American Muslim Poll 2018

Pride and Prejudice

Our annual poll returns for a third year to measure the attitudes and policy preferences that impact the lives of American Muslims across faith communities, including results from Catholics, Protestants, Jews, white Evangelicals, and the non-affiliated. The results of this poll could not come at a more critical time, as one year into the Trump presidency, Americans have witnessed three iterations of a so-called “Muslim ban,” had their president retweet three inflammatory videos portraying Muslims as monsters, and heard him say a rally involving Nazis and Confederate symbols where one counter-protester was killed had “good people.” Americans of all backgrounds also crowded airports to protest a travel ban on people from a number of Muslim-majority nations. The Women’s March, co-organized by four women, including Linda Sarsour, a visibly Muslim woman, became the largest demonstration ever in America. And hijab-wearing Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad was immortalized with a Barbie doll.

A group of protesters at the 2017 No Muslim Ban Protests in DC

In this report, we set out to measure the level of public anti-Muslim sentiment in its most impactful manifestations and, in collaboration with Georgetown’s The Bridge Initiative, developed the first-ever annual Islamophobia Index (II). The report measures the Islamophobia Index among American Muslims, too, as well as the degree to which Muslims have accepted ideas of collective blame, shame, and alienation. This analysis doesn’t stop at shame—it also measures pride, joy, and confidence in one’s faith identity across communities and how these sentiments are linked to civic engagement and national identity.

Finally, the poll explores the views of Muslim women. What, in reality, are American Muslim women’s biggest challenges and fears? How do they feel about their faith and community? If they wear hijab, what are their reasons for doing so?

Do you need reliable, representative, quantitative data on American Muslims? ISPU can help by providing space for purchase on our annual poll at a fraction of the cost of conducting this type of survey yourself. Contact info@ispu.org for more information.

Report & Key Findings

American Muslim Poll 2018: Full Report
April 30, 2018,
By Youssef Chouhoud
ISPU’s annual poll returns for a third year to measure the attitudes and policy preferences that impact the lives of American Muslims across faith communities, including results from Catholics, Protestants, Jews, white Evangelicals, and the non-affiliated. In American Muslim Poll 2018: Pride and Prejudice, we...
American Muslim Poll 2018: Key Findings
April 30, 2018,
By Dalia Mogahed
This is a summary of the key findings of ISPU’s annual poll, which returns for a third year to measure the attitudes and policy preferences that impact the lives of American Muslims across faith communities, including results from Catholics, Protestants, Jews, white Evangelicals, and the...

Supplementary Documents

Appendix I: Methodology

Appendix II: Questionnaire

Appendix III: Data Tables

Secondary Analyses

Which Muslims Voted for Trump?

What’s the Hidden Story Behind American Muslim Poverty?

Born in the USA: How Nativity Affects the American Muslim Experience

To Have and To Hold: Interfaith Marriage Just as Common among Muslim Americans as Christians

DEEP DIVE

American Muslim Philanthropy

American Muslim Poll 2018: Pride and Prejudice included a broad range of survey questions aimed at uncovering American Muslims’ philanthropic practices and motivations. This report and infographic present the data and findings from the section on Muslim charitable giving in the 2018 survey.

American Muslim Philanthropy: A Data-Driven Comparative Profile
July 17, 2019,
By Faiqa Mahmood
ISPU’s American Muslim Poll of 2018: Pride and Prejudice included a broad range of survey questions aimed at uncovering American Muslims’ philanthropic practices and motivations. Given the centrality of giving among Muslim communities and the important role religious giving plays in philanthropy more broadly, in this...

8 insights into American Muslim giving infographic

Videos

American Muslim Poll 2018 showed most Americans overwhelmingly support civil rights for Muslims. But Islamophobia does exist in the margins of our society—and it isn’t just a problem for Americans who are Muslim.

ISPU Director of Research Dalia Mogahed presents key findings from American Muslim Poll 2018 at the National Press Club. This summary is followed by a discussion with moderator Mehdi Hasan and panelists John Esposito, Kameelah M. Rashad, and Jim Wallis.

Infographics

Dive into the Data

Click here to download all 34 graphs, figures, and tables from our 2018 survey.

Muslim satisfaction with the way things are going in the country is down, but voter registration is up.

Muslims are among the most likely to reject violence.

Tolerance for authoritarianism varies among Americans of different faiths.

Most Americans support Muslim civil rights.

Anti-Muslim sentiment is linked to approval of violence, authoritarianism, and discriminatory policies.

Muslims experience the most religious discrimination.

Piety and identity are the top reasons given for wearing hijab.

Internalized Islamophobia causes some Muslims to feel shame.

Most Muslims identify strongly with America and express pride and happiness in their faith identity.

American Muslim philanthropic practices and motivations

Figure 1: Two pie graphs showing that Muslim giving is primarily motivated by religious obligation and the sense that those with more should help those with less

Dive into the Data

Click here to download all 34 graphs, figures, and tables from our 2018 survey.

In the News

Meet the Research Team

Dalia Mogahed

Report Co-Author

Director of Research, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Youssef Chouhoud

Data Analyst & Report Co-Author

PhD Candidate and Provost’s Fellow at University of Southern California’s Political Science and International Relations Program

Sarrah Buageila

Project Manager, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Katherine Coplen

Senior Communications Manager, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Katie Grimes

Communication & Creative Media Specialist, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Meet the Study Advisors

Khaled Beydoun

JD, UCLA School of Law

Associate Professor of Law, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law

Senior Affiliated Faculty, University of California-Berkeley Islamophobia Research & Documentation Project

Emile Bruneau

PhD, Neuroscience, University of Michigan

Research Associate and Lecturer, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania

Karam Dana

PhD, Interdisciplinary Near and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Washington

Assistant Professor, University of Washington School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences

David Dutwin

Executive Vice President and Chief Methodologist, SSRS

2016 Conference Chair, AAPOR Executive Council

Research Scholar, Institute for Jewish and Community Research

John Esposito

PhD, Temple University

Professor of Religion, International Affairs, and Islamic Studies, Georgetown University

Founding Director, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in the Walsh School of Foreign Service

Rachel M. Gillum

PhD, Political Science, Stanford University

Visiting Scholar, Stanford University

Fellow, Association for Analytic Learning about Islam and Muslim Societies

Amaney Jamal

PhD, Political Science, University of Michigan

Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Politics, Princeton University

Director, Mamdouha S. Bobst Center for Peace and Justice

Director, Workshop on Arab Political Development

President, Association of Middle East Women’s Studies (AMEWS)

Kameelah Mu’Min Rashad

MS, MRP, MEd

Founder and President, Muslim Wellness Foundation

Interfaith Fellow for Spirituality, Wellness & Social Justice, University of Pennsylvania

PsyD candidate, Clinical Psychology, Chestnut Hill College