Statistical Research Report

March 2012

Statistical Report

With the dawn of modern dawah efforts and the entry of high quality television, Internet and print media from the Muslim community, there has been a renaissance in the call to Islam. Muslims are now using high quality and ‘innovative’ methods to showcase the beauty of Islam to non Muslims. By the grace of Allah, much of this effort is yielding fruit and we see a growing presence of new Muslims across the world. However, there is very little support for the Muslims once they enter the fold of Islam, and as a consequence we are unfortunately seeing alarming rates of people leaving their faith. According to a study, a striking 75% of converts to Islam leave within the first 3 years of becoming a Muslim.

In August of 2011, New Muslim Care was launched as a direct result of this poor retention. New Muslim Care’s objectives are to lower this through providing new Muslims the much needed support in all aspects of life.

New Muslim Care is inspired by the contributions of the Ansaar of Madinah, who opened their arms to their brethren migrating from Makkah. They shared their land, wealth, family and livelihoods and ultimately gave them a chance to practice Islam freely. The Ansaar made Madinah a fertile ground for New Muslims to live Islam; they embraced them into their families, became their brothers and sisters - bonds stronger than blood relations. It was their generosity and kindness that made the lives of the Muhajirun easily adaptable to Islam. New Muslim Care is inspired from that successful model, that model created by our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

In order to establishe the program upon a foundation that understands the concerns of new Muslims, the proceeding research project was conducted. It is our belief that born Muslims have a responsibility to assist new Muslims when they enter the fold of Islam and at present this has not been adequately fulfilled. Group 1 - Perceptions • Have you ever helped a New The Survey Muslim with any of the below mentioned items, if so select the In March of 2012 New Muslim Care commissioned a ones you helped with? research project to be developed on the conditions • How many Shahadah’s have you of new Muslims. The Question Process prompty witnessed? began, with four groups of questions offered to • How many converts do you know? born Muslims and new Muslims gathering both • How many Converts have you seen the perceptions and real experiences of conversion or know about who have left Islam? aftermath. • How many times have you invited a New Muslim to your home or a party you organized? The Question Process • How many Masjids/Community Centres in your area that are easily accessible to you? Group 1 - Perceptions: General perception • Why do you think so many questions are developed to elaborate on whether Converts leave Islam? the challenges faced by new Muslims are known • Want to share any story about to born Muslims and how they have provided a Convert that you know about assistance to ease these challenges. The objective personally? is to compare these results with similar questions posed to new Muslims to determine if there is a inconsistency between perceived challenges and Group 2 - Experiences those that are directly experienced. • How did you first hear about Islam? • Through what medium has Islamic Group 2 - Experiences: Experience questions are knowledge primarily reached you? commissioned to new Muslims aiming to extract • What is the biggest problem you faced since becoming a Muslim? the authentic experience upon entering the fold • How often do you visit the Masjid of Islam. These questions will reveal the exact or other Muslims? challenges and repercussions of this new life • After becoming a Muslim have you choice as well as the areas of greatest concern. It is faced any emotional/physical also integral to observe where respondents have abuse? received initial Islamic information and where the • How close do you feel to the continuous source lies to determine the exact point Muslim community in your area? of discongruity. • When converting to Islam have you faced any negative repercussions/ Group 3 - Educational Subjects: Islamic Education feedback? is fundamental for new Muslims to explore in their first years. Questions are developed to determine Group 3 - Educational Subjects what the topics understood to be the greatest • In your opinion, how important is it interest in the first year of becoming a new Muslim to learn the following subjects are. This provides invalue insight when considering a within the first year of becoming a framework for a structured curriculum. Muslim. Aqeedah (Creed/Belief) Group 4 - Demographics: Demographics such Salah (Prayer) as age, ethnicity, and gender will be matched Quran (Arabic) with respondents. This will provide insight on the Acts of Worship makeup of the survey pool allowing New Muslim Seerah of the Prophet Care to identify regions or age groups of interest.

