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What percentage of US Muslims support sharia law according to the 2015 survey?
Executive summary
The 2015 survey most often cited by critics is a December 2015 online poll from the Center for Security Policy which reported that 51% of the 600 U.S. Muslim respondents agreed “Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to shariah” [1]. Major research organizations such as Pew and Reuters report broader global and regional patterns about support for making sharia the law of the land, but available sources do not mention a Pew or similar national-probability U.S. Muslim percentage from 2015 that directly contradicts or confirms the CSP’s 51% figure [2] [3].
1. What the December 2015 Center for Security Policy (CSP) poll reported — headline figure and method
The CSP’s December 2015 nationwide online survey of 600 Muslims living in the United States reported that a “majority (51%) agreed that ‘Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to shariah’” and also highlighted other alarming findings in its write-up, such as a claim that nearly one-fifth of respondents justified violence to make sharia the law of the land [1]. The CSP posted the topline numbers and framed its reporting as showing “ominous levels” of support [1]. The source is an advocacy think tank’s online poll of a modest sample [4], conducted and publicized by the Center for Security Policy itself [1].
2. What major academic and media surveys say — broader context, different questions
Large, widely cited surveys about sharia come from the Pew Research Center’s cross‑country work and related reporting. Pew’s global Muslim survey (reported in 2013 and summarized later) found that many Muslims in a number of countries want sharia to be the official law of their country and that support varies strongly by region and question wording; it emphasized that interpretations of “sharia” vary and that most Muslims do not think sharia should apply to non‑Muslims [2] [3]. Reuters summarized these Pew findings, noting regional medians (e.g., high support in South Asia) and that many respondents see sharia primarily in family/property contexts rather than criminal punishments [3]. These are not U.S.-only national-probability surveys of American Muslims from 2015, however [2] [3].
3. Why question wording and sample matter — contrasting interpretations
Surveys that ask whether sharia should be “the law of the land,” whether Muslims should have “the choice” to be governed by sharia, or whether certain sharia-based practices should apply produce very different percentages, and researchers warn that respondents may mean family law or moral guidance rather than codified criminal penalties [2] [3]. The CSP poll’s phrasing—“Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to shariah”—is different from asking whether U.S. law should be replaced or whether sharia should apply to non‑Muslims; available sources note that such nuances change results but do not provide an independent reanalysis of the CSP question [2] [3] [1].
4. Strengths and limitations of the CSP finding
Strength: the CSP poll gives a specific, easily cited figure (51%) and flags other concerning responses in its sample [1]. Limitations: it’s an online survey of 600 people run by an advocacy group with a clear security-focused agenda; the CSP’s presentation is advocacy‑oriented and frames the results as “ominous,” which indicates an implicit policy and security framing that readers should factor in [1]. The CSP methodology details and weighting choices are not fully summarized in the reporting snippet provided here, and independent large-probability national surveys of U.S. Muslims from 2015 with directly comparable questions are not cited in the available sources [1] [2].
5. What reputable, broader studies say about Americans and Muslims on sharia (and what’s not found here)
Pew’s large international study documented widespread support for making sharia official in many majority-Muslim countries but stressed variability by country and by what “sharia” means in practice; Pew’s reporting also highlights that many Muslims think sharia shouldn’t apply to non‑Muslims [2] [3]. Reuters and VOA reporting echo that nuance [3] [5]. Available sources do not supply a different, nationally representative U.S. Muslim statistic for 2015 from Pew or Gallup to confirm or refute the CSP’s 51% figure; therefore claims that the CSP number is definitively right or wrong cannot be established from the provided material [2] [3] [1].
6. Bottom line for readers
If you quote “51%” as the percentage of U.S. Muslims supporting a choice to be governed by sharia, you are citing the December 2015 Center for Security Policy online poll of 600 respondents [1]. For context, major research by Pew and international reporting shows that support for sharia varies dramatically by question wording, region, and interpretation of what “sharia” means — and those larger studies do not provide a directly comparable U.S. Muslim national‑probability number in the current sources [2] [3]. Readers should treat the 51% figure as a specific finding from one advocacy‑group online poll and weigh it alongside broader academic research and question‑wording nuances [1] [2].