Religion: All Others - Muslim Imams in American Mosques
After Christianity and Judaism, Islam is the third largest major religion practiced in the US. In 2017, there were approximately 3.45 million Muslims in the US (2.15 million adults) – just over 1% of the total population. Approximately one million of these are Shia Muslims. According to the Institute for Social Policy, “American Muslims are the only faith community with no majority race – 25% black, 24% white, 18% Arab, 7% mixed race, 5% Hispanic.” According to a 2017 Pew Research Center survey of American Muslims, 55% identify as Sunni Muslims, while 16% identify as Shia. The US is home to more than 2100 mosques, including the largest in the US; the Islamic Center of America mosque in Dearborn, MI, which serves more than 3000 people.
A few Muslim women are proclaiming themselves imams, and are founding women’s mosques (such as the Women’s Mosque of America in Los Angeles), or even leading co-ed prayer in “all-inclusive” mosques (such as Dr. Amina Wadud leading prayer at Friday prayer at a highly visible event in NYC in 2005, or the Qal’bu Maryam Women’s Mosque in Berkeley, CA, at which women lead prayer for both men and women), despite threats from conservatives. Islamic scholars, women’s scholars, and groups such as the Musawah network, which “seeks to apply feminist and rights-based lenses in understanding and searching for equality and justice within Muslim legal tradition” are bringing fresh perspectives to Quranic and hadith concepts of male & female equality.
How important is group prayer at a mosque for American Muslims? According to a Pew Research Center study in 2017, at least 25% of Muslims attend Jumah (Friday congregational prayer) every week, and 18% attend more than once a week, with a third attending once or twice a month. However, Pew reports that, even among regular mosque attendees, “47% say the mosque is central to their spiritual lives, while 49% say they pursue spiritual life primarily outside the mosque.” The Pew survey further reports that more than half of US Muslims say that Islam’s teachings need to be interpreted for modern times and issues. Groups such as Side Entrance, Women’s Mosque of America, the Progressive Muslim Union, and Muslims for Progressive Values are working to increase female leadership in Muslim practice and communities.
What will it take for women to get into the Power Percentage in Islam in the United States?