Debunking Muslim Myths

American Muslims are diverse, women highly educated, and many politically moderate. 

Gallup’s first national poll of randomly selected Muslims in America revealed that this community is the most racially diverse religious group in the United States, that most consider themselves as religious as many Christians do, and that Muslim women are among the most educated females in the country, earning salaries on par with their male counterparts.

Which ethnic group makes up the largest number of American Muslims? Over one-third of American Muslims are African-American (35 percent), while more than a quarter of Muslims are white (28 percent). Less than one in five is Asian (18 percent), along with other races (18 percent). Most of the other religious groups in America are far less diverse, with 88 percent of Protestants, more than three-quarters of Catholics, 91 percent of Mormons, and 93 percent of Jews listed as white. These numbers indicate that followers of Islam are the most ethnically diverse religious group in the country, Gallup says.  

Compared with the general U.S. population, Muslim Americans are more highly educated, second only to Jewish Americans. Slightly more Muslim women report having a college degree or higher (42 percent) than their male counterparts (39 percent), while more than half of Jewish American females (58 percent) and nearly two-thirds of Jewish American males (64 percent) report the same high educational levels as their Muslim cohorts. By contrast, less than a third (29 percent) of overall Americans hold a college degree or higher.

Mormons report the greatest gender discrepancy in terms of education, with 28 percent of women and 35 percent of men holding a college degree or higher, a seven-point difference. Catholics report the lowest gender discrepancy, with a two-point difference, as less than a third of men (30 percent) and 28 percent of women report holding a college degree or higher. However, the gender gap between Muslim men and women is a mere three-point difference, (42 versus 39), a number which challenges sex stereotypes about gender equality.  

“The findings go a long way towards dispelling the stereotype about ‘Islam is a religion which oppresses women,’ says author Dilara Hafiz, who co-wrote The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook, with her two children, Imran and Yasmine.

“While the religion clearly advocates equality of the sexes, sadly, many Muslim-majority countries are unable or unwilling to ensure this equality due to poor governance, socio-economic factors, or cultural interpretation—I have hope that this situation will redress itself as global economic advancement continues to raise standards of living in these countries,” Hafiz tells demo dirt. 

Perhaps due to equal educational levels, Muslim American women fare equally as well economically as do their male counterparts, both at the upper and lower income levels. Reported monthly household incomes indicate that among the general U.S. population, about one-third of men (33 percent) make $5,000 or more, compared with about one-quarter of women (24 percent) who report the same, a nine-point difference. On the lower end of the economic spectrum, less than a quarter of women in the general U.S. population report making less than $1,999 a month (22 percent) versus less than one in five men who make the same income (17 percent), a five-point difference.

By contrast, one quarter of Muslim women (25 percent) and the same number of men (25 percent) report a monthly household income of $1,999 or less, while there is only a five-point gender gap at the higher end of the spectrum. About one-third of Muslim American men report a monthly income of $5,000 or more (about the same as the national average for men) and a quarter of Muslim women report the same (25 percent). 

What do results stating that Muslim women and men are not only enjoying the same levels of education, but also are on par with one another economically, mean to Muslim Americans? Hafiz says that it means that American Muslim women are far more relatable to their Jewish, Christian, and other peers than previously given credit.

“American Muslim women can certainly be role models for women all over the world—regardless of faith!  Education, personal accountability, and social justice are all important elements of Islam which I believe can be applied in productive manners to enhance one’s own economic standing,” she contends.  

While gender equality and education are important issues within the young American Muslim community (ages 18 to 29), civic engagement is relatively low, as only half the members of this group are registered to vote (51 percent), while the national average indicates a number closer to two-thirds (65 percent). The number of voter registered American Muslims falls far behind the number of Protestants (78 percent), Jews (73 percent), Mormons (69 percent) and Catholics (56 percent).

Why are young American Muslims seemingly the least civically engaged, and is theirs the only age group that lacks political activity? “First-generation Muslims may be loathe to participate in the election process due to the disillusionment they may have felt towards the political system in their home country—many Muslim majority countries are still struggling to overcome the effects of colonization which led to institutionalized corruption or dubious ‘free’ elections,” Hafiz explains.  

Politically, most young American Muslims define themselves as moderate (39 percent), while more than a quarter (28 percent) call themselves liberal or very liberal. Only one in five (20 percent) consider themselves conservative. 

“I do believe that over time, American Muslims will fully participate in the US voting process—Islam is fully compatible with the principles of democracy—there is no inherent religious reason which is preventing Muslims from participating, simply inexperience or lack of vision in terms of seeing themselves as a coherent voting bloc,” she says.

