Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU)

Lawmakers call out major U.S. banks for discriminating against Muslim Americans Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ilhan Omar are demanding answers about policies that target communities of color.

February 22, 2024 Rowaida Abdelaziz

(HuffPost) Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) released a letter Thursday demanding answers from the heads of several leading U.S. banks about policies that have disproportionately targeted Muslim Americans and communities of color. “The lack of information regarding the […]

Illinois schools to provide halal and kosher meals to kids

June 1, 2023 Jack Baudoin

(WTVO) Some kids in Illinois might have trouble eating meals provided by their school, since they are not allowed to consume them for religious purposes. A bill recently passed by the Illinois legislature, however, will change that. The bill will require state-funded […]

NYC offers free halal iftar meals for Ramadan, Comptroller Lander says

March 24, 2023 Chau Lam

(Gothamist) Muslim New Yorkers facing food insecurity during Ramadan will be able to pick up free iftar meals at designated locations starting today. Muslim families in need can pick up the traditional halal meals at certain grab-and-go sites in all five boroughs, […]

Why more Muslim Americans are choosing to send their children to Islamic schools Many Muslim parents are opting to send their children to Islamic schools because they feel secular schooling is heading in the wrong direction

November 14, 2022 Zainab Iqbal

(Middle East Eye) Abdullah Khan attended public school his entire life. The truth is, his parents had wanted to send their kids to a private Islamic school, but they just couldn’t afford it — and Abdullah believes he suffered because of it. […]

Why the Muslim vote for Republicans grew in 2022 midterm elections There’s an important emphasis on traditional values in Islam, experts and voters tell MEE

November 14, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Middle East Eye) More Muslims shifted to the right in this year’s midterm elections, compared to how they voted in the 2018 midterms. In the 2022 midterm election, 28 percent of Muslim voters voted Republican, which is an 11 percent increase from […]

American Muslims as likely as general population to serve in US military, poll finds Institute for Social Policy and Understanding survey found white Muslims more likely than white non-Muslims to serve in the US armed forces

September 20, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Middle East Eye) American Muslims are just as likely as any other faith group to serve in the US military, a new poll by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (Ispu) has found. More specifically, white Muslims are more likely than […]

Islamophobia remains steady in the US, but why do some Muslims share the sentiment? Institute for Social Policy and Understanding suggests past two decades of demonisation of Muslims post-9/11 may have played a role in negative sentiments

August 25, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Middle East Eye) As Islamophobia in the United States has remained steady in recent years, internalised Islamophobic sentiments have risen from within the Muslim American community, according to newly released data from the Institute for [Social] Policy and Understanding. The new American […]

Most American Muslims believe gun laws need to be stricter, says survey Muslims are more likely than Protestants, white Evangelicals and the general public to hold this view, Ispu survey finds

June 13, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Middle East Eye) Most American Muslims believe gun control laws should be stricter, a new report by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (Ispu) has found. According to the poll, 65 percent of Muslim respondents believe existing gun control laws need to […]

Muslim women becoming politically active, encouraging others

December 23, 2021 Paradise Afshar

(Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Ruwa Romman is entertaining the idea of running for office. The 28-year-old from Duluth envisions herself running on a platform focused on health care, education, social justice and the economy. She also wants to shatter stereotypes and challenge barriers placed […]

Proposed 9/11 resolution from school board member who spoke of jihad spends 1 paragraph honoring dead Americans 10 lamenting Muslim discrimination

September 11, 2021 Luke Rosiak

(Daily Wire) Earlier this week, the Daily Wire reported that a school board member whose father was on the board of the mosque attended by 9/11 hijackers and who hired as imam a top al-Qaeda operative, opposed a resolution honoring the victims […]

Muslims are a growing presence in U.S., but still face negative views from the public

September 1, 2021 Besheer Mohamed

(Pew) An unprecedented amount of public attention focused on Muslim Americans in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The U.S. Muslim population has grown in the two decades since, but it is still the case that many Americans […]

Study finds the American mosque increasingly a melting pot of Islamic traditions The report, conducted every 10 years, found American Sunni mosques are blending various schools of Islamic jurisprudence or madhabs.

August 3, 2021 Joseph Hammond

(Religion News) The American mosque is becoming more American. At least according to Ihsan Bagby, who has authored a report for the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding based on a … new survey of American mosques. The report, conducted every 10 […]

Report: Number of mosques in US grows overall, but African American mosques in decline The majority of America’s new purpose-built mosques are found in suburban areas, a shift that reflects the demographic footprint of Muslims in America.

