Muslim Minorities in theUnitedStates

Abstract

Islam is the second‐largest religion in the world and Muslims are the second‐largest religious group in much of Europe and North America. Their precise number in the United States is unknown. Estimates range between three and eleven million. The bulk of Muslim population in the United States consists of Sunni indigenous African Americans and immigrants from Asia and the Middle East/North Africa. The 1965 immigration reform, the abolishment of the national origin quota system, and a series of political conflicts and civil wars in the Middle East and North Africa had a significant impact on the immigration of Muslims to the United States in the last four decades. The 9/11 attacks fundamentally changed the course of life for Muslims and Arabs in the United States. Despite the backlash after the 9/11 attacks, Muslim and Middle Eastern American leaders demanded civil rights and moved forward with political integration.