What do Muslims say about violence and terrorist attacks? What do they say about democracy, women, and relations with the West? What are their values, goals, and religious beliefs? These are just a few of the questions answered in a new book summarizing Gallup’s largest study of Muslim populations worldwide.
Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think (Gallup Press; March 2008) by Georgetown University Professor
John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed sheds new light into what majorities of the world’s Muslims really think and feel.
Based on more than 50,000 interviews conducted between 2001 and 2007 with residents of more than 35 nations that are predominantly Muslim or have sizable Muslim populations, the poll surveyed more than 90% of the world’s Muslim community, making it the largest, most comprehensive study of its kind.
The research suggests that conflict between Muslims and the West is not inevitable and, in fact, is more about policy than principles. “However,” caution Esposito and Mogahed, “until and unless decision makers listen directly to the people and gain an accurate understanding of this conflict, extremists on all sides will continue to gain ground.”
The study is divided into five key chapters, focusing on who Muslims are, what they believe and value; whether Islam is compatible with democracy; the nature of radicalism, what makes someone radical and the relationship between Islam and terrorism; what Muslim women want and how they view women’s rights, religion and the West; and, insights into the clash of civilizations – whether there really is one, whether the issue is about religion or politics, and possible solutions to the conflict.
Some of the key findings of the research include:
• Muslims and Americans are equally likely to reject attacks on civilians as morally unjustifiable.
• Large majorities of Muslims would guarantee free speech if it were up to them to write a new constitution and they say religious leaders should have no direct role in drafting that constitution.
• Muslims around the world say that what they least admire about the West is its perceived moral decay and breakdown of traditional values — the same answers that Americans themselves give when asked this question.
• When asked about their dreams for the future, Muslims say they want better jobs and security, not conflict and violence.
• Muslims say the most important thing Westerners can do to improve relations with their societies is to change their negative views toward Muslims and respect Islam.
“As our world spirals out of control with greater violence and misunderstanding between the West and the Muslim world, Who Speaks for Islam? cuts through the conflicting rhetoric of politicians and pundits and presents the often-silenced voice of Muslims everywhere,” says physician and author Deepak Chopra. “I cannot imagine a more important or more badly needed intervention.”
John L. Esposito is University Professor and a professor of religion and international affairs and of Islamic studies at Georgetown University and the founding director of Georgetown’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in the Walsh School of Foreign Service. He is also the past president of the Middle East Studies Association of North America and of the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies and a consultant to governments and multinational corporations. Esposito is editor in chief of
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World and
Oxford Islamic Studies Online. His more than 35 books include
What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam and
Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam.
Dalia Mogahed is a senior analyst and executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies (
www.gallupmuslimstudies.com). She leads the analysis of Gallup’s unprecedented study of more than 1 billion Muslims worldwide. Mogahed also directs the Muslim-West Facts Initiative (
www.muslimwestfacts.com), through which Gallup, in collaboration with The Coexist Foundation, is disseminating the findings of the Gallup World Poll to key opinion leaders in the Muslim World and the West. Her analysis has appeared in a number of leading publications, including
The Economist, the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy magazine, Harvard International Review, Middle East Policy, and many other academic and popular journals.
