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American Muslim Poll 2020

Amid Pandemic and Protest

Our American Muslim Poll 2020, released shortly before a critical election, was meant to be historic. But when we began planning for its release, we could not have imagined just how historic. Our fielding period was March 17 to April 22, the first four weeks of a country-wide shutdown in the wake of spiking cases of COVID-19.

For a third year, we tracked the National American Islamophobia Index, measuring how much the public endorses anti-Muslim tropes. New in 2020: our researchers tracked five years of American Muslim civic engagement trends, examined the level of support for faith activists to form coalitions with social and political groups, and presented new research on institutionalized versus interpersonal discrimination.

The back of a masked Black Lives Matter protester holding up a cardboard sign that reads "ENOUGH"
Photo by Syed Yaqeen

A Half-Decade of Polling

American Muslim Poll:

Fifth Anniversary Collection

(Download digital copy)

American Muslim Poll 2020: Amid Pandemic and Protest is the fifth such survey of its kind from ISPU, which provides a rare opportunity to compare trend data over several years. For five years, between 2016 and 2020, this publication has captured an annual snapshot of American Muslim experiences in all their diversity, as well as tracked trends over time. When ISPU began conducting this poll in 2016, we knew it was critical that the survey not just poll Americans who are Muslim, but Americans of other faiths and no faith as well. This allows readers to understand American Muslims’ perspective within the context of their nation’s faith landscape, not as an isolated specimen.

These publications provides researchers, policymakers, and the public insights and analysis into the attitudes and policy preferences of American Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, white Evangelicals, the non-affiliated, and the general public. Over the last half-decade, these studies have served both to educate the wider society on their Muslim neighbors and to inform Muslims themselves about their strengths and struggles.

Report & Key Findings

Supplementary Documents

Appendix I: Methodology

Appendix II: Questionnaire

Appendix III: Data Tables

Additional Analyses

Did You Know?

ISPU’ survey of American Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, and the non-affiliated is one of a kind, offering the latest trends and demographic data on American Muslims. And every year, we rely on individuals like you to keep this research free and accessible to all. Right now, we need your help to keep it that way, so that millions can remain informed on the topics that matter the most. If you value the reliable data our poll provides, consider making a donation in support of ISPU’s American Muslim Poll. It only takes a minute. Thank you.

Support American Muslim Poll >>

American Muslim Poll 2020 marketing graphic

WEBINAR SERIES

American Muslim Poll 2020

Watch these webinars for scholarly and expert analysis of our survey results.

October 1 @ 3 p.m. EDT – Civic Engagement

Register to attend→

October 8 @ 3 p.m. EDT – Islamophobia

Register to attend→

October 15 @ 3 p.m. EDT – Political Coalition Building

Register to attend→

October 22 @ 3 p.m. EDT – Discrimination and Bullying

Register to attend→

Infographics

Infographics

Dive into the Data

Click here to download all 29 graphs and figures from our 2020 survey.

PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL + CANDIDATE PREFERENCE

MUSLIM VOTING TRENDS

POLITICAL ACTIVITY

POLICY PRIORITIES

DIVORCE

DISCRIMINATION + BULLYING

POLITICAL COALITION BUILDING

ISLAMOPHOBIA INDEX

Dive into the Data

Click here to download all 29 graphs and figures from our 2020 survey.