Muslims in America are less likely than fellow cohorts to feel that their group is “thriving,” the Gallup poll says. Participants were asked to evaluate their lives as well as their expectations of where they think they will be in five years using a ladder scale with steps numbered from 0 to 10, where "0" indicates the worst possible life and "10" indicates the best possible life. “Thriving” was defined by Gallup as seeing oneself on at least step 7 on the ladder, with an expectation to be on step 8 or higher five years from now.  

By this measure, well under half of American Muslims were found to consider themselves thriving in society (41 percent), making this the religious group as the least likely to see themselves this way, even falling below the U.S. general population average (46 percent). More than half of Jews (56 percent) and Mormons (51 percent) see themselves as thriving, followed by Protestants (48 percent) and Catholics (45 percent), with Muslims placing last. 

Could this sentiment among American Muslims be connected to the relative lack of civic involvement? Hafiz says that feelings of alienation, isolation, and invisibility are contributing factors. 

“One of the challenges facing American Muslims is the simultaneous desire to become fully integrated and accepted into America, while also remaining true to their faith,” Hafiz explains. “They need to engage in more interfaith dialogue in order to counter the rising tide of Islamophobia which is based upon ignorance, and in some cases, malicious misunderstanding of the basics of Islam.”

“Another challenge facing modern American Muslims today is responding to an institutional alienation of Islam in the United States. Firstly, American Muslims must deal with people who claim that Islam is not, in its essence, truly American,” she says. “Muslims have been a presence in the United States of America ever since the country was founded. The other part of this that American Muslims must deal with is ‘immigrant’ Islam, namely, the idea that immigrants from other countries know Islam better than Muslims in the United States.” 

While the Muslim community in America is diverse, Hafiz says that the media’s tendency to group all Muslims together and stereotype their political, religious and social views is frustrating and hurtful to many.

“There is so much discussion and diversity within the Muslim community, yet somehow the media tends to portray all Muslims as part of a monolithic group who all hold exactly the same opinions—completely untrue!” she maintains. “I think American Muslims feel both ‘invisible’ in terms of how they see themselves inaccurately portrayed [and] stereotyped by the media, while simultaneously feeling ‘magnified’ in terms of Islam being mentioned so negatively to the exclusion of one’s nationality, professional standing, educational attainments [and so on]—we’re between a rock and a hard place and it’s extremely stressful!  Living life on the defensive is wearying.”  

Finally, just how devout are Muslims in America? Gallup results indicate that Muslims in the U.S. are as religious as their Christian counterparts: 41 percent of Muslims and Protestants state that they attend their houses of worship once a week, as do 37 percent of Catholic Americans. Of all the religious groups polled, only Mormons were more likely than Muslims to state that religion plays a key role in their everyday lives (85 percent versus 80 percent, respectively); by contrast, only 39 percent of Jews agreed with that statement, as did 65 percent of the general population.

But for Muslims, what does it mean to say that religion plays a key role every day? What tenets of Islam do Muslims observe most and consider being daily connections to the religion? Is it following call to prayer? Is it following halal dietary laws? Is it giving to the poor?  

“This poll conclusion is actually the one which I most question, [because] perhaps people of faith don’t want to ‘let their side down’ by admitting that they’re less observant than they want people to think!” Hafiz says. “I think these findings suggest that the central tenet of Islam—the belief in the one God—is certainly a belief which most Muslims would adhere to, regardless of whether they pray regularly or fast during the month of Ramadan [and so on].”

Again, it is difficult to speak for such a diverse group, although there are basic traditions that are generally followed. “There’s a wide variety of observance within the Muslim community, but I think it’s safe to say that most Muslims believe and actively participate in charitable acts and donations, personal prayer, and general avoidance of alcohol and pork consumption,” she adds.  

Hafiz also notes that religious identification may be influenced by world events and political situations. “I also believe that if this poll had been taken prior to 9/11, the results would have shown that American Muslims considered themselves less religious than these results,” she says.  “9/11 has forced American Muslims to view themselves in terms of their religion because American society [and the] media overwhelmingly focused on the religion of the hijackers rather than their nationality!”

Notably, Gallup states that American Muslim women are as likely as their male peers to attend mosque once a week, while foreign Muslim females are less likely than their male counterparts to do so.  

Overall, the Gallup poll indicates that the American Muslim community is diverse, gender equality and education are priorities, and that to feel less alienated, it is important to become more civically engaged. Hafiz hopes that increased education and awareness will eradicate the fear that has been previously associated with the religion.

“Islam is already incorporated into the American culture, as Islam seeks to promote the Abrahamic values of justice, freedom, and equality that America was founded upon,” she explains.  “Unfortunately, moderate Muslims have felt ignored or marginalized—it’s not easy to make headlines when your message is peace at a time when people are swayed by fear.”