Group 4 - Demographics • Which Geographical Area do you Challenges live in? • What is your Age? One of the anticipated challenges with the survey • What is your Ethnicity will be to ensure there is an appreciable respondent • What is your Gender base. It will be difficult to survey new Muslims on the ground due to a scattered population, thus expect learning to read the Quran in the we will expedite the survey online. However, Arabic language and Prayer as the most naturally, those in the circles of New Muslim popular responses opposed to those that Care will be self-selected into this pool. are more spiritual in nature such as Aqeedah Additionally, we expect there to be many or Seerah. out-of-country outliers whose data is less relevant to the study. Demographically we expect the respondants to be from a very close geographical To increase survey participation, the number location from our head office in Toronto, of questions will be kept short while this will Canada or at least in the North American result in less control questions that would region as we release the survey initially to raise confidence in conclusions. our own audience via our own social media outlets and local paid advertising.

Our Expectations The majority of the respondents are also expected to be between the ages of 19 and Our expectation is that there will be an 25, as releasing the survey mainly through inconsistency between the perception born social media would automatically select a Muslims have on the challenged faced by younger demographic. new Muslims and those experienced. We expect a great number of the challenges would be underestimated in the minds Methodology of born Muslims. We also expect born Muslims will generally assist new Muslims • Sample of respondents: 61% were born in predominantly Islamic Education and Muslim and 39% were new Muslims. not in any other aspects, such as social • The survey was collected online to fulfillment, financial assistance, or emotional minimize selection bias on the part counselling. of the surveyor. • Demographic data was collected and cross tabulated with responses. Questions will be developed to discover whether a strong or weak connection exists between born Muslims and new 3 Questions of Interest Muslims with Islamic Community Centres and Mosques. This will control for a survey Consistency: Are the challenges faced base that lacks close proximity where new by new Muslims consistent with those Muslims often enter the fold of Islam in perceived by born Muslims? Are born or around. If the respondents lack close Muslims aware of the plight of new Muslims proximity to Islamic Community Centres or and how well do they provide assistance? Mosques we would expect less interaction between both groups. Integration: How well are new Muslims integrated? Do they continue to receive The challenges faced by new Muslims upon information from the same source of entering the fold of Islam are expected conversion? Are they connected to Islamic to be predominantly within their families Community Centres or Mosques? What are and friendships. However, we will provide the challenges faced? responses for all scenarios (education, food, family, financial etc..). We also expect that Educational Subjects: Lastly, out of the top new Muslims will respond to feeling great Educational topics, what is perceived as the neglect from the Muslim Community and most important to learn in the first year for a not attend Islamic Community Centres or new Muslim? Mosques on a regular basis.

Of Educational topics new Muslims have keen interest in learning in the first year, we Group 1: Perceptions Retention Rate How many Converts have you seen or know about who have left Islam?

“I know 5 - 10 “I know 10 + who have left” who have left” 6% 4%

“I know 1 - 5 who have left” 30% 60% “None”

Figure 1.A

Out of the respondent answers showed in Figure 1.A, the results indicate that 40% knew one or more converts who left the fold of Islam, opposed to 60% who did not. Although the responses indicate a lower percentage for those who have left Islam, 10% of those respondents knew 5 + individuals each (4% knew 10 +). This is a remarkably high percentage of individuals who know others who have left Islam and indicates that the number of individuals who have remained in Islam after conversion is likely not very high.

On the other hand, many of those who responded knowing 5 or more individuals could be answering as such due to access to their information via YouTube or other social media networks. The individuals may have not “known” them, but could count a few popular individuals, thus indicating over 5 in this survey.

According to Figure 1.B & Figure 1.C presented on the adjacent page, the results show us that the group was mixed: some had experience with new Muslims and others did not. Around 40% had never witnessed a Shahadah and 17% had indicated they did not know any new Muslims. How many Shahadah’s have you witnessed?

“I have witnessed 6 - 10” “I have witnessed 11 +” 4% 9% “I have 47% witnessed 1 - 5” 40%

“None” Figure 1.B

How many Converts do you know?

