These are but a few of many of the Arab-American communities across the United States built around common bonds of language, food, culture, national origin and religion. What do you know about the people of Middle-Eastern descent in your town or city? Dearborn, MI: Dearborn, Michigan, is a city in Metropolitan Detroit that boasts the […]

The Islamic Center of Washington was “the first major congregational mosque” in America and remains one of the country’s most magnificent. From the outset, the mosque was a multinational effort between diverse Muslim groups living in the capital to construct a shared worship and cultural space. Although the mosque’s architect Mario Rossi was Italian, he […]

Earlier this month, the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding released its fifth annual Muslim American Poll. Like previous editions, the American Muslim Poll 2020: Amid Pandemic and Protest offers researchers, policymakers, and the public insights and analysis into the attitudes and policy preferences of American Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, white Evangelicals, the non-affiliated, and [...]

On June 29, 2019, the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), NYU Washington, DC, Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC), Justice for Muslims Collective (JMC), and the Arab American Institute (AAI) hosted a program to explore the history and impact of structural Islamophobia. One year earlier, on June 26, 2018, the Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s ban on travel from several […]

Aladdin film poster comparison. Screen capture from YouTube. In May 2019, Disney released a live-action version of Aladdin, which tells the story of an affable street-urchin who accepts the services of a trickster genie to win over the sultan's daughter, Jasmine. The film is an adaptation of a folktale from the 18th-century, Arabic-language collection, A [...]

Dalia Mogahed, Opinion Contributor USA Today The latest iteration of the so-called “Muslim ban” was upheld by the Supreme Court (on July 26th) in a 5-4 ruling, leading many critics to call the decision a triumph of legal technicalities over principle. In this third version of the Trump administration’s attempt to ban citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering […]

Rowaida Abdelaziz, Huffington Post May 2018 Unprecedented levels of Islamophobia and heightened anti-Muslim rhetoric are so rampant that some Muslims are internalizing and accepting problematic stereotypes about themselves, according to a newly released report by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. The study found that Muslims are more likely than members of other faiths to […]

The Voter Study Group report analyzes how most Americans perceive American Muslims vs. how American Muslims see themselves. Their survey discovered that almost 20 percent of Americans would deny Muslims who are American citizens the right to vote.

Following a terror attack bearing the hallmarks of ISIS or other such groups, it is now customary for Muslim leaders to issue public condemnations. Should that be the case? On the one hand, immediately condemning such acts preempts (and, ideally, prevents) any accusations of terrorist sympathies on the part of individual leaders and communities. On […]

Watch PBS documentary from its World Channel initiative now for a limited time. American Arab looks at what it’s like to straddle two cultures in the contemporary United States. In American Arab, Iraqi-American Director Usama Alshaibi asks “Why is being an Arab suddenly the opposite of being a decent man?” Throughout the documentary, Alshaibi explores what it’s […]

What are the marriage trends among American Muslims? Marriage is a constant topic in American Muslim circles. Islamic texts encourage marriage. But, given that a majority of American Muslims are first-, second-, or third-generation immigrants, the concept of marriage can take on heightened significance as the community continues to establish itself in the US while […]

To fill the widespread gaps in knowledge about Muslim American citizens, including their positive effect on the country, the Muslims for American Progress project quantified the contributions of Muslim Americans, first in the state of Michigan, and in 2018, in New York City — where over 22% of America’s Muslims live. Muslims for American Progress […]

Matthew La Corte is a Research Associate at the Niskanen Center, is a Washington, D.C.-based public policy think tank. Mr. La Corte recently wrote a valuable perspective on the increase in anti-Muslim American rhetoric and crime. His insightful exploration of the issue uses statistical information to counter many of the troubling arguments being made about the […]

A general lack of knowledge about how some Muslim girls and women dress sometimes leads to instances of anti-Islam rhetoric, harmful stereotypes and social barriers. This is not a black-and-white issue as women's attire everywhere is influenced by family, culture and national norms, religious beliefs, personal preference, fashion trends, political views and so much more. [...]

Arab American Stories is an Emmy Award-winning 13-part series presented by Detroit Public Television that explores the diversity of the Arab-American experience. Each half hour features three short, character-driven documentaries produced by a variety of independent filmmakers which profile Arab Americans making an impact in their community, their profession, their family or the world at […]

While the world mourned the savage and senseless loss of innocent life, some capitalized on the attacks in Paris to score political points. Within hours, Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., tweeted: “How’s that Syrian refugee resettlement look now? How about that mass migration into Europe? Terrorism is alive & well in the world. #No” Such refrains […]

The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, based in Washington, D.C., has taken a closer look at Michigan’s Muslim community response to the public health crisis that emerged from unsafe levels of lead in the working class town’s water. Below you will find a graphic that highlights their involvement in alleviating suffering in the aftermath, […]

The Middle East Monitor reports on a new study by the Pew Research Center that found that nearly half of all refugees admitted to the U.S. in 2016 are Muslims. Released on Wednesday the study indicated that a a total of 38,901 Muslim refugees entered the U.S. in fiscal year 2016, making up almost half (46%) of […]