Muslims now form the largest minority religion in the United States, with an estimated 6 million followers. An estimated 400,000 live in the Chicago area. Because the Islamic faith is not only a religion, but a way of life for more than 1 billion people worldwide, measuring the exact numbers--and the rate of growth--is difficult. The number of mosques in the United States has grown from a relatively small number in 1960 to more than 2,000 today, said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. There are about 90 mosques in the Chicago area. The number of Muslim families in Naperville alone has nearly doubled, to 500, in the past five years, said Kareem Irfan of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago. |