"23% of adults who were raised Muslims no longer identify with Islam.
75% of Muslims feel that there is a lot of discrimination against them in the US.
50% of Muslims feel that being Muslim in the US has become more difficult in the recent years.
52% of Muslims say traditional understandings of Islam need new interpretations.
62% of Muslims don't feel accepted as part of mainstream American society.
84% of Muslims have doubted Islam at some point because of the bad things people do in its name.
84% of Muslims have doubted God at some point because of the amount of suffering in the world.
1 in 3 children do not want to tell others that they were Muslims.
1 in 6 children would sometimes pretend not be be Muslim."
This information was sent around recently by our local mosque, and was drawn from the Yaqeen Institute annual report. Certainly some of it is similar to stats that I've posted before, but I still think it's interesting and important and in some cases quite distressing. Mainly, however,I think I'm posting it because the official who sent it around described the information as "scary." I'm not being dismissive of the use of "scary" because some of the facts are scary: children should never be afraid to tell people that they are Muslims or try and "pass" as non-Muslims. And no Muslim, adult or child, should ever face discrimination for their faith. It's sad that almost two-thirds of all Muslims don't feel accepted as part of mainstream American society, especially since it is a self-perpetuating phenomenon. In our little mosque in Vermont I think the majority of the members hide in plain sight, and don't come out of the shadows much because of fear. Granted, we could make a much more deliberate effort to participate in the public sphere in a more purposeful fashion (my suggestion that we support a little league team always falls on deaf ears). We are very welcoming of visitors, especially from other religious organizations, but how often do we go visit churches and synagogues?
Having said all that, I don't find some of the other statistics scary. I do not find it frightening that 84% of American Muslims admit that they have doubted Islam or even God at times in their lives. We are told in the Quran to "think" and to "reflect", and as thinking, reflective beings there are times when we are going to question our lives, both here and the next. Further, God gave us free will because otherwise our decision to follow God and the faith wouldn't mean anything; my toaster makes bread for me, but certainly hasn't earned anything by the action. I guess I have the same feeling in regards to the 23% of adults who were raised Muslim but who no longer identify with the faith. If you're given free will then that is supposed to mean something, and thus you may choose a different path. And, truthfully, and this is where I am clearly outside of the mainstream, who's to say that this different path can't take you to enlightenment? I'm sorry, but I think that there are a thousand paths to God, not matter how you define God. Islam is an extraordinary path, and the one that works for me, but I'd be lying if I said that I thought it was the only path. Who is to say that those folks who make up the 23% aren't leading virtuous lives, contributing to society, and safely on their own path to God? Truthfully, isn't this all we should care about? Or are we so concerned about it because their success in choosing a different path somehow reflects badly on the decision that we've made? Naturally, if you're traditional then arguably the most scary part of these statistics would be the fact that 52% of Muslims say that traditional understandings of Islam need new interpretations. We're often reminded that innovations in the faith are bad during the Friday congregational sermon. I'm definitely one of those 52%, and I think so for two main reasons (doubtless, there would be others if I devoted more time to this particular question). First off, this brings me back to my own personal struggle between the internal and external aspects of the faith. I think the internal aspects of the faith - belief, kindness, humility, forgiveness - are transcendent and eternal, and I can't really belief that anyone would ever reject them as no longer having a place in our lives. Rather, I suspect that the 52% in this case are calling for a reappraisal of some of the external aspects of the faith. Secondly, the Prophet was an extraordinary man and he transcended a violent, bigoted and misogynistic age arguably more than any individual ever transcended an age, and if he were alive today I have no doubt that he would transcend this age, and the Islam that he helped shape, and in this I'm coming back to the more external aspects of the faith, would end up being a different faith than the one we practice. If we find these issues too scary to discuss then we don't have a particularly strong faith.
75% of Muslims feel that there is a lot of discrimination against them in the US.
50% of Muslims feel that being Muslim in the US has become more difficult in the recent years.
52% of Muslims say traditional understandings of Islam need new interpretations.
62% of Muslims don't feel accepted as part of mainstream American society.
84% of Muslims have doubted Islam at some point because of the bad things people do in its name.
84% of Muslims have doubted God at some point because of the amount of suffering in the world.
1 in 3 children do not want to tell others that they were Muslims.
1 in 6 children would sometimes pretend not be be Muslim."
This information was sent around recently by our local mosque, and was drawn from the Yaqeen Institute annual report. Certainly some of it is similar to stats that I've posted before, but I still think it's interesting and important and in some cases quite distressing. Mainly, however,I think I'm posting it because the official who sent it around described the information as "scary." I'm not being dismissive of the use of "scary" because some of the facts are scary: children should never be afraid to tell people that they are Muslims or try and "pass" as non-Muslims. And no Muslim, adult or child, should ever face discrimination for their faith. It's sad that almost two-thirds of all Muslims don't feel accepted as part of mainstream American society, especially since it is a self-perpetuating phenomenon. In our little mosque in Vermont I think the majority of the members hide in plain sight, and don't come out of the shadows much because of fear. Granted, we could make a much more deliberate effort to participate in the public sphere in a more purposeful fashion (my suggestion that we support a little league team always falls on deaf ears). We are very welcoming of visitors, especially from other religious organizations, but how often do we go visit churches and synagogues?
Having said all that, I don't find some of the other statistics scary. I do not find it frightening that 84% of American Muslims admit that they have doubted Islam or even God at times in their lives. We are told in the Quran to "think" and to "reflect", and as thinking, reflective beings there are times when we are going to question our lives, both here and the next. Further, God gave us free will because otherwise our decision to follow God and the faith wouldn't mean anything; my toaster makes bread for me, but certainly hasn't earned anything by the action. I guess I have the same feeling in regards to the 23% of adults who were raised Muslim but who no longer identify with the faith. If you're given free will then that is supposed to mean something, and thus you may choose a different path. And, truthfully, and this is where I am clearly outside of the mainstream, who's to say that this different path can't take you to enlightenment? I'm sorry, but I think that there are a thousand paths to God, not matter how you define God. Islam is an extraordinary path, and the one that works for me, but I'd be lying if I said that I thought it was the only path. Who is to say that those folks who make up the 23% aren't leading virtuous lives, contributing to society, and safely on their own path to God? Truthfully, isn't this all we should care about? Or are we so concerned about it because their success in choosing a different path somehow reflects badly on the decision that we've made? Naturally, if you're traditional then arguably the most scary part of these statistics would be the fact that 52% of Muslims say that traditional understandings of Islam need new interpretations. We're often reminded that innovations in the faith are bad during the Friday congregational sermon. I'm definitely one of those 52%, and I think so for two main reasons (doubtless, there would be others if I devoted more time to this particular question). First off, this brings me back to my own personal struggle between the internal and external aspects of the faith. I think the internal aspects of the faith - belief, kindness, humility, forgiveness - are transcendent and eternal, and I can't really belief that anyone would ever reject them as no longer having a place in our lives. Rather, I suspect that the 52% in this case are calling for a reappraisal of some of the external aspects of the faith. Secondly, the Prophet was an extraordinary man and he transcended a violent, bigoted and misogynistic age arguably more than any individual ever transcended an age, and if he were alive today I have no doubt that he would transcend this age, and the Islam that he helped shape, and in this I'm coming back to the more external aspects of the faith, would end up being a different faith than the one we practice. If we find these issues too scary to discuss then we don't have a particularly strong faith.
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