“I know 6 - 10 converts”

11%

“None” 17% 51% “I know 1 - 5 converts”

20%

“I know 11 + Figure 1.C converts” Group 1: Perceptions Assistance Areas Have you ever helped a New Muslim with any of the below mentioned items, if so select the ones you helped with?

Figure 1.D Lack of Knowledge 17% about Islam 28% 12% None 9% 18% Social Reasons 16%

Emotional Reasons Figure 1.D reveals a relatively uniform distribution of socio-economic and emotional assistance areas. That is, for those questioned in this survey, emotional, social, All of the Above or financial support was offered almost uniformly.

Knowledge in Islam was the highest area of assistance- by at least 10 percent. This result was expected as Financial Reasons reaching out to a counterpart for knowledge in Islam is less daunting as it may be for financial or emotional reasons. It is also an area born Muslims might offer their assistance more readily.

Figure 1.D reveals that 9% of born Muslims assisted a new Muslim in all of the areas mentioned “All of the above”. This gives us valuable insight that at least 9% knew the challenge areas for new Muslims.

Additionally, 17% Indicated they had not helped with any of these areas, which is consistent with the results from Figure 1.C where exactly 17% indicated they did not know any new Muslims. How many Mosques/Community Centres in your area are easily accessible to you? “None” “5 +” 9% 28%

33% “1 - 2”

30%

“3 - 4” Figure 1.E

How many times have you invited a New Muslim to your home or a party you organized? “I have invited 11 + times” 13% “I have invited 6 - 10 times” 6% 44% “None”

37% “I have invited 1 - 5 times” Figure 1.F

The top graph, Figure 1.E indicates two things. Firstly, the pool of Muslims questioned in this survey were of the vast majority who had easy access to a community centre or a mosque, a primary access point for new Muslims.

Figure 1.F reveals that a sizeable amount of respondents in this survey had never invited a new Muslim to their own home or party that they organized. This represents a failure in catering to the socializing needs of a new Muslim. In comparison with Figure 1.D, one will find that only 17% of Muslims had not known a new Muslim, leaving over a quarter of Muslims who met new Muslims failing to ever invite them to their own social gatherings. Group 1: Perceptions Qualitative Results Why do you think so many Converts leave Islam?

“Because there is not much support out there. Many people who revert lose the support of their family and it’s hard to cope. There is a massive stigma with reverts for some reason people will say “ oh Masha Allah, so wonderful that you have reverted” but they do not want to marry you or marry their sons and daughters. Also as a revert many people question your motives, “why did you convert, did you meet a Muslim boy?”. I think that question is rude- the only reason one should ever revert it because of faith and love of Allah, believing in the oneness of Allah, the veracity of the Quran and the Prophet ( saw) is the last messaged of Allah- there is other reason to revert.”

“Because of racism in the Ummah, not having Muslim friends, Not having any- body to guide them except for the Internet. There is no personal connection, then going to the Mosque and finding it very cliquish where you just don’t feel like you fit in. Its not really an Ummah for the reverts/converts.”

“Before they became Muslim they were given lots of Dawah about Islam. After they took their Shahadah and became Muslim people stop giving Dawah & your left to find your own way, your expected to figure everything out on your own. There is no support network to help them learn & strengthen their Imaan. They need someone to take them under their wings & teach them what they need to know to be a good practicing Muslim.”

“Lack of support from the Mosques and Muslims in the community”

“Family may disown them due to their decisions.”

“I didn’t know that many converts leave Islam. I honestly can’t see why anyone would leave the truth. But, I would have to guess because of family and peer pressure.”

“Because they don’t have have an Islamic community to get involved with, they convert to Islam but don’t integrate with Muslims, they are just left with the same company that they were with before.”

Also they are affected by the media and the portrayal of Islam and Muslims so they start having doubts about Islam. “ Want to share any story about a Convert that you about personally?

“The lady became a Muslim after studying the religion by being friend with Mus- lim she said she discovered that Muslims are equal whenever they want to pray. No boss, no servant because even messenger in the office can lead a prayer with all superior officers behind him. Once he has more knowledge, and this changes her mind to become a Muslim and she decided to join the religion of Islam be- cause everyone is equal in front of Allah.”

