A Portrait on Mosques in America

According to a report released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the number of mosques in America has increased by 25 percent in the past five years. The “Mosque in America: A National Portrait,” is a compilation of interviews with representatives from more than 1200 American mosques.

The number of mosques in America has increased from 962 to 1,209 since 1994. These mosques include those founded between 1925-2000. The study shows that the majority of mosques was founded after the 1970s and is located mainly in the East, the South, and the Midwest.

Muslims are also attending mosques in greater numbers, according to the study, an increase of 75 percent in just the last five years. The study also found that English seems to be the main language used in Friday sermons at most mosques. An important finding in the study is the confirmation that there are indeed some 6-7 million Muslims in the United States, of which at least 2 million are associated with the mosque. The mosque has increasingly become more than just a center for worship. Mosques have served as bases for social and political mobilization, according to CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.

The study found that mosques are ethnically diverse, consisting of primarily South Asians, African-Americans and Arab-Americans. Mosques have attracted many American reverts to Islam as well; the average mosque has 16 conversions per year or nearly twenty thousand converts nationally. The majority of reverts are from the African-American community, who make up about fourteen thousand of the reverts to Islam.

The 63-page report contains a detailed study that covers the basic characteristics of the mosque; worship; participants; mosque history, location, and building; the mosque’s mission, practices and teachings; mosque programs and involvement in the community; leadership and organizational dynamics; and finances. One of the purposes of the study is to provide information on mosques to assist Muslim leaders on improving and strengthening mosques. The study is also provided as a valuable resource for the American public to gain deeper insight into Muslim presence in America.

The study provides an in depth profile of mosques in America. The report is part of a larger study called “Faith Communities Today,” by the Hartford Seminary’s Hartford Institute for Religious Research. The mosque survey was co-sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Islamic Circle of North America, Islamic Society of North America, and Muslim American Society led by Imam W. Deen Mohammed.

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