A Portrait of Muslim Americans

Muslim Americans HIGHLIGHTS FROM A PEW RESEARCH CENTER SURVEY REPORT Muslim Americans’ Views of Extremism Ten years after 9/11, U.S. Muslims continue to reject extremism by large margins. Still, 21% of Muslim Americans say there is at least a fair amount of support for extremism among U.S. Muslims. Among the general public, far more (40%) say there is a great deal or fair amount of support for extremism in the Muslim American community. Perceived amount of support for extremism among Muslims living in the U.S. U.S. MUSLIMS GENERAL PUBLIC A great deal 6% A great deal 15% A fair amount 15 A fair amount 25 Not too much 30 Not too much 33 None at all 34 None at all 12 Don't know 15 Don't know 14 Nearly half of Muslim Americans believe that Muslim leaders have not done enough to speak out against extremists, but ... 68% 0% say the Muslim American community has done enough to cooperate with law enforcement. 34% 48% Leaders have Leaders have 43% done as much as they should not done enough Compared with four years ago, more Muslim Americans now believe that U.S. efforts to reduce international terrorism 26% are sincere. 17% Don't know/- Refused % who say U.S. efforts to combat terrorism are sincere .. 1% Leaders have done 2007 2011 too much (volunteered) Life as a Muslim in the U.S. Since 9/11 Significant numbers of Muslim Americans report negative experiences .. While a majority of U.S. Muslims say that it is more difficult to be a Muslim in the U.S. since 9/11, most think the American people are generally friendly or neutral toward Muslim Americans. People have acted suspicious of you 28% Been called offensive names 22 48% 32% 16% Been singled out by airport security 21 Friendly Neutral Unfriendly Been singled out by other law officers 13 Been threatened or attacked 4% Don't Know ... but these reports have changed little since 2007. it. 56% 33% Most Muslim Americans seem of Muslim Americans say of the general public well-integrated into American society, and about two-thirds say that the quality of life for Muslims that most Muslims who believes that Muslims come to the U.S. today want to adopt American customs and ways of life. In contrast, only... who come to the United States want to adopt in the U.S. is better than in most American customs. Muslim countries. Muslim Americans express much more satisfaction with the way things are going in the country than the general public. Muslim Americans' everyday activities look similar to the rest of the general public's. % who say they participate in each of the following activities 82% U.S. GENERAL 75% MUSLIMS PUBLIC U.S. 75* 76* % Recycle paper, plastic or glass from home MUSLIMS 56% 58 62 Watch hour or more of TV nightly 57 44 Regularly use social networking sites GENERAL PUBLIC 47 Regularly watch pro or college sports 23% 48 44 Display the 59 American flag 18 19 Regularly play video games Satisfied with Satisfied with the the way things are going in the U.S. way things are going in their life today Who Are Muslim Americans A 63% majority of Muslim Americans are first-generation immigrants to the U.S., with 45% having arrived in the U.S. since 1990. About FOUR OUT OF EVERY TEN Muslim immigrants to the U.S. are from the Middle East-North Africa region. % U.S. citizens However, PAKISTAN U.S. Born Foreign Born 70% is the country where the largest share (14%) of U.S. Muslim immi- 15% Second Gen. grants were born. 47% 22% Third Gen. + 63% First Generation Interestingly, 70% of Muslim Americans born outside the U.S. are U.S. citizens, which is a much higher rate of citizenship than among the broader immi- grant population in the U.S. Muslim immigrants immigrants All U.S. Muslim Americans’ Political and Religious Views Muslim Americans have liberal attitudes ... and most either identify as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party. on the size of government .. % who say they prefer a bigger government with more services U.S. MUSLIMS 11% Republican/ lean Republican 70% Democrat/ lean Democrat 68% 19% Independent, No preference, Don't know 42% Nearly half (48%) of U.S. Muslims say they feel that the GOP is unfriendly toward them. By contrast, just 7% say the Democratic Party is unfriendly toward Muslim Americans. GENERAL PUBLIC U.S. MUSLIMS Muslim Americans are not especially 39% 45% liberal when it comes to the societal Accepted by society Discouraged by society acceptability of homosexuality. They are split on this issue. % who say that homosexuality should be . 5% Neither 11% Don't know Like U.S. Christians, many U.S. Muslims are highly religious. Fully 69% say that religion is very important in their lives, compared ... and almost half of both U.S. Muslims and U.S. Christians report attending worship services at least weekly. with 70% of Christians .. 47% 45% These are among the key findings of a nationwide survey of 1,033 Muslim Americans that was conducted by the Pew Research Center between April 14 and July 22, 2011. Interviews were conducted in English, Arabie, Farsi and Urdu on landline telephones and cell phones. PewResearchCenter © PEW RESEARCH CENTER, AUGUST 2011 | Read more at www.pewresearch.org/muslim-americans