  • Figure 1: A bar graph showing that Muslims (37%) are more likely than the general public (27%) to be satisfied with the direction of country
  • Figure 2: A line graph that shows that Muslim satisfaction has remained steady over the past two years (27% in 2018 and 37% in 2020)
  • Figure 3: A bar graph showing that Muslims approval of the president (30%) among lowest measured
  • Figure 4: A bar graph showing that white Muslims (50%) are the most likely to approve of Trump's performance as president
  • Figure 5: A bar graph showing that Muslim voter registration (78%) still lags behind other groups
  • Figure 6: A line graph showing that since 2016, unregistered Muslim voters drop by half
  • Figure 7: A line graph showing that the gap between intention to vote and voter registration has narrowed among Muslims over the past five years
  • A bar graph showing that Muslims (22%) are among the most likely to attend a town hall meeting
  • A bar graph showing that Muslims (16%) and Jews (16%) are the most likely to volunteer for a political campaign
  • Figure 10: A bar graph showing that Muslims (21%) are on par with the general public (19%) in political campaign contributions
  • Figure 11: A bar graph showing that Muslim preference for Trump has increased but remains relatively low (4% in 2016 and 14% in 2020)
  • Figure 12: A bar graph showing that Muslims (65%) are the most likely to support coalition building with Black Lives Matter
  • Figure 13: A bar graph showing that younger Muslims (72%) are the most in favor of Black Lives Matter coalition building
  • Figure 14: A bar graph showing that Black (72%) and Arab (62%) are most in favor of Black Lives Matter coalition building
  • Figure 15: A bar graph showing that Muslims (39%) are on par with Catholics (34%) and the general public (34%) in support of coalition building with LGBTQ groups
  • Figure 16: A bar graph showing that younger Muslims (48%) are more likely to support building coalitions with LGBTQ groups, mirroring general public
  • Figure 17: A bar graph showing that Muslims (49%) and white Evangelicals (53%) are the most likely to support building coalitions for religious liberty
  • Figure 18: A bar graph showing that Muslims (47%) are split in support of coalition building with pro-life activists
  • Figure 20: A bar graph showing that white Muslims (22%) are more likely than Arab (8%) and Asian (8%) Muslims to say they experienced religious discrimination regularly
  • Figure 21: A graphic arrow with a scale from 0 to 35 that displays the 2020 Islamophobia Index scores: Jews (16), Muslims (20), Non-affiliated (21), General Public (27), Catholics (29), Protestants (30), and white Evangelicals (34)
  • Figure 22: A line graph showing that Jews are less likely to endorse anti-Muslim stereotypes since 2018
  • Figure 24: A scatterplot showing that white Muslims report regular discrimination are more likely to endorse anti-Muslim stereotypes
  • Figure 25: A bar graph showing that the majority of Muslims (60%) and Jews (58%) report experiencing religious discrimination
  • Figure 26: A line graph showing that over the past five years, the frequency of religious discrimination has remaining unchanged for Muslims
  • Figure 27: A bar graph showing that Muslims are more likely than others to experience institutional religious discrimination
  • Figure 28: A bar graph showing that Muslims are more likely to experience interpersonal religious discrimination in public, work, and school environments
  • Figure 29: A bar graph showing that Muslim families (51%) are twice as likely as the general public (27%) to say their kids were bullied because of their faith
  • Policy Priorities Comparison
  • Policy Priorities - Economy
  • Policy Priorities - Healthcare

Videos

From civic engagement, to Islamophobia, to forming political coalitions, there’s a lot of data to deep-dive in ISPU’s 2020 American Muslim Poll. This series of webinars covers the major topics from the poll, presented alongside discussion with panels of experts.

Over the last five years, ISPU has conducted groundbreaking surveys of Americans who are Muslim. In this short video, we share five trends we’ve discovered from our five years of American Muslim Polls.

In the News

In the News

Meet the Research Team

Dalia Mogahed

Dalia Mogahed

Report Co-Author

Director of Research, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Erum Ikramullah

Erum Ikramullah

Report Co-Author

Research Project Manager, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Youssef Chouhoud

Dr. Youssef Chouhoud

Data Analyst, ISPU Fellow & Advisor

Assistant Professor at Christopher Newport University

Rida Sarwar

Rida Sarwar

Research Intern, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Katherine Coplen

Katherine Coplen

Director of Communications, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Katie Grimes

Katie Grimes

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

Meet the Study Advisors

Karam Dana

Karam Dana

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

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

John Esposito

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

Amaney Jamal

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

Sahar Khamis

Sahar Khamis

PhD, Mass Media and Cultural Studies, University of Manchester

Associate Professor, Department of Communication, University of Maryland College Park

Expert in Arab and Muslim Media

Nazita Lajevardi

Nazita Lajevardi

PhD, University of California, San Diego; JD, University of San Francisco

Assistant Professor, Michigan State University

Kameelah Rashad

Kameelah Mu’Min Rashad

PsyD, Clinical Psychology, Chestnut Hill College

Founder and President, Muslim Wellness Foundation

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

Meet the Research Team

Dalia Mogahed

Dalia Mogahed

Report Co-Author

Director of Research, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Erum Ikramullah

Erum Ikramullah

Report Co-Author

Research Project Manager, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Youssef Chouhoud

Youssef Chouhoud

Data Analyst, ISPU Fellow & Advisor

Assistant Professor at Christopher Newport University

Rida Sarwar

Rida Sarwar

Research Intern, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Katherine Coplen

Katherine Coplen

Director of Communications, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Katie Grimes

Katie Grimes

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

Meet the Study Advisors

Karam Dana

Karam Dana

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

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

John Esposito

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

Amaney Jamal

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

Sahar Khamis

Sahar Khamis

PhD, Mass Media and Cultural Studies, University of Manchester

Associate Professor, Department of Communication, University of Maryland College Park

Expert in Arab and Muslim Media

Nazita Lajevardi

Nazita Lajevardi

PhD, University of California, San Diego; JD University of San Francisco

Assistant Professor, Michigan State University

Kameelah Rashad

Kameelah Mu’Min Rashad

PsyD, Clinical Psychology, Chestnut Hill College

Founder and President, Muslim Wellness Foundation

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

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