Posted by Eugene Volokh:
How Many Muslims Are There in the U.S.?
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_05_31-2009_06_06.shtml#1244135727
I should have noted that in [1]my post below that the 5-to-7-million
American Muslims estimate was one of the higher-end estimates.
[2]Estimating the Muslim Population in the United States by Tom W.
Smith of the National Opinion Research Center (2001) reports that
The best, adjusted, survey-based estimates put the adult Muslim
population in 2000 at 0.67 percent or 1,401,000, and the total
Muslim population at 1,886,000. Even if high-side estimates based
on local surveys, figures from mosques, and ancestry and
immigration statistics are given more weight than the survey-based
numbers, it is hard to accept estimates that Muslims are greater
than 1 percent of the population (2,090,000 adults or 2,814,000
total).
I haven't examined the matter closely myself, so I don't have a truly
informed opinion. But to my knowledge, Smith is quite well-regarded in
the field, and is the director of the very well-regarded General
Social Survey. So at the very least the 5 to 7 million American
Muslims figure should be viewed with some skepticism, recognizing that
the number might be 2 to 3 million instead.
References
1. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_05_31-2009_06_06.shtml#1244097486
2.
http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=843637&ct=1044159
_______________________________________________
Volokh mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.powerblogs.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volokh
