UNDER $20,000 (INC3=3): INC4 Was it over or under $10,000? ASK IF UNDER $50,000 (INC1=3) AND OVER $30,000 (INC2=1): INC5 Was it over or under $40,000? ASK IF OVER $50,000 (INC1=1): INC6 Was it over or under $100,000? ASK IF OVER $50,000 (INC1=1) AND UNDER $100,000 (INC6=3): INC7 Was it over or under $75,000? ASK IF OVER $100,000 (INC6=1): INC8 Was it over or under $150,000? 2007 GP22 20 Less than $20,000 13 20 to under $30,000 23 30 to under $50,000 16 50 to under $75,000 11 75 to under $100,000 17 $100,000 + 100 * Results repercentaged to exclude non-response

17 18 24 15 10 16 100 (N=868)

22

Income general public comparison is based on 7,212 interviews conducted between January and April 2007 whose respondents reported their family income. The question was worded: Last year, that is in 2006, what was your total family income from all sources, before taxes? Just stop me when I get to the right category Less than $10,000, 10 to under $20,000, 20 to under $30,000, 30 to under $40,000, 40 to under $50,000, 50 to under $75,000, 75 to under $100,000, 100 to under $150,000, $150,000 or more?

98

MUSLIM AMERICANS

IF BORN IN U.S. OR A CITIZEN OF U.S. (BIRTH=1 OR CITIZEN=1), ASK [N=813]: REGIST These days, many people are so busy they can't find time to register to vote, or move around so often they don't get a chance to re-register. Are you NOW registered to vote in your precinct or election district or haven't you been able to register so far? IF RESPONDENT ANSWERED '1' YES IN REGIST, ASK: REGICERT Are you absolutely certain that you are registered to vote, or is there a chance that your registration has lapsed because you moved or for some other reason? 2007 GP23 79 Yes, registered 76 Absolutely certain 3 Chance registration has lapsed * Don't know/Refused (VOL.) 20 No, not registered 1 Dont know/Refused (VOL.) 100

67 63 3 1 30 3 100

ASK ALL: PARTY 2007 GP24 24 34 35 4 * 3 100

In politics TODAY, do you consider yourself a Republican, Democrat, or Independent?

7 37 34 7 1 14 100

Republican Democrat Independent No preference (VOL.) Other party (VOL.) Don't know/Refused (VOL.)

IF ANSWERED 3, 4, 5 OR 9 IN PARTY, ASK: PARTYLN As of today do you lean more to the Republican Party or more to the Democratic Party? BASED ON TOTAL: 2007 GP 4 12 Lean Republican 26 17 Lean Democrat 26 13 Other/Don't know/Refused (VOL.) 56% 42% Independent/No preference/Other party/Don't know/Refused in PARTY

23

24

General public comparisons for REGIST and REGICERT were asked of all U.S. residents, regardless of citizenship status. Results are based on 8,235 interviews conducted between January and April 2007. PARTY and PARTYLN general public results are based on 6,228 interviews conducted between January and April 2007.

99

MUSLIM AMERICANS

ASK ALL: IDEO

In general, would you describe your political views as... [READ] 2007 GP25 6 28 41 14 5 6 100

3 16 38 17 7 19 100

Very conservative Conservative Moderate Liberal, OR Very liberal? Don't know/Refused (VOL.)

IF BORN IN U.S. OR A CITIZEN OF U.S. (BIRTH=1 OR CITIZEN=1) AND AGE GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO 20, ASK: PVOTE04A In the 2004 presidential election between George W. Bush and John Kerry, did things come up that kept you from voting, or did you happen to vote? Oct-Dec 2006 GP26 58 74 Yes, voted 39 22 No, didnt vote 3 4 Other/Dont Know 100 100 (N=774) (N=6600) IF YES (1 IN PVOTE04A), ASK: PVOTE04B Did you vote for Bush, Kerry or someone else? Oct-Dec 2006 GP 14 50 Voted for Bush 71 44 Voted for Kerry 15 6 Other/Dont Know 100 100 (N=481) (N=5159) 2004 Election Result 51 48 1 100

25 26

IDEO general public results are based on 8,235 interviews conducted between January and April 2007. General public comparisons for PVOTE04A and PVOTE04B were asked of all U.S. residents, regardless of citizenship status. Results are filtered on respondents age 20 and older and are based on 6,600 interviews conducted between October and December 2006.

