Muslim Americans are equally as likely to identify with their faith as they do with the U.S. Muslim Americans are somewhat less likely than U.S. Protestants and Mormons to identify "extremely" or "very" strongly with the U.S.; however, 69% identify strongly with the U.S. and 65% identify with their religion....These findings are among many featured in a new report released Tuesday by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center, Muslim Americans: Faith, Freedom, and the Future, based on Gallup surveys conducted throughout 2010. Building on Gallup's early 2009 report on America's Muslim community, Muslim Americans: A National Portrait, this analysis tracks changes in Muslim Americans' attitudes since 2008, delves into current social and political research topics, and provides a series of data-driven policy recommendations.
The report reveals that Muslim Americans are also less likely than Protestant Americans to strongly identify with those worldwide who share their religious identity. In no major U.S. religious group studied is there a conflict between loyalty to the U.S. and identifying with others around the world who share the same religion. Rather, in every group, including Muslim Americans, people who identify extremely strongly with the U.S. are also more likely to identify strongly with their worldwide religious identity.
Muslim Americans have the most confidence of any major U.S. religious group in the honesty of the country’s elections. However, they are less confident than Americans of other faith groups in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and military, among the U.S. institutions closely associated with what has been known as the “war on terror” since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Muslim Americans are the least likely members of any major religious group to be registered to vote (65%, compared with 91% of Protestant Americans and Jewish Americans). This may be because, though the majority of Muslim Americans were born in the U.S., many are first generation immigrants and may not yet be citizens. With an average age of 36, Muslim Americans are also significantly younger than people of other religions — another trait often associated with low voter-registration levels.
