The Rumi Forum presented “Muslim Americans : An In-Depth Analysis Through Gallup Polling” with Dalia Mogahed, Senior Analyst and Executive Director, Gallup Center for Muslim Studies.
Event Summary:
On April 21 2009, during the Rumi Forum Luncheon Series, Dalia Mogahed, Senior Analyst and Executive Director at the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, spoke about Gallup’s recent study on Muslim Americans. In order to conduct this study, which began in 2008, the Gallup team created a sample size of over 300,000 people. While the poll also questioned Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Mormons, Mogahed focused her talk on the 946 Muslim Americans that were interviewed.
This poll provided knowledge of who Muslim Americans are. It was found that on a whole they are racially diverse, young, highly educated, productive, and their political ideologies are very diverse. The poll also uncovered that Muslim Americans face a number of challenges. For one, Muslim Americans are less likely to classify themselves as thriving, especially among younger Muslims. They are also less likely to be registered to vote and within this group there are great socio-economic disparities.
When asked about long term goals for this research Mogahed noted that while it is a foundational study she hopes that the findings will allow the media news reporting, Hollywood, and most importantly policy makers to better understand who Muslim Americans really are. Since there are more questions to be answered concerning Muslim Americans this study is far from over. In May, Gallup’s office in London will be conducting a similar study on Muslims in Europe.
If you would like to see Gallup’s entire analysis it can found online on the website muslimwestfacts.com.
Biography:
Dalia Mogahed is a Senior Analyst and Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, a nonpartisan research center dedicated to providing data-driven analysis on the views of Muslim populations around the world. With John L. Esposito, Ph.D., she is coauthor of the book. Who Speaks for Islam?: What a Billion Muslims Really Think. Her analysis has appeared in a number of leading publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy Magazine, Harvard International Review, The Journal of Middle East Policy, and many other academic and popular journals. Mogahed leads the analysis of Gallup’s unprecedented survey of more than one billion Muslims worldwide, including Muslims in the West. She also directs the Muslim-West Facts Initiative (www.muslimwestfacts.com), through which Gallup, in collaboration with The Coexist Foundation, is disseminating the findings of the Gallup World Poll to key opinion leaders in the Muslim World and the West. Mogahed is a member of Women in International Security (WIIS), serves on the leadership group of the Project on U.S. Engagement with the Global Muslim Community, and is a member of the Brookings Middle East Crisis Task Force.
Moderator :
Hazami Barmada, is an independent consultant and contractor in Public and Cultural Diplomacy and Interreligious Relations. She maintains expertise on a broad range of issues revolving around U.S. relations with the Muslim/Arab worlds, international communications, community development, civic engagement, cultural relations and leadership development. Ms. Barmada plays a visible and active role in grassroots and community organizing promoting collaborations within interfaith and intercultural communities. She is the Founding President and Director of the Progressive Muslim Network (PMN), an apolitical organization that hosts an array of social, educational and volunteer initiatives that aims to promote intra/interfaith understanding and dialogue in the DC vicinity. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals (Executive Vice President), the 9/11 Unity Walk (2008 Executive Director and Chairperson of Organizational Development), and is an active member of Muslim Women in the Arts and American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, where she served as an intern to the President’s office in 2004. Barmada is an International Advisory Board member and Arab/Muslim world Liaison for the High Cloud Foundation. Barmada earned degrees from Rhodes College in Anthropology and Sociology with a concentration in intercultural relations and identity formation. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Public and Social Policy from Georgetown University.