Survey of Islam in U.S. Stresses Role of Mosques

Mosques in America are generally places with a growing community of believers that have a vital spiritual life and offer social services to the faithful. So says the leader of the first comprehensive survey of Islam in the United States.

Ihsan Bagby of Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C., led a project in which the leaders of 416 of America’s roughly 1,200 mosques were interviewed last year. Today, an estimated 6 million to 7 million Americans consider themselves orthodox Muslims.

The survey was analyzed at length last weekend at an Islam in America conference in Indianapolis. The meeting was organized by the Islamic Society of North America, one of the co-sponsors of Bagby’s research.

Bagby said 77% of the imams and other mosque leaders his team interviewed reported increases in the number of regular participants over the previous five years, with 61% of mosques seeing 10% growth or more.