Survey: Detroit Muslims Favor Activism, Moderate Beliefs

April 6, 2004

Source: The Mercury News

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/8363931.ht%0Am

On April 6, 2004 The Mercury News reported, "Even the most religiously traditional Muslims believe they should participate in American politics, according to a newly released study of one of the largest Muslim communities in the nation. The survey of Detroit-area Muslims is the latest to show that the isolationism that once pervaded the immigrant Muslim community is dissipating. Muslims ranked protecting their civil rights as a top public policy issue, according to the study. 'A couple of decades ago, Muslims were, for the most part, internally focused and had very few involvements at any level' with American civic life, said Ihsan Bagby, a University of Kentucky professor who conducted the study last summer but has just released the findings. 'Starting in the 1980s, the Muslim community, as it matured and it became a lot stronger, started to focus outside, to become more involved.' Government scrutiny of American Muslims after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, has drawn even more members of the community into the public arena to defend themselves and their faith.The project was conducted for the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, a Michigan think-tank that specializes in Muslim issues." Click here for a link to the study's findings online.