Muslims

Washington, DC - 10/08/2009 - A new, comprehensive study of more than 200 countries finds that there are 1.57 billion Muslims of all ages living in the world today, representing 23% of an estimated 2009 world population of 6.8 billion. Released today by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, Mapping the Global Muslim Population offers the most up-to-date and fully sourced estimates of the size and distribution of the worldwide Muslim population, including sectarian identity.

Key findings include:

* While Muslims are found on all five inhabited continents, more than 60% of the global Muslim population is in Asia and about 20% is in the Middle East and North Africa.    » read more »

June 6, 2009 .. U.S. Embassies and Consulates and intelligence analysts submitted the following reactions to the President's speech in Cairo. The reactions are garnered from news reports in local new media and traditional media and from individual conversations.

Top Line    » read more »

June 4, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Ted Kaufman (D-DE), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement following President Obama's speech in Cairo earlier today:

"I applaud President Obama's historic speech earlier today in Cairo, which signaled that America is ready to begin a new era of mutual respect, understanding, and dialogue with the Muslim world. In his speech, President Obama reaffirmed America's commitment to resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, and reminded regional leaders of their responsibilities to cultivate an atmosphere of greater tolerance, security, and peace.    » read more »

Remarks by the President on a New Beginning

June 4, 2009 -- Cairo University -- Cairo, Egypt -- PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you very much. Good afternoon. I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning; and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. And together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress.

I'm grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. And I'm also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: Assalaamu alaykum. (Applause.)    » read more »

January 27th, 2009 -- In his first interview with an Arab television station, President Barack Obama offered a bold change to America's relations with the Muslim world.

"My job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives," President Obama told Al Arabiya. "My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy."

In the interview, conducted in the White House map room, President Obama also expressed his commitment to tackling the Middle East peace process immediately.    » read more »

Wednesday, September 12, 2007, Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today to commemorate the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins at sundown tonight:

“Ramadan is a time for prayer, fasting, inner reflection, and charity for the more than 1 billion Muslims around the world. As Muslims observe this holy month, it is also a time for all Americans to remember and celebrate the many contributions of Muslim Americans to our country.    » read more »

14 August 2007 -- A court in western Germany has ruled that a teacher who converted to Islam must stop wearing a headscarf at her school.

The court in Dusseldorf ruled Tuesday that wearing the garment at schools violates state law prohibiting religious headwear.

The teacher who challenged the ban, Maryam Brigitte Weiss, started wearing a headscarf last year.

She argued her scarf was permissible because she wore it pushed back with hair showing at the front, in the style of American actress Grace Kelly. The court rejected her argument.    » read more »

14 June 2007 -- An American-Muslim group says incidents of hate crimes and other discrimination against Muslims in the United States are on the rise. The group said Muslims especially face delays in their efforts to attain U.S. citizenship.

The 2007 annual report of the group CAIR, or the Council on American-Islamic Relations, reports what it says is an increase in anti-Muslim discrimination and harassment in the United States. The group's executive director, Nihad Awad, says this finding continues a trend that his group pointed out in its first report 10 years ago.    » read more »