Research
Making an Impact
ISPU provides objective research and education about American Muslims to support well- informed dialogue and decision-making.
Countering and Dismantling Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Discrimination
Effectively Address Islamophobia in your Field
Our comprehensive guide for individuals and organizations has a dual purpose. First, to deepen an understanding of what Islamophobia actually is and how it operates. Second, to provide practical, field-specific strategies that people across sectors can use to dismantle it within their own spheres of influence.
Islamophobia Spikes in 2026 Election Cycle
Research shows that Islamophobia intensifies during election seasons, when anti-Muslim rhetoric is deliberately used as a tool to advance specific policies or candidates. And, Saher Selod writes in ISPU’s Substack, as current political rhetoric targeting Muslims increases with campaigning for the midterm elections, Republicans in states like Texas and Oklahoma are in active attack mode against their Muslims constituents. Photo of Ken Paxton by Gage Skidmore
Abdul El-Sayed’s nomination sits at the intersection of two important trends the data bear out: American Muslims are becoming more visible, organized, and engaged in American political life, even as public endorsement of anti-Muslim stereotypes is rising. In a new Substack, Tuqa Nusairat writes about the escalating anti-Muslim rhetoric after El-Sayed’s primary win in Michigan—and how Muslims may respond.
American Muslim Poll 2025
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Our Research
Our work makes impact in the following areas:
How We Create Impact
Discover
Educate
We translate research into accessible resources, toolkits, and educational materials for diverse audiences.
Equip
Our strategy of equipping leaders multiplies our impact as the data lives on in the work of those who catalyze change.
ISPU in the News
to inform stories about Muslim communities in the United States.
Our Impact
I remember the first time I learned ISPU’s facts and data about American Muslims and anti-Muslim discrimination, and the impact it had on my own understanding of the ways that anti-Muslim bigotry shows up in our country. It completely shifted my paradigm of what it means to love my Muslim neighbors from one of charity to mutual solidarity. It helped me to see the role that I have to play from where I’m situated, understanding that my own sense of freedom and dignity is tied to that of my Muslim neighbors.
Challenges We Address
Misinformation & Bias
Addressing misconceptions and providing factual data about American Muslim communities.
Policy Gaps
Community Needs
Understanding and articulating the diverse needs of American Muslim families.
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Choose To Power Research
Featured Toolkit
COUNTERING AND DISMANTLING ISLAMOPHOBIA
ISPU Scholars
Hamada Hamid Altalib is a Senior Fellow and former Director for the Center for Global Health at ISPU. He is also an Assistant Professor in the Departments of
Maryam Razvi Padela is an educator and researcher. Her particular interests include investigating pedagogy used while teaching and learning about religion. Her dissertation was titled “The Representation and
Saeed A. Khan is currently in the Department of History and Lecturer in the Department of Near East & Asian Studies at Wayne State University-Detroit, Michigan, where he
Halima Al-Khattab is an experienced health behavior researcher and community leader with a demonstrated history of working in academic, clinical, and community settings. Al-Khattab is skilled in nonprofit
Dalia Mogahed is a scholar at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Mogahed is the former Director of Research at ISPU, where she led the organization’s pioneering
Cyra Akila Choudhury is a professor of law at FIU College of Law in Miami, Florida. Her scholarship focuses on religion and property, international and comparative gender, human
Moustafa Bayoumi is the author of the critically acclaimed How Does It Feel To Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America (Penguin), which won an American
Dr. Ezzeldine works at the Los Angeles County Office of Education where he supports development of Transitional Kindergarten programs across Los Angeles County’s 81 school districts. His work
Lance D. Laird is Assistant Professor in the Family Medicine Department and the Graduate Division of Religious Studies at Boston University. He began studying the Islamic tradition as
Dr. Hassan Abbas is Distinguished Professor of International Relations at the Near East South Asia Strategic Studies Centre (NESA), National Defense University in Washington DC. He serves as
Ihsan Bagby is an associate professor in the department of Islamic Studies at the University of Kentucky whose research focuses on Muslims in America. In 2001, he published
Sahar F. Aziz is a Professor of Law and Chancellor’s Social Justice Scholar at Rutgers Law School. Previously she was a Professor of Law at Texas A&M University
Hadia Mubarak is an Assistant Professor of Religion at Queens University of Charlotte. She previously served as Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Guilford College and as a
John O. Voll is Professor Emeritus of Islamic History and past Associate Director of the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Nadia Ansary received her BA in Psychology (and Biology) from Rutgers University and her PhD in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her background is in
Dr. Julie Macfarlane is Distinguished Professor and Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Windsor. She has received a number of professional honours
What Can You Do?
What Can You Do?
Toolkits for Practitioners
ISPU enables changemakers across sectors with effective, implementable resources
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Conducted by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) in partnership with Stanford’s Muslim Mental Health and Islamic Psychology Lab, this qualitative study
