Muslim Population in the U.S.: A 250-Year History

Historians estimate that Muslims — mostly enslaved West Africans from Senegambia, along the Guinea coast, and the Sahel — numbered in the low thousands across the thirteen colonies at independence.

The Atlantic slave trade brought a substantial Muslim population, especially to the Georgia and Carolina lowcountry. Documented Muslim figures include Bilali Muhammad, Omar ibn Said, and Salih Bilali.

Arab immigrants — largely from Greater Syria — arrived through Ellis Island. Many were Christian, but Muslim families settled from North Dakota to Michigan, founding some of America's earliest mosques.

The Immigration and Nationality Act ended national-origin quotas, opening the door for Muslims from South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. American conversion movements also grew rapidly.

Pew Research's first major national estimate placed the U.S. Muslim adult population at 1.5 million, with a total (including children) of roughly 2.35 million.

Muslims made up about 1.1% of the total U.S. population. Roughly 58% were foreign-born, and the community was among the most racially and ethnically diverse religious groups in the country. This is the most citable headline figure.

Pew projects U.S. Muslims will reach roughly 8.1 million (about 2.1% of the population) by 2050, and become the second-largest U.S. religious group by around 2040.

The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) and other demographers cite 4.5–4.8 million American Muslims — a modeled estimate that runs higher than Pew's 2017 survey figure. Use Pew's 3.45M/1.1% as the citable headline.