How High Does the U.S. Rank in World Muslim Population?

7 Comments

1. forex on June 5, 2009 at 3:12 am

   There are more Muslims in America than in Israel. Maybe they should get independence and 1 state in America called “Palistate”..

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2. MrBoules on June 5, 2009 at 3:24 pm

   Thanks for your analysis. This subject matter – the extent and significance of the Muslim population in America – is important, and I’m glad you’ve written this column.

   However, the quality of the data source you cite does not inspire your factual conclusion that “there are just over 1.8 (million) Muslims living in the United States today”. You’ve omitted significant facts in your analysis. Likewise, some reasonable interpretations of the data you cite and the information left out, would tend to weaken your point.

   …The numbers for U.S. religious affiliation in the CIA Factbook don’t add up to 100%, (97.9%, leaving out 2.1%) even when the numbers you’ve omitted are added in (specified below). I find this very interesting, as the CIA had no trouble coming up with 100%, and ALL of these Muslims, in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Zambia, Somalia, Oman, & Mauritania. I am wondering if you yourself believe these numbers, these 100 percenters, and the 99+ percenters like Turkey, Algeria, Afghanistan? If these numbers are not credible, why should we subscribe to a firm belief in the CIA numbers in the same data set for the U.S.?

   …The CIA has in some instances been so terribly wrong about factual matters (failure to realize how weak the Soviet Union was, to the point the agency was astonished at its dissolution after decades of representing it as a powerful monolith; and then of course there is that little matter of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, the “slam dunk”) – that we should hesitate to bet the farm on their numbers. I would think Muslim and other sources (see below) would be more reliable, or at the very least ought to be weighed alongside CIA sources before drawing a conclusion.

   …The CIA numbers for the U.S. omitted from your column are:

   2.5 % “other or unspecified”
   12.1 % “unaffiliated”
   4.0 % “none”
   18.6 % Total omitted

   Could it be that some Muslims are hidden in these numbers but were reluctant to identify themselves as such?

   … I think it’s reasonable to take *individual* self-reporting on religion with a huge grain of salt, especially in this case.

   It’s not only that in some of these countries in the CIA data, either the data source is not a survey of individuals at all, or else individuals may fear identifying themselves as NOT Muslim – see the 100 percenters and 99 percenters above. Only the CIA could publish such numbers with a straight face.

   But in addition, and conversely, individuals in the U.S. who believe themselves to be targets of suspicion, prejudice and/or government surveillance BECAUSE of their beliefs could be expected to be reluctant to give out such information about themselves. Maybe it might seem safer to answer “other”, “unaffiliated”, or “none”. Muslims in America have good cause to fear suspicion, prejudice, and government surveillance.

   …The Center for Immigration Studies, in a 2002 paper, after specifying a number of problems in estimating the Muslim population in the U.S., states,

   “Taking these and other complications into account, a statistical picture is emerging that points to a total Muslim population in the United States of about THREE MILLION, of which immigrants make up two-thirds to three-quarters.” (emphasis added)

   And that was SEVEN years ago! The CIS does nothing but study immigration. I’ll take their numbers over the CIA’s any day.

   …Finally, regardless of data sources and arguments about their quality, it is obvious that the number of Muslims in America has grown significantly in recent years, and is still climbing a significant growth curve. It is very difficult to get a firm handle on exact numbers, for a lot of reasons. But it IS significant.

   Eric, I appreciate your columns and I like the way you go about presenting a point of view, virtually always presenting a table of data from your chosen source in support. This alone sets you apart from nearly all other political commentary that I come across. I love your method, if not your conclusions. Don’t stop.

   But I feel that sometimes, and perhaps it is unintentional, your presentation may tend to suggest a prejudice in choosing your data set, or in your interpretation of same. In this specific case, even though you don’t state so literally, the overall impression I get is of dismissal of other sources of information, relative to the CIA, as if it were an unimpeachable source. But there is good cause to question this source.

   And further, an innocent reader might get the impression from your column that the Muslim population in America is not significant – that claims to the contrary, including President Obama’s, are overblown or exaggerations. I’m not so sure about that, either.

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3. cook on June 6, 2009 at 2:24 pm

   Hello! Good Site! Thanks you!

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4. kam on September 13, 2009 at 4:40 am

   hello,
   I think the numbers are very much a true reflection.People will not hide from their beliefs.Religion is too big a part in an individual’s life.People today in western China are facing problems but will not disguise their beliefs,this is almost too contradictory to human nature.Thank you

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5. Ahmed Ali on December 4, 2009 at 12:12 am

   This looks like a table put together to make some groups in the U.S. feel good about the low number of Muslims in that country. Obama in his speech in the U.S. and in Egypt said there are more than 7 million Muslims in the U.S.CAIR and other Muslim organizations attest to that. That brings the Muslim population in the U.S. to more than 2.3%.

   This report is an absolutely biased and incorrect. It follows the arguments of Daniel Pipes and other Zionist organizations that always preach against Islam.

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6. Yochanan Weisskopf on March 29, 2010 at 5:52 am

   On my last visit to the US (I am Israeli), I attended an interesting convention on the topic in Columbia University. Currently the muslim population in the US is slowly yet steadily increasing, and is strong around NJ. I don’t think your report is biased, incorrect or non-objective. There has been some further research done about the subject with very interesting information. The Pew research center have created a very compelling research (http://www.wepapers.com/Papers/93292/Mapping_The_Global_Muslim_Population) about the Muslim population spread around the world. It’s pretty updated – October 2009.
   America does not seem prominent there.

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7. Howard on February 18, 2012 at 5:07 am

   No one can verify exactly how many muslims are in the U.S. Many have come here serepticiously and have simply become invisible. Therefore, they are here illegally. This situation, much like the illegal mexican invaders, has become a major focal point for many U.S. patriots, who are angry and disgusted by this invasion. Further, this government, under Barack Obama, has refused to address this situation, for obvious reasons. He is putting in place, the most massive, involuntary, transfer of wealth and opportunity, ever imagined. And he will complete this assault on the American public if he is re-elected. All the while, the silent majority sits and watches as their future is stolen from them. Muslims have entered most countries in the western world, not to assimilate and become new members of that society, but to completely transform that country into a 12th century, muslim nation, complete with sharia law and all the “benefits” of that cult. If the U.S. and the western world does not wake up, we will all become enslaved to an alien monster.

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