American Muslims more willing to serve in military than other demographics: poll

America’s Muslim population is just as willing or more willing to serve in the military than other segments of the population.

“It’s not surprising that Muslims want to serve, and I am happy to hear this poll came out,” Shukri Abdirahman, a former Republican candidate for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District and a Muslim military veteran, told Fox News Digital. “Too often atrocities by Islamic terrorists get blamed on Muslims collectively. Muslims around the world have to suffer from the idea we are all radicals.”

Abdirahman’s comments come after a poll showed 11% of American Muslims indicated a willingness to serve in the U.S. military, more than the 10% of Catholics and Protestant respondents or 9% of those who are non-religious. White Muslims were the most likely to indicate a willingness to serve in the military, with 17% saying they would serve compared to 11% of non-Muslim Whites who indicated a similar willingness, according to the results of an Institute for Social Policy and Understanding survey. 

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The willingness to serve in the military came despite America’s Muslim population being less likely to hold U.S. citizenship than other demographics, with about 80% of those surveyed saying they were citizens compared to between 92% to 99% citizenship rates among other respondents.

