Islam in America

1,209 mosques 6-7 million US Muslims 411,000 attend Friday prayers 87% of mosques founded since 1970

The survey excluded movements that mainstream Muslims do not consider as being truly Islamic, such as the black rights leader, Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam.

The report found that many Muslims remain ambivalent about America, admiring its technological advances while disparaging its culture.

Researchers also discovered that women attended Friday prayers, and served on many governing boards of mosques - almost unheard of in many Muslim societies

First insight

The study - led by Professor Ihsan Bagby from the University of Raleigh in North Carolina - was designed to provide the first clear insight into Islam in the US.

"Our mosques are much more diverse than we think," said Professor Bagby. But he added that they fell short of Islam's multi-racial ideal.

The survey started by compiling a list of all known orthodox mosques. Of these 1,209, some 631 were randomly selected and leaders from 416 responded to phone interviews conducted last year.