religion is less central to everyday life for muslims in israel than elsewhere in the region _ pew...

8/16/2019 Religion is Less Central to Everyday Life for Muslims in Israel Than Elsewhere in the Region _ Pew Research Center

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/religion-is-less-central-to-everyday-life-for-muslims-in-israel-than-elsewhere 1/7

MAY 18, 2016

Religion is less central to everyday life forMuslims in Israel than elsewhere in theregionBY KELSEY JO STARR (HTTP://WWW.PEWRESEARCH.ORG/AUTHOR/KSTARR/)

http://www.pewresearch.org/author/kstarr/

http://www.pewresearch.org/



(http://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=280128)

Israel’s Muslims are highly devout when compared with

members of the country’s other principal religions,

including Jews, Christians and Druze. However, in the

larger context of the Middle East and North Africa,

Israeli Muslims actually place less emphasis on religion

and some of the key pillars of their faith than do

Muslims in neighboring countries.

For instance, while a majority of Israeli Muslims (68%) say religion is very important in their lives

(http://www.pewforum.org/2016/03/08/religious-commitment/#plurality-of-israeli-jews-say-religion-is-not-important-to-

them) , this share is substantially lower than the 89% who say the same in Morocco or the 85% in the nearby

http://www.pewforum.org/2016/03/08/religious-commitment/#plurality-of-israeli-jews-say-religion-is-not-important-to-them

http://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=280128



Palestinian territories and Jordan. Lebanon is the only

country polled in the region where a slim majority of

Muslims say religion is very important in their personal

lives (59%).

The fact that religion is generally less central to the lives

of Israeli Muslims is also borne out by the relatively low

rates of salat (five daily prayers), alms-giving and

fasting during Ramadan. Together, these practices

represent three of the Five Pillars of Islam — rituals all

Muslims are expected to observe.

(http://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=280127)

Roughly half (52%) of Israeli Muslims pray five times a

day, compared with a median of 63% among Muslims in

other Middle Eastern and North African countries

polled, including 83% in Iraq. Jordan and Egypt are the

only countries polled where the proportion of Muslims

who pray all five times stands at roughly half – 54% and

53% respectively.

Similarly, while a majority of Israeli Muslims give a

portion of their accumulated wealth to charities or the

needy (a practice known as zakat ), this is a significantly smaller proportion than is found among Muslims

elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa. A regional median of 79% of Muslims practice zakat, with rates of

observance as high as nine-in-ten in Morocco (92%).

In the case of fasting during Ramadan, Israel’s Muslims also tend to be less observant. While 83% of Israeli

Muslims do observe the ritual fast from dawn until dusk, this is a significantly smaller percentage than in Muslim-

majority countries such as Morocco (98%) and Tunisia (96%). A median of 94% across the Middle East and North

Africa say they fast during Ramadan.

In some cases, Israel’s Muslims are in sync with other Muslims in the region. For example, 97% of Israeli Muslims

say they believe there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is the prophet of Allah (two core beliefs that

constitute the shahada, or profession of faith). This closely matches the nearly 100% of Muslims surveyed across

http://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=280127



the Middle East and North Africa who also embrace this

central tenet of Islam.

Als o, Israeli Musli ms are somewhat more likely to

observe the final pillar of Islam – the annual pilgrimage

to Mecca – than Muslims in many nearby countries.

Nearly a quarter (23%) of Israeli Muslims have made the

hajj , compared with just a handful of Muslims in

Morocco (6%) and Tunisia (4%). Possibly owing to

proximity to Saudi Arabia, Israeli Muslims are about as

likely as Muslims in Egypt (20%) and Lebanon (20%)

to have completed the hajj.



POSTS EMAIL @KELSEYJOSTARR

Kelsey Jo Starr (http://www.pewresearch.org/author/kstarr/)is a research assistant focusing on

religion at Pew Research Center.

.

8 Comments

Michael Glass • 1 day ago (#comment-669252)

If rates of religious observance are less in Israel than in neighbouring Arab countries then it would be

interesting to find out what happens to rates of observance amongst Muslims in Western countries.

What are the rates of observance amongst Muslims in Europe, North America and Australia? How do they

compare with the rates in Israel and in Muslim countries in the Middle East? Also, how do they compare

between the Western countries. Are Muslims less or more observant in the US compared with Canada, the UK

and Europe? Are the rates any different in Australia and New Zealand? Also, what about non=Arabic speaking

Muslim countries. How observant are Muslims in Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh?

This article is interesting, but I would like to have a wider picture of Muslim practice.

Reply

Zackarias William Cosby • 21 hours ago (#comment-669275)

I agree, though I appreciate the information this article conveys as it stands! Comparing the observance

rates of the religious across borders is something I find uniquely interesting.

A quick search of the Pew Research website found a few articles that delve further into how strict even

more Middle Eastern nations are regarding Islam. You might also be able to piece together some of the

information on your own regarding other continents as well if you type in Islam in Europe and Islam in

North America. Those both return relevant results.

Reply

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/05/18/religion-muslims-israel/?replytocom=669275#respond



https://twitter.com/KelseyJoStarr

http://www.pewresearch.org/contact-form/#Kelsey-Jo-Starr




Charlie Sitzes • 5 days ago (#comment-669004)

Here’s the thing. If Muslims were all accidentally switched at birth and sent home with, say, a Baptist or a

Methodist, they would all be either a Baptist or a Methodist.

Children are indoctrinated into religion before their minds have developed enough for critical thinking, logic

and reason. It’s just another example of child abuse. If religious leaders and families had the courage to wait

until their children were in their mid to late 20’s, the amount of time it takes for full brain development,religion would soon disappear.

As it stands now, our species is likely to disappear first.

What a tragedy.

Reply

Jim McLaughlin • 4 days ago (#comment-669062)

I agree 100% with you – including the child abuse comment. As the Jesuits supposedly say, “Give us achild until he(or she) is seven years-old and we will have them for life.

Reply

Anonymous • 4 days ago (#comment-669120)

Perfectly said.

Reply

Anonymous • 2 days ago (#comment-669192)

There are plenty of people who undergo religious conversions after their twenties, some from irreligious

backgrounds or after periods of irreligion. For example Steve Beren, Eugene D. Genovese, David P.

Goldman, Will Herberg, Peter Hitchens, Gabriel Marcel, Allan R. Sandage, R. J. Stove, and others.

But on some level, yeah people go with the culture they’re raised in. If you took the Muslims of the Arab

world and raised them with American-born Muslim families they’ll more likely end up as English-

speaking. And they’ll be unlikely to “convert out of that” and become Arab-only speakers. Kids tend to

be raised by parents so even if parents try to let them “find their own way” many of them will at least

initially go with their parents, or their greater society, believes.

Reply





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