2000: Increasing Number of US Mosques Favorable to Radical Islamist Teachings, Survey Finds

A survey of the 1,200 mosques in the US done by four Muslim organizations finds that 2 million Muslims are “associated” with a mosque and 70 percent of mosque leaders are generally favorable toward fundamentalist teachings. Furthermore, 21 percent follow the radical Islamist practice known as Wahhabism. The survey finds the segregation of women for prayers is spreading, from half of the mosques in 1994 to two-thirds six years later. Many of the more fundamentalist leaning mosques, such as the $8 million King Fahd mosque in the Los Angeles area (see June 9, 2000), are funded by the Saudi government. The Saudi government also pays for a large amount of religious literature distributed in the US that promotes the Saudi version of Islam. [Washington Post, 8/19/2004]