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
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We translate research into accessible resources, toolkits, and educational materials for diverse audiences.
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Our strategy of equipping leaders multiplies our impact as the data lives on in the work of those who catalyze change.
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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.
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Misinformation & Bias
Addressing misconceptions and providing factual data about American Muslim communities.
Policy Gaps
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Understanding and articulating the diverse needs of American Muslim families.
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COUNTERING AND DISMANTLING ISLAMOPHOBIA
ISPU Scholars
Abbas Barzegar is a scholar at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. He is also an Assistant Professor of Islam at Georgia State University. His scholarly research
Louise Cainkar is a sociologist and Associate Professor of Social Welfare and Justice at Marquette University in Milwaukee. She currently serves as president of the Arab American Studies
Dr. Tasneem Siddiqui is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of History, Politics, and Social Justice at Winston-Salem State University. She was an ISPU Fellow and the
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
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
Brennan McDaniel is a PhD student in the Department of American Studies at Yale University. Drawing from Native American studies, Islamic studies, postcolonialism, and psychoanalysis, his research concentrates
Kathleen E. Foley is the founder and principal of Mirador Consulting, LLC. Mirador draws on the diversity of Dr. Foley’s professional training and experience, offering clients services from
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. Ayaz Hyder is an Associate Professor in the College of Public Health and Core Faculty in the Translational Data Analytics Institute at The Ohio State University. Dr.
Dr. Karam Dana joined ISPU in December 2011 as a Fellow. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Washington Bothell, where he is the principal investigator
Kameelah Mu’Min Oseguera, PsyD is the Founder and President of Muslim Wellness Foundation (MWF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting healing and emotional well-being in the American Muslim
Dr. Alisa Perkins earned her doctoral degree in anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. She serves as Associate Professor of comparative religion at Western Michigan University.
Rebecca Karam is a doctoral candidate in sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. She received her BA in sociology from University of Michigan-Dearborn. Rebecca
Dr. Ifrah Magan currently serves as a faculty fellow/assistant professor at New York University (2018–2020). A qualitative researcher and social worker, Dr. Magan incorporates storytelling as a method
Manijeh Daneshpour is a professor of marriage and family therapy in the department of couple and family therapy at Alliant International University in Irvine, California and a licensed
Elisabeth Becker is a doctoral candidate in Sociology at Yale University, where she is a junior fellow in cultural sociology and religion and politics. Elisabeth graduated wth a
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