June 2, 2021 Joseph Hammond

(Religion News) Increasing numbers of African American mosques are closing, while the overall number of mosques in the United States continues to grow, according to a new report. “The American Mosque 2020: Growing and Evolving,” released Wednesday (June 2), shows key changes […]

Biden urged to appoint envoy to counter Islamophobia ‘epidemic’ The US Council of Muslim Organisations is urging the Biden administration to create an office to monitor and combat anti-Muslim attacks

May 7, 2021 Umar A. Farooq

(Middle East Eye) A coalition of Muslim organisations in the US is calling on the administration of President Joe Biden to create an envoy that would monitor and combat Islamophobia, which the groups say plays an interconnected threat to Muslims around the […]

Tlaib: ‘I hope you realize just the opportunity here that Allah has given us to show the power of Muslims in Georgia’

December 14, 2020 Patrick Goodenough

(CNS) Muslim leaders, including Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), expressed the hope and expectation on Sunday that Muslim voters would be a deciding factor in the pivotal Senate runoff election in the state of Georgia early next month. The […]

Omar, Tlaib, Sarsour to headline Georgia Senate event as Warnock fights anti-Semitism claims CAIR-Georgia sponsors virtual 'vote-a-thon' to boost Muslim turnout in runoff election

December 13, 2020 Valerie Richardson

(Washington Times) Democrat Raphael Warnock was already struggling to beat back allegations of anti-Semitism, and then Linda Sarsour and Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib jumped into the Georgia Senate election picture. The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations [CAIR] […]

Muslim voters want more than ‘just a seat’ at the table from President-elect Joe Biden

November 8, 2020 Sarah Parvini

(LA Times) In the lead-up to the midterm election two years ago, Sara Deen noticed that many fellow Muslims in her South Bay community weren’t voters. Some didn’t understand the process. More lacked faith that their voice would matter or had trouble […]

Muslims in Michigan, a key vote in a must-win state, on track for record turnout Muslim areas around greater Detroit could be a key factor in who will be president in January.

October 22, 2020 Weam Namou

(Religion News) With his Lebanese last name and his Muslim background, Mike Chehab, an attorney from Sterling Heights, Michigan, said he has heard prejudiced comments during his run this fall for a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives. Chehab is a […]

Muslim Americans could determine whether Trump or Biden wins Michigan

October 17, 2020 Kane Farabaugh

(VOA) When Michigan voter Dr. Mahmoud Al-Hadidi casts his ballot in the November election, there is one issue that rises above all others as he makes his choice — respect. “In this election, honestly, respect and recognition,” the emergency room physician told […]

Muslim Voices for Trump event cut short after being ‘Zoom bombed’ by activists The call had to be abandoned less than 20 minutes in when it turned into a disorderly free-for-all

October 14, 2020 Azad Essa

(Middle East Eye) An online event organised by “Muslim Voices for Trump” descended into chaos late on Tuesday when activists infiltrated the call in another case of the new viral threat termed “Zoom bombing.” The call, arranged by US President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign in […]

Poll: Muslim American support for Trump rises, but most plan to vote for Biden

October 1, 2020 Yonat Shimron

(Religion News) Muslim support for President Donald Trump nearly doubled in 2020 compared with a year ago, with 30% of Muslims willing to vote for the president, a new poll shows. Muslim Americans are also more likely to report satisfaction with the […]

Million Muslim Votes: Campaign seeks unprecedented turnout in US presidential election Efforts under way to increase Muslim American voter turnout

July 18, 2020 Cody Combs

(National-UAE) As the 2020 US presidential election approaches, several groups are working to ensure that as many of America’s approximately 3.4 million Muslim citizens as possible make their voices heard at the ballot box. “The strategies are kind of old school and […]

Muslim women renew calls for more inclusive programs as mosques reopen As the coronavirus pandemic offers time to step back, Muslim Americans rethink how mosques can be more welcoming to women and adapt financially.

June 12, 2020 Rowaida Abdelaziz

(HuffPost) As the coronavirus outbreak spread, mosques, like many houses of worship, were required to close their doors even during the holy month of Ramadan in compliance with statewide shutdowns. American Muslims across the country were forced to celebrate at home. With […]

Muslim voters are getting organized for the 2020 election And they could determine the outcome.

June 4, 2020 Caitlin Yoshiko Kandil

(Christian Century) This November, Jad Salamey will vote in a presidential election for the first time — and he’s hoping to bring his entire community with him. The 20-year-old student at Wayne State University in Detroit spends his free time phone banking, […]

Black Muslims in US fear they could be ‘disproportionately impacted’ by coronavirus The community is often rendered invisible within the larger black and Muslim populations

April 7, 2020 Vanessa Taylor

(Middle East Eye) Black Muslims in the United States fear they could be at a higher risk from coronavirus infections, as cases continue to climb and hospitals in communities of colour struggle to flatten the curve. More than 10,000 people have died […]

