Muslim-Americans more philanthropic than general population: study

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Muslim-Americans are more philanthropic than the general population, a study has indicated.

Sponsored by the Islamic Relief USA non-profit, the Oct. 26 survey from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis’s Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, found that on average, Muslims gave $1,810 to faith-based causes compared to $1,138 given by non-Muslims.

When looking at non-faith-based causes, Muslims gave $1,400 compared to non-Muslims who donated $767. Unlike non-Muslims, however, Muslims gave more to overseas causes than domestic, the study found.

Asked what motivated them to give, more than 85% of Muslim-American respondents said they donate "because I feel compassion toward people in need" compared to about 75% of non-Muslims who said the same.

Still, 60% of Muslims cited tax deductions as a motivating factor, compared to just over 50% of non-Muslims.

Muslims make up around 1% of the overall US population. The web-based survey included about 2,000 adults, half of which were Muslim, from across the US.

Roughly 8% of Muslim giving goes to civil rights causes, which the study’s authors said “suggests that much of Muslim-American giving goes towards fighting Islamophobia and cementing their position in the US.”

“Islamophobia is a critical issue that Muslims have faced even before the events of 9/11. Therefore, a large proportion of their faith-based giving goes towards fighting these issues,” Shariq Siddiqui and Rafeel Wasif wrote in a blog post.