United States, Islamic Schools in

Nearly 300 full-time Islamic schools have been established in the United States over the last several decades. Despite increases in Muslim home-schooling—and the recent establishment of the first Muslim American college—the history of Islamic schooling in the United States is almost exclusively tied to Islamic parochial schooling at the primary and secondary levels; and, moreover, it is now estimated that 10 such schools are established every year. Islamic schools currently cater to the educational and religious needs of only about 5% of all Muslim American children. Not only do most continue to attend some form of public school, debates continue among Muslim Americans over whether such schools are preferable alternatives to an American public education.

Islamic schooling in the United States is best understood within a ...