According to a 2007 survey, conducted by PEW Research, only 17% of Muslims pray daily, 23% pray on Fridays, and 18% never pray (or worship). However, a January 2012 study led by Dr. Ihsan Bagby shows that 93% of the mosques have seen their attendees either increase in number or stay the same.
There is growing need for Muslim families to enroll their children in Islamic schools, after-schools, or weekend schools, or take them to Islamic lectures (Halaqas). It is, therefore, not uncommon for Muslim families to live within close proximity to an Islamic Center.
This short study is conducted using 1,500 randomly selected Muslim families residing in 816 and 913 area code regions of greater Kansas City. The goal was to find out whether mosques and Islamic schools are located within a convenient driving distance from the neighborhoods with a high concentration of Muslims.
Estimating American Muslims Population
Depending on the source and method used, the reported number of American Muslims varies from 3 million to 8 million. PEW conducted a survey in October 2009 that estimates the U.S. Muslim population at 2.54 million.
Most marketing data show nearly one million American Muslim households,
of which 60% are families. Since the U.S. Census Bureau is prohibited from inquiring about religious affiliation, it’s difficult to determine an accurate size of the American Muslim family.
A study done by two European demographers, Charles Westoff and Tomas Frejka suggests that the fertility gap between Muslims and non-Muslims is shrinking.
According to their finding, “In Austria, for example, Muslim women had a total fertility rate (an estimate of lifetime births per woman) of 3.1 children per woman in 1981. By 2001, the rate for Catholics had fallen to 1.3, but the Muslim rate had also fallen to 2.3 - leaving a difference of just one child per woman between Muslims and their non- Muslims counter-parts”.
Assuming an average of three children per Muslim family in the West, the estimated number of Muslims in the U.S. would range between 3 and 5 million, a close approximation to PEW’s finding.
Other ambitious groups have estimated the American Muslim population to be between 6 and 8 million. However, there is little scientific evidence to support such high figures.
With an estimated four members per family, the 1,500 households data in the 816 and 913 area code regions represent a sample of roughly 6,000 Muslims. The total number of Muslims in greater Kansas City could be 2 to 3 times higher than the data used to produce this report.
Although, an estimated 200 to 300 more Muslim families are living in Kansas City, Kansas than in Kansas City, Missouri, the number of Mosques are twice as many in Missouri than in the Kansas side of Kansas City. |
“Major Muslim population centers in Kansas are in Overland Park
and Olathe”
“A full service mosque is needed in Shawnee, Kansas
near Interstate 635 and Interstate 35”
“A prayer hall (Musallah) is needed in Independence, Missouri, near Interstate 70 and Interstate
470”
"The population map shows Muslims are well-integrated into local Communities"
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