100

MUSLIM AMERICANS

ASK ALL: EMPLOY

Are you now employed full-time, part-time or not employed?

Oct-Dec 2006 GP27 41 49 Full-time 16 11 Part-time 43 40 Not employed 100 100 (N=1018) * Results repercentaged to exclude non-response IF R NOT BORN IN U.S. (BIRTH=2), ASK: Q.Z4 In what year did you come to live in the U.S.? [RECORD VERBATIM RESPONSE] 2000-2007 (NET) 13 2002-2007 4 2000-2001 20 1990-1999 15 1980-1989 10 1923-1979 3 Don't know/Refused (VOL.) 65% (N=1024) * Results repercentaged to exclude non-response to BIRTH: In what country were you born? 17

27

EMPLOY general public results are based on 6,747 interviews conducted between October and December 2006 whose respondents reported their employment status.

101

MUSLIM AMERICANS

ASK ALL: Q.Z5 Including yourself, how many adults 18 years of age or older live in your household? IF MORE THAN ONE ADULT IN HOUSEHOLD (Q.Z5>1), ASK: Q.Z6 [IF FEMALE, INSERT: Including yourself,] How many of these adults are Muslim females? [CATI: PUT CHECK IN PLACE SO THAT # from Z6a is not greater than # of adults in Z5] IF MORE THAN ONE ADULT IN HOUSEHOLD (Q.Z5>1), ASK: Q.Z6a And [IF MALE, INSERT: including yourself,] how many of these adults are Muslim males? [CATI: PUT CHECK IN PLACE SO THAT # from Z6 is not greater than # of adults in Z5 minus female Muslims at Z6] ASK ALL: Q.Z6b How many children under the age of 18 live in your household? IF ONE CHILD IN HOUSEHOLD (Q.Z6b=1), ASK: Q.Z6c And is this child Muslim? IF MORE THAN ONE CHILD IN HOUSEHOLD (Q.Z6b=2-12), ASK: Q.Z6d And how many of the children in your household are Muslim? [CATI: PUT CHECK IN PLACE SO THAT # from Z6d is not greater than # of children in Z6b] IF R HAS CHILDREN IN HOUSEHOLD (Q.Z6b>0 AND Q.Z6b<99), ASK: Q.Z6e [IF R HAS ONLY ONE CHILD (Q.Z6b=1), ASK: And are you the parent of the child living in your household?] And are you the parent of any of the children living in your household? Summary of Adults in Household 10 Single Muslim adult 63 Multiple Muslim adults 18 Mixed Muslim/Non-Muslim adults 9 Dont know/Refused 100 Summary of Children in Household 48 Muslim children only 3 Muslim and non-Muslim children 8 Non-Muslim children only 33 No children 8 Dont know/Refused 100

Summary of All Household Residents

6 61 23 10 100 CC Single Muslim household Multiple Muslim household Mixed Muslim/non-Muslim household Dont know/Refused

You have been very helpful and I appreciate your time. As we mentioned earlier, this survey is being conducted by the Pew Research Center in Washington as part of a major study of Muslims in America, and the results will be released later this spring. HAVE WEBSITE AVAILABLE IF REQUESTED, BUT DO NOT OFFER WEBSITE UNLESS IT IS REQUESTED As a token of our appreciation, we would like to send you a check for $50. Would it be okay to do this?

INC

102

MUSLIM AMERICANS