A Pew study finds that American Muslims are largely assimilating into the country.
Some findings, as reported by the Washington Post:
* 78 percent say that suicide bombings of civilians is never justified in order to defend Islam, which is not all that high.
* 65 percent of American Muslims are foreign born.
* “They believe that Muslims coming to the United States should adopt American customs, rather than trying to remain distinct.”
* Socioeconomically, they are on par with average Americans.
* U.S. Muslims oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
* Pew estimates there are 2.35 million Muslims in the United States.
As someone who often shops alongside Muslims (there seems to be no Muslims in my neighborhood but plenty at the mall and the grocery store, at least those who wear headscarves), this is both encouraging and confirming of my own experience. I wonder if Muslims see their assimilation as a good thing, or a capitulation to American customs.