“I know a sister who converted when she was 16 years old. Her family kicked her out. However, she had some of us, the Muslim sisters to help her to live at least with the basic necessities of life. She had joined Islamic institutes and now a practicing Muslim than most of us. MashaAllah. If it wasn’t for her Muslim reliable friends and support group she would have left Islam in the beginning stage of her new life. “

“A family of only two daughters, the the eldest is married, she and her husband decided to convert to Islam. just imagined the reaction of her mother and sister, the critics and so on, but after a few months the younger sister converted to Islam much to the dismay of her mother than followed by the elder and her hus- band. now their mother is interested in Islam, my dua she will convert, inshallah!”

“My husband is a revert, although he tried to be a good Muslim his Imaan is very weak. He has a bad weed habit that I am trying to get him to quit. But it feels like a losing battle because the so-called Muslims he keeps as company also smoke weed. I told my local imam about our situation & his response was for me to divorce him. This I thought to be very unhelpful advice as my husband isn’t a bad man, he just needs the right support & guidance from good Muslim brothers to help him give up his bad habits from his days of jahilliyah.”

“I’m a convert and the hardest part was knowing if something was actually right when someone was advising me. At first I believed everyone and took every- thing but nobody was there to tell me to read on my own. Or gave me books from reliable sources and I was heavily influenced by cultural Islam :( “ Group 2: Experiences Challenges What is the biggest challenge you faced since becoming a Muslim?

Emotional Food Issues Problems 5% Social/Family Problems Neglect by 8% Muslim 23% Community 9%

Marriage 11% 15% Learning about Islam 14% 15% Lonliness/ Depression No support structure

Figure 2.A

Figure 2.A above reflects a relatively uniform challenge base with the difference between each only a few percentage points. This data indicates that all the challenges in the question are those important for born Muslims to take notice of.

Surprisingly, social and family problems was the popular response in comparison to learning about Islam by 8 percent, contrary to our expectations. No support structure also tied with learning about Islam. The respondents were less likely to experience neglect by the Muslim community at 9%, along with emotional and food issues.

This figure indicates there is a need to cater to all areas of concern, with emphasis on supporting a new Muslim suffering from social or family problems. How did you first hear about Islam?

50 Figure 2.B 42%

40 42% - From a Friend 31% 2% - Mosque 30 9% - University/ College 20 15% 2% - On the Street 9% 15% - Media 10 31% - Other 2% 2% From a Friend Mosque College or University On the Street Media Other 0 Through what medium has Islamic knowledge primarily reached you?

25 Figure 2.C 22% 15% - From a Friend 20 11% - Mosque 3% - Islamic Institutes 15% 5% - Television 15 10% - On on one 8% - Islamic Teacher(s) 11% 10% 22% - Online 10 8% 6% - Social Media 7% 7% - Audio Lectures 6% 6% 5% 4% - Networking 5 4% 3% 6% - Other Other 0 From a Friend Mosque Institutes Television One on one Teacher(s) Islamic Online Social Media LecturesAudio Networking Figure 2.B and Figure 2.C demonstrate whether the initial point of learning about Islam was the continuing primary source of Islamic information. According to these figures, the overwhelming majority at 42% indicated they received Islamic information from a friend. In Figure 2.C , only 15% indicated their friends as being the primary medium they receive Islamic knowledge from. Rather, there was an enormous jump to Islamic Education via websites and other Online portals. These figures also reveal that although only 2% of the respondents had received their initial source of Islamic information through Mosques, according to Figure 2.C, Mosques jumped to the third highest point of receiving Islamic Knowledge. This indicates that new Muslims do at some point after conversion interact in Mosques. Group 2: Experiences Social Connections When converting to Islam, who have you primarily faced negative repercussions/feedback from?

“All of the above” “Strangers” 13% “Muslims” 19%

14%

28% 26% “Family”

“Friends/ Colleagues/ Coworkers” Figure 2.D

Figure 2.D reveals the source of any negative repercussions or feedback. Overwhelmingly, the source has been from someone close to them, with 28% being their own family members and 26% being friends, colleagues, or coworkers whom new Muslims may deal with on a daily basis. This figure represents the deterioration of the family and social structure which they are once use to.

