Washington D.C. (February 29, 2012) – The number of mosques continues to rise in the United States. A recent report conducted by a group of major American Muslim organizations and academic institutions reveals mosques counted across the country in 2011 totaled to 2,106, more than double the number of mosques in 1994, and mosque participants increased from 2 million in 2000 to 2.6 million in 2011.
The report, entitled “The American Mosque 2011: Basic Characteristics of the American Mosque, Attitudes of Mosque Leaders” is part of the larger U.S. Mosque Survey 2011. The survey was conducted by Dr. Ihsan Bagby, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Kentucky, and sponsored by numerous prominent organizationprominent organizations including the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA).
The report presents the picture of a thriving institution, noting that the majority of mosque growth occurred in the past decade, with a 74% increase from 2000 to 2011. Dr. Zahid Bukhari, President of ICNA and member of the survey’s research committee pointed out that much of the increase in mosque numbers occurred in suburbs and particularly in the western and southern regions of the United States, with a 109% and 128% growth, respectively. New York had the largest number of mosques, followed by California
and Texas.
“The number of mosques has increased despite Islamophobia spread by right wing groups and certain religious and political leaders,” says Bukhari. “This growth in spite of bigotry also reveals the persistence of the Muslim community and inherent fairness of the American system.”
