Five Portraits of Muslims in America

WASHINGTON—

The United States is home to a diverse group of Muslims – from all ages, all ethnicities, all incomes. Yet while Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world, Muslims make up less than 1 percent of the adult population in the U.S.

A 2014 study by the Pew Research Center estimates that percentage will more than double in the next three decades (by 2050) as Islam becomes the second-largest religion in the U.S.

Muslims are evenly spread geographically across the U.S. with the highest percentage in New Jersey, 3 percent, and in Washington, D.C., 2 percent.

All data suggest it is a young population because of the ages of typical immigrants and the age at which people convert to other religions.

The Islamic Society of North America estimates one-third are South Asian descent and one-third Arab. One-third of U.S. Muslims are African-American, attributed to the migration of Africans as slaves to the United States beginning in the 1600s.

One researcher called the economic data “most interesting.” It found that 34 percent earn less than $30,000 while 20 percent make over $100,000.

“A lot of people are familiar with the affluent in the Muslim community who arrive here (in the U.S.) on special visas,” says Pew researcher Besheer Mohamed. “But there is a large component who come as refugees and converts who are struggling financially.”

WATCH: A Portrait of Muslims in America: Noor Tagouri

WATCH: A Portrait of Muslims in America: Amina Imran

WATCH: A Portrait of Muslims in America: Labeebah Salaam

WATCH: A Portrait of Muslims in America: Imam Daayiee Abdullah

WATCH: A Portrait of Muslims in America: Muhammad Dumilik and Calvin Spivey

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