Muslim Youth Statistics

Young Muslims are going through a lot in schools and in public. From bullying to discrimination to hate crimes, American Muslim youth face it all on regular basis. Here are some statistics from credible research polls and institutes.

Nationally

• In the wake of the current Islamophobic environment, there has been a 660% uptick in Muslims -- predominantly teenagers – seeking help with school bullying, depression, substance abuse, and other issues, according to the nonprofit group Crisis Text Line (CNN)

• 75% say they or someone they know have been discriminated against (MUSLIMS IN THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SQUARE: Shifting Political Winds & Fallout from 9/11, Afghanistan, and Iraq, Zogby Poll)

• Muslims (48%) are more likely than Americans of other major religious groups to say they, personally, have experienced racial or religious discrimination in the past year (Islamophobia: Understanding Anti-Muslim Sentiment in the West, Gallup poll)

In New York public schools

• 28% of Muslim students report being stopped by police as a result of racial profiling (Religiosity, Education and Civic Belonging: Muslim Youth in New York City Public Schools, Columbia University)

• Seven percent said they have been physically assaulted (Religiosity, Education and Civic Belonging: Muslim Youth in New York City Public Schools, Columbia University)

In California public schools 9th to 12th grade students

• 55% of the American Muslim students surveyed experienced bullying. This is twice as high as the national statistics of students reporting being bullied at school (MISLABELED: The Impact of School Bullying and Discrimination on California Muslim Students, CAIR California)

• 28% experienced discrimination by a teacher or an administrator (MISLABELED: The Impact of School Bullying and Discrimination on California Muslim Students, CAIR California)

• Among the girls who wear Hijab, or headscarf, 29 percent experienced “offensive touching or pulling” of the Hijab (MISLABELED: The Impact of School Bullying and Discrimination on California Muslim Students, CAIR California)

How young Muslims are responding to Islamophobia

• 26% of Muslim youth in the United States reported feeling angry, as compared to 14% of Protestant youth (Muslim Americans: A National Portrait, Gallup Poll)

• This survey had 10 questions on mental health and almost all of the results revealed that young Muslims were the least happy and the most angry, as compared to youth of other faith communities (Muslim Americans: A National Portrait, Gallup Poll)

• Muslim youth are also the least employed, as compared to any other faith community in the United States (Muslim Americans: A National Portrait, Gallup Poll)

• 29% of youth sometimes use a non-Muslim sounding name  (Religiosity, Education and Civic Belonging: Muslim Youth in New York City Public Schools, Columbia University)

• 63% of full-time college students in the United States consumed alcohol in the month prior to the survey (Meeting the Needs of Generation 9/11: Supporting Muslim Youth, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding)

• 16% Muslim youth binge drink (Muslim Americans: A National Portrait, Gallup Poll)

• 26% Muslim youth say suicide bombing of civilian targets to defend Islam is justified (Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream, Pew Research Center)