How foreign policy factors for American Muslims in 2020

April 1, 2020 Adham Sahloul and Shadi Hamid

(Lawfare) Muslims represent only around 1 percent of the American population, yet today they find themselves playing an increasingly important public role. For instance, two of the most prominent congresspeople are the first two Muslim congresswomen in American history, Ilhan Omar and […]

Coalition of Muslim political groups launches $1 million campaign to get more Muslims to vote in 2020

March 12, 2020 Steve Friess

(Newsweek) A coalition of prominent Muslim-American advocacy groups this morning are launching the Million Muslim Votes campaign, an unprecedented $1 million effort to find and persuade Muslims to participate in the 2020 general election. Led by Emgage, a Washington D.C.-based group aimed […]

In battle for the Muslim vote, Sanders destroys the competition: poll Amid massive voter turnout of Muslim-Americans, Bernie Sanders takes the Muslim vote in landslide, recent CAIR survey shows

March 6, 2020 Sheren Khalel

(Middle East Eye) US presidential candidates made unprecedented efforts to court the Muslim vote in the lead-up to Super Tuesday, but according to a recent poll, Bernie Sanders won that battle in a landslide. Sanders took 58 percent of the overall Muslim […]

‘A show of force’: Muslim-Americans plan to get the vote out on Super Tuesday Muslim groups say the faithful, despite being small in numbers, could be crucial in some voting states

March 3, 2020 Umar A. Farooq

(Middle East Eye) Data on Muslim-American voters is scarce and their voting patterns have hardly been studied, but according to a leading political action group, the Muslim vote could make a major difference on Super Tuesday. Voters in 14 US states and […]

‘A long time coming’: These Muslims are bringing sex abuse by sheikhs out of the shadows

January 15, 2020 Aysha Khan

(Religion News) For Sidrah Ahmad-Chan, the moment felt surreal. Listening to a Muslim psychologist speaking about patterns of abuse while on stage at the American Islamic College on Saturday (Jan. 11), she pulled up Twitter. “First panel discussion and I am already […]

Erdoğan’s ‘Uniting Ummah’ event in New York divides U.S. Muslim leaders

July 26, 2019 Ilhan Tanir

(Ahval) Two leaders of the American Muslim community said on Friday that their names had been added as guests to a flier printed for the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s planned event in New York City in September, although they had rejected the […]

Muslim Caucus highlights need for greater political engagement Two-day Muslim Caucus conference focused on communicating no Muslim politician should be reduced to their faith alone.

July 24, 2019 Martin de Bourmont

(Al-Jazeera) Participants at the first national gathering of Muslims in politics in the United States spoke of the two-day event, which ended on Wednesday, as an opportunity [to] move American Muslim communities beyond the defensive posture they have been forced to take […]

In a survey of American Muslims, 0% identified as lesbian or gay. Here’s the story behind that statistic

May 28, 2019 Daniel Burke

(CNN) In the United States, you could count the number of mosques like Masjid al-Rabia on two hands. It’s a small community built on “five pillars of inclusivity,” including pledges to be “women-centered,” anti-racist, LGBTQ-affirming and welcoming to a variety of Islamic […]

Pollster says more Americans associate Islam with violence in election years

May 2, 2019 Julia Manchester

(Hill) Americans are more likely to associate Islam with violence in the lead-up to elections or military conflicts, pollster Dalia Mogahed said in an interview that aired Thursday on “What America’s Thinking.” “If you look at one measure that Pew has been […]

Jewish Americans are least Islamophobic faith group, survey finds

May 1, 2019 Laura E. Adkins

(JTA) A majority of Jewish Americans have positive feelings about Muslims — and the feelings are mutual — according to a survey released Wednesday. The 2019 American Muslim Poll, conducted in January, found that 53 percent of Jewish Americans reported having positive […]

Newly formed Utah league amps up voter registration. Next step: Put Muslims on the ballot

April 2, 2019 Peggy Fletcher Stack

(Salt Lake Tribune) Utah’s Muslim community has mushroomed from a simple student-led prayer group in the 1950s to more than 60,000 adherents of varied ethnicities and a dozen mosques today. It has produced doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, entrepreneurs and leaders contributing to […]

AJC launches ‘listening tour’ to strengthen Muslim-Jewish relations

March 26, 2019 Erin Ben-Moche

(Jewish Journal) The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is working to deepen engagement with American Muslim communities, institutions and leaders by creating a listening tour. The AJC opened a dialogue in Washington, D.C., this week with leadership from Masjid Muhammad, the Nation’s Mosque, […]

Dalia Mogahed speaks to MSU students at ‘Muslims and U.S. Politics’ lecture

October 2, 2018 Jack Ryan

(State News) On Monday night, the Muslim Studies Program held a “Muslims and U.S. Politics” event at the MSU International Center, where Dalia Mogahed, director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding in Washington, D.C., was a guest lecturer. […]