Islam Growing Rapidly in US Suburbs

Islam Growing Rapidly in US Suburbs

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. - Just off one of the busiest highways in this rapidly growing suburb sits the new face of Islam in America.

The Islamic Society of Central Jersey's mosque is tucked in amid the pine trees and flowering pink dogwoods along the booming high-tech corridor leading into Princeton. Next door, huge concrete water main pipes lie on the
side of the road, ready to be installed as part of a new housing development.

The mosque's expansive parking lots fill up with mini-vans and SUVs, disgorging parents and kids hurrying inside for worship between work and classes.

Scenes like this are playing out across the United States as Muslim communities spread out from the cities to the suburbs. Definitive statistics are hard to come by, but some Muslim leaders and sociologists, backed by anecdotal evidence, say the fastest growth of mosques is occurring in the suburbs. That was also the conclusion of a 2001 nationwide study of mosques by the Council on American Islamic Relations.

"This is more and more where Muslims are living," said Ishan Bagby, a professor at the University of Kentucky who conducted the study.

As was the case with waves of European, Asian and Latino immigrants in past decades, Muslim immigrants settled in the cities. As they established businesses and prospered, they, or more commonly, their children, moved to the suburbs. "The Muslims are following the exact same pattern," Bagby said.

Out of 800 mosques surveyed, Bagby found that 77 percent of those in suburban locations saw their congregations grow by 10 percent or more from 1999 to 2000, the most recent statistics available, while only 53 percent of
urban mosques saw similar growth over that same period. The Council plans a second study in 2005.

This urban-suburban contrast is beginning to draw the attention of religious scholars and academics studying the rapid growth of Islam in America. Professor Sulayman Nyang, chairman of African studies at Howard University
in Washington, D.C., noted several principal differences between urban and suburban mosques.

He said the inner-city mosques tend to be predominantly African-American, more inward-looking and focused more intently on addressing neighborhood concerns like poverty, drug abuse and employment, while those in the suburbs are more likely to be populated by immigrant Muslims from the Middle East or south Asia, with a keener interest in world affairs, particularly conditions in their countries of origin.



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Relevant Pages

  • Islam Growing Rapidly in US Suburbs
    ... Islam Growing Rapidly in US Suburbs ... Scenes like this are playing out across the United States as Muslim ... That was also the conclusion of a 2001 nationwide study of mosques ...
    (soc.culture.iranian)
  • Re: Islam Growing Rapidly in US Suburbs
    ... > growing suburb sits the new face of Islam in America. ... > Scenes like this are playing out across the United States as Muslim ... > communities spread out from the cities to the suburbs. ... say the fastest growth of mosques is occurring in the ...
    (soc.culture.pakistan)
  • Islam Growing Rapidly in US Suburbs
    ... Islam Growing Rapidly in US Suburbs ... Scenes like this are playing out across the United States as Muslim ... 2001 nationwide study of mosques by the Council on American Islamic ...
    (soc.culture.iranian)
  • Islam Growing Rapidly in US Suburbs
    ... Islam Growing Rapidly in US Suburbs ... Scenes like this are playing out across the United States as Muslim ... 2001 nationwide study of mosques by the Council on American Islamic ...
    (alt.religion.islam)
  • Islam Growing Rapidly in US Suburbs
    ... N.J. - Just off one of the busiest highways in this rapidly growing suburb sits the new face of Islam in America. ... Scenes like this are playing out across the United States as Muslim communities spread out from the cities to the suburbs. ... Definitive statistics are hard to come by, but some Muslim leaders and sociologists, backed by anecdotal evidence, say the fastest growth of mosques is occurring in the suburbs. ...
    (soc.culture.pakistan)