Hard times for U.S. Muslims

You must be confused about my point, since perhaps the sentence needs to be recast to be less ambiguous. You are aware, I trust, that the sentence awhich you quoted above is NOT about the number of Muslims but IS about the number of Greek Orthodox, which I introduced by way of analogy?

What I was saying (had the sentence been less ambiguous, is that whether it is some unnamed State Dep't employee about Muslims, or some unnamed higher-up in the Greek Archdiocese about Orthodox Christians, we can do better than to take at face value such estimates of populations, when there are survey outfits and other sources for estimating them using valid statistical principles.

I was not saying that I disbelieve some official just because he is some official. All of us can comprehend that people can say something that is an exaggeration, and a recourse to authority (which is your entire argument) can be unfounded.

This is from www.barna.org, whic specializes in doing surveys on religion in American society. Note that as professional statisticians, they conclude that (as stated below, there are "less than 1%" of people in America who follow Islam.

How America's Faith Has Changed Since 9-11

November 26, 2001

(Ventura, CA) - Social analysts point out that people turn to religion in times of crisis and instability. The terrorist attacks on September 11 certainly shattered the stability and comfort of American's lives, leading to a surge in church attendance and Bible sales immediately after the attacks. But what is the lingering effect of the attack and continued tension on people's religious beliefs and practices? Those questions are answered with startling clarity in a new survey released by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California. Using 21 indicators of the nation's spiritual climate, the study gives a comprehensive look at how people's faith has changed in the aftermath of the terrorist attack.

Concern for the Future

Not surprisingly, there has been a significant upturn in people's concern about the future. In August, 73% of adults said they were concerned about the future; by November, that figure had increased to 82%. The population segment that expressed the greatest concern was adults 35 and younger, among whom nearly nine out of ten said they were concerned. The biggest increases in concern were registered among people 55 and older (up 17 points from the pre-attack level) and atheists (also up 17 points).

Self-Image Remains Unchanged

Three aspects of people's self-image did not change in the wake of the attacks. The first factor, regarding adults' description of their sociopolitical ideology, remained static. Overall, 31% said they are mostly conservative on social and political issues while just half as many - 14% - said they are mostly liberal on such matters.

A second factor tested was the descriptor "Christian." In August, 86% of all adults said they thought of themselves as Christian. The percentage was statistically equivalent in the post-attack study, with 84% embracing that label. The surveys also showed that the proportion of Americans who think of themselves as Muslim or Islamic remained stable, as well, at less than 1% of the aggregate adult population.

.... [snip]

The average middle-class, mosque-going Muslims who run grocery stores, are office workers or students, are totally confused at what they should do or say. Should they side with the terrorists overseas or with the superpower that is bombing the innocent civilians in hospitals and houses in Afghanistan in order to free the world of these terrorists?

What a bunch of crap, if they are still "confused" they should go back where they came from, another exemple of Islamscam and its followers incompatibility with western values and lifestyle. What the hell they come to our country for?

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