Numbers Don’t Lie

By Patrick Poole

A recent editorial in Investors Business Daily, “The 8-Million Muslim Lie”, took issue with population figures regularly bandied about by radical Islamic activists since the November 2006 elections as a supposed demonstration of Muslims’ collective political power.

Because of the number of elections decided around the country with slim majorities, including critical congressional and senatorial races, the Muslim activists advancing this statistic contend that because of this fictionalized mass of Muslims, the radical agendas of organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim American Society (MAS), and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) must have their demands for the Islamization of American society catered to by political parties, government officials and law enforcement authorities.

At least that’s how their argument goes.
The IBD editorial completely deconstructs the methodology of the report used by these organizations to support their “8-Million Muslim” claims. The report in question, The Mosque in America: A National Portrait, was published in April 2001 by CAIR, and was authored by CAIR National Board member, Ishan Bagby, who has no professional training in demography. The study concluded:

Estimates of a total Muslim population of 6-7 million in America seem reasonable in light of the figure of 2 million Muslims who associate with a mosque. (p. 3)

Entire article here.