Additionally, according to Figure 2.E nearly one half of the respondents admitted to facing emotional abuse, while 10% preferred not to say.

Figure 2.F & Figure 2.E reveal how well a new Muslim has adapted into the Muslim community. The responses demostrate there is a great disparity among new Muslims. Just over a quarter had indicated feeling isolated, 36% indicated feeling very close, and a remaining 38% responded to neither isolated nor very close. After becoming a How close do you Muslim have you faced feel to the Muslim any emotional/physical Community in your abuse? area?

“Prefer not to say” “Isolated” 10% “Very “No” 26% Close” 36% 50% 40% “Yes” 38% “Neither”

Figure 2.E Figure 2.F

How often do you visit the Mosque or other Muslims?

“10 - 15 times a month” “Have lost touch 14% with community” 26%

“16 + times a 16% month” 21% 23% “1 - 2 times a month”

“3 - 5 times a month” Figure 2.G

In this figure we find that just over a quarter lost touch with the community. On the other hand a combined 84% visit the Mosque at least once a month, and 31% visit the mosque at least 10 times a month. Group 3: Educational Subjects Educational Subjects In your opinion, how important is it to learn the following subjects within the first year of becoming a Muslim. Aqeedah (Creed/Belief)

3 - 5% 2 - 3% 4 - 7%

1 (least) - 10% 9 1 3 2 4 3 6 4 75% 78 5 5 - Most Figure 3.A

Salah Quran (Arabic Reading)

1 (least) - 4% 2 - 1% 1 (least) 3 - 7% 5 (Most) 4 - 7% 2 9% 7 14% 1 9 36% 3 13 7 81% 19%19 81 3 22 22% 36

5 (Most) 4

Figure 3.B Figure 3.C 1 Least Important 3 Most Important 5

Seerah of the Prophet Acts of Worship

1 (least) - 3% 2 - 6% 2 - 7% 1 (least) - 3%

3 3 7 6 13% 3 17% 3 13 17 43% 58% 19 31 19% 4 58 31% 43 5 (Most) 5 (Most) 4

Figure 3.D Figure 3.E

The majority of the subjects were considered of importance. The most surprising result was in learning to read the Quran in Arabic. Only 36% of new Muslims felt that learning to read the Quran in Arabic was important in the first year. On the other hand, 81% of them said learning how to perform the prayer was most important. Acts of worship was also a popular choice as 58% said it was important to learn in the first year. 43% of respondents also felt that the Seerah of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, was also very important to learn in the first year. Group 4: Demographics Demographics

Age Distribution Figure 4.A

33% 35 32% 30 25 20 15% 15 10% 10 8% 5 0.5% 0 14 - 18 19 - 25 26 - 35 36 - 45 46 - 55 55 +

Gender Figure 4.B

58% 60

50 42%

40

30

20

10

0 Male Female Ethnicity Figure 4.C

20% 20 18% 17%

15 10%

10% 10

African American African 7% 6% 5 4% 2% 2% African Caucasian Latin Eastern Middle North African Other South Asian Asian Indian West 0

Regional Distribution Figure 4.D

40% 40 35 30 25 20 14% 15 9% 11% 7% 8% 10 6%

5 2% 1% North America South Asia South East Asia Europe America South East Middle Africa Australia Other 0 Qualitative Results If you have one advice to give to New Muslims or Born Muslims in dealing with Converts what would it be?

“Support the converts. We are not knowledgeable but eagerly seek it and its so important that we get the correct knowledge from the correct sources. And please make us feel welcome.”

“to listen to their concerns and not judge them. To not force them into anything. The most important knowledge I received was that i should verify everything that is said to me to be sure it is authentic.”

“Be soft with them, show them the correct way of doing something with a soft way. I had a very bad experience with an Imam who screamed at me and humiliated me for not doing something correctly at Mecca... I was so upset and hid my face behind my hijab and cried till I left. Alhamdulillah this was not my first visit to the Kabbah and the fist time was a very positive experience, however if this had of been my first visit I would have left Makkah with a heavy heart and this could have been such bad example to me Another thing would be to call a convert every Friday and invite them to the mosque with you. But the best thing you can do for a new convert is to be a perfect example of how a Muslim should be... “

“Make them feel welcome, they need to make the changes in their life in their own time so avoid overloading them with information about all the things they can no longer do as this could push them away.”

“Please don’t judge them as that is Allah’s right. Teach then not taunt them. Treat them with respect. They are humans after all. They are created by Allah”

“Please try to be kind and supportive. Many of us feel very alone in the world after converting. We have all sorts of issues that we are dealing with that you may have no idea about and we can feel very shy about seeking out friends in the Muslim community for a number of reasons (we don’t speak Arabic, we don’t know how we are supposed to pray, we are afraid to make mistakes, etc). A smile and a welcoming word is much appreciated...it can make all the difference in whether we stay in the faith or whether we feel so alone we think about abandoning it.” “To new Muslims put your trust in Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alaa) & ask him to guide you to the truth insha’Allah. To born Muslims dealing with reverts don’t judge us before you get to know us.”

“Make us feel welcome and not like lesser Muslims. Show interest in our reasoning. Extend to us the brotherhood that is incumbent upon all Muslims. Be patient with our lack of knowledge in the beginning; we want to learn, but it takes time and effort.”

“To be patient and friendly. To keep in touch with them on a regular basis but at the same time not to be too pushy or judgmental. Not to assume anything. For example, I would have people come up to me more than five years after I converted and they would ask me if they could teach me how to pray without knowing a thing about me. Being a friend, someone who you can learn from but also just be around and be in good company with is very important.”

“Be patient. Arabic is a very difficult language to speak or read. As a female in America the transformation is dramatic . I even speak differently. “

“Please understand, as the Imam states we are like new born baby’s We know very little about the faith, what we are aware of is that something amazing is happening to us, and we need people to be gentle in their approach and introduction of new material.Some people although their intention may be good, try to force so much too quickly. Speaking as a sister:) I certainly needed to give my mind time to catch up with my heart for the matter of Hijab. The most crucial attention should be placed on trying to separate cultural and Islam. For me Islam is perfect on its own, why scar it with traditions that don’t reflect the true intention. I do hope this is helpful.”

“For Born Muslims, please help us as much as possible with any knowledge that you have to offer or just anything that you think may help. And also know that it’s greatly appreciated. For New Muslim, take in as much as you can get and make sure that you thank and show appreciation to Born Muslims for their help.”

“Take the initiative to contact reverts; most are too shy to initiate conversations themselves with other Muslims, and most have trouble asking for help.” Results

with their families. Other results reflected Outcomes less congruity. For example born Muslims indicated they helped new Muslims with Consistency: Are the challenges faced Islamic knowledge 28% of the time while by new Muslims consistent with those new Muslims indicated this was a problem perceived by born Muslims? Are born 15% of the time. That is a 13% inconsistency. Muslims aware of the plight of new Muslims and how well do they provide assistance? The results also indicated born Muslims were generally connected to at least one Islamic According to the results of the study, born Community Centre or Mosque where they Muslims reported to be familiar with the could encounter new Muslims. However, challenge faced by new Muslims. The according to the data, a sizeable quantity reponses indicated that the areas they did not engage with the new Muslims as one offered support were consistent with those would hope. Approximately 44% had not marked as challenges by new Muslims. invited a new Muslim to their own home or Approximately 40% of born Muslims had party they organized. seen or heard about a new Muslim who left Islam. This indicates that they were exposed Integration: How well are new Muslims to the negative consequences of an absent integrated? Do they continue to receive support mechanism. information from the same source of conversion? Are they connected to Islamic This particular pool of Muslims reported Community Centres or Mosques? What are to know at least 1 new Muslim, with only the challenges faced? 17% indicating they did not know any new Muslims. When a new Muslim first receives information about Islam, it is commonly Born Muslims faired relatively well in reported to be a friend or colleague who is providing assistance. Only 17% had indicated close to them. The data indicates that this that they had not assisted a new Muslim expectation is true. Futhermore the data with any of the problem areas. For those showed that the “friend” did not always questioned in this survey emotional, social, remain their primarily source of Islamic or financial support was generally offered information. When asked which medium uniformly. Education however, was offered at new Muslims primarily received Islamic a much greater rate, 10 percent more. information through, “Online” was the popular source. “From a friend” fell to second The areas born Muslims assisted new place as they no longer were the popular Muslims with were consistent with the source of Islamic information. experienced challenges. In comparing “Have you ever helped a New Muslim with any of There was a large variance within the the below mentioned items, if so select the group on how close they felt to the Muslim ones you helped with?” and “What is the Community, 26% felt they were isolated, biggest challenge you faced since becoming 36% felt they were very close and 38% stated a Muslim?” the respondents conformed they were not isolated nor very close. This is very closely. For example, born Muslims indicative that although born Muslims have indicated that they assisted new Muslims done an adequate job with a portion of the 18% of the time with social and family issues. new Muslim population, there remains a New Muslims indicated that 23% of the sizeable isolated portion. time the challenges they faced were in their family units. This is a recognized challenge: The majority of respondents also indicated new Muslims face extreme difficulties that they had not been emotionally or how to deal with family and social pressures, physically abused, with 40% stating that they should be more widely available in the had experienced abuse. Muslim community.

The majority of new Muslims went to the Secondly, new Muslims felt their needs have Mosque at least once a month while 26% not been adequately fulfilled by the Muslim had indicated that they lost touch with the Community. They indicated in numerous community. qualitative questions that Muslims are sometimes discriminatory or they do not Educational Subjects: Lastly, out of the top create a welcoming atmosphere for those Educational topics, what is perceived as the who have entered the fold of Islam. most important to learn in the first year for a new Muslim? Thirdly, new Muslims lean toward prayer and other spiritually uplifting subjects like The majority of the subjects were perceived Aqeedah and Seerah when rating what they to be of importance in the first years. Results feel is important to learn in the first year. were as expected save for learning to read the Quran in Arabic. According to the results, These results indicate that it is time to usher only 36% felt it was very important. The in a program that allows born Muslims to vast majority had given it varying degrees ensure that no new Muslim is left behind between 1 - 4 on it’s importance. On the and their needs are sufficiently fulfilled. New other hand, the group agreed (81%) that Muslim Care will continue to strive to serve learning how to perform the prayer was the needs of the new Muslim community to essential. improve retention and support.

Demographic Results Majority of those surveyed were females at 58% and between the ages 19 - 35 at 65%. Report Summary The majority of the pool was from North America as expected and were of South 40% - I know at least 1 new Muslim who Asian (18%), Caucasian (17%), and of other has left the fold of Islam. descent (20%). 28% - I have helped a new Muslim with Islamic Knowledge. Qualitative Results The response rate on qualitative questions 18% - I have helped a new Muslim with was 62%. According to these responses the social problems. reasons indicated by born Muslims to explain 44% - I have never invited a new Muslim to why they would leave Islam were consistent my home or a party I organized. with the challenges faced by new Muslims. 23% - As a new Muslim, Social and Family Additionally, the advice given to both new Problems is one of the greatest challenges Muslims and born Muslims was majority faced. of the time to create a more welcoming atmosphere with support and friendship 28% - As a new Muslim, I primarily face negative repercussions/feedback from readily available. Family. 14% - As a new Muslim, I primarily face Conclusion negative repercussions/feedback from Muslims. Taking all these responses together, there 40% As a new Muslim, I have faced are 3 primary lessons to be learnt. The first emotional/physical abuse. of which is that born Muslims are somewhat aware of the challenges faced by new 26% - As a new Muslim, I feel very isolated from the Muslim Community. Muslims, but not entirely acute to these. Education available to train born Muslims 26% - As a new Muslim, I have lost touch on the plight of new Muslims, specifically, with the Muslim Community.