Posted by Eugene Volokh:
Is the U.S. "One of the Largest Muslim Countries in the World"?
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_05_31-2009_06_06.shtml#1244097486
[1]One view (at first endorsed by [2]Andrew Sullivan, though later
changed to "see[ing] the deeper point"):
I think that the United States and the West generally, we have to
educate ourselves more effectively on Islam. And one of the points
I want to make is, is that if you actually took the number of
Muslims Americans, we'd be one of the largest Muslim countries in
the world. And so there's got to be a better dialogue and a better
understanding between the two peoples.
[3]Another view. I haven't independently checked the data, but I'm
pretty sure that with about [4]5 to 7 million Muslims, we don't even
make the list. Certainly "one of the largest" is subjective enough to
leave some wiggle room, but not that much wiggle room. If we're one of
the largest, then Burkina Faso (with more Muslims than there are in
America, and according to [5]Wikipedia, #30 on the list) must be a
veritable giant of a Muslim country.
A small matter, but it struck me as worth noting.
References
1.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Transcript-of-the-Interview-of-the-President-by-Laura-Haim-Canal-Plus-6-1-09/
2.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/06/outrage-of-the-day.html
3.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/toby_harnden/blog/2009/06/03/barack_hussein_obama_us_one_of_the_largest_muslim_countries_in_the_world
4. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/muslims/portraits/us.html
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_by_country
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