Study indicates American Muslims seek greater political role

By Afzal Khan
Washington File Special Correspondent

Washington -- A year-long study of American Muslims who attend mosques in Detroit, Michigan, has revealed that the vast majority of them hold "moderate" views on issues of policy, politics and religion. Contrary to some reports, only 8 percent of the 1,300 participants consider themselves Salafi, a term often used to describe fundamentalist thought.

Ihsan Bagby, an associate professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Kentucky and author of the study, presented significant aspects of his research at a briefing at the National Press Club in Washington on April 6. The briefing was sponsored by the Michigan-based Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU).

Bagby said that more than 90 percent of the study group support greater involvement in their local communities and national politics. He pointed out that this desire to be more active in American society became more pronounced after September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that brought a sudden focus on the Muslim community in the United States.

Bagby said that civil rights and public education top the list of the Muslim community's concerns. He explained that as a result of some harassment against American Muslims after September 11, 2001, the community has become more aware of its civil rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. Also, the participants are concerned about the quality of public education available for their children. This renewed interest in civil rights is now increasingly aligning American Muslims with other minority groups in the United States, particularly with African-Americans and Japanese-Americans, Bagby said.

An estimated 40,000 to 65,000 go to Detroit's 33 mosques while the actual estimate of Muslims in the Detroit area is 120,000 to 200,000. In Bagby's 2000 study of mosque attendees in the whole of the United States, it was estimated that 1.9 million Muslims went to mosques. However, Bagby noted that an estimated two-thirds to three-quarters of Muslims in the United States do not attend mosques. Estimates of the number of Muslims in the United States vary between 5 million and 7 million.

Bagby said that in recent years the number of converts to Islam in the Detroit area has grown at a much higher rate among European-Americans than African-Americans.

The growth rate of Detroit mosques is slightly higher than the U.S. national average. About two-thirds of Detroit's 33 mosques were built after 1980.

Among those who attend congregational Friday prayers in Detroit's 33 mosques, about 53 percent are Arab (largely Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, Iraqi and Egyptian), 34 percent South Asian (Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi), 7 percent African-American, and 6 percent from other ethnic groups. Mosque participants in the study came from 42 countries, with almost two-thirds of them first-generation immigrants. Over half of these immigrants came to America after 1990.

The study also revealed that about one-third of the immigrants who arrived before 1990 want to return to their homeland, while about 60 percent who came after 1990 want to return to their native countries.

The profile of the average participant in the study is 34 years old, married with children, educated at least to the bachelor's degree level, and earning about $75,000 a year.

For a copy of the full report, visit www.ispu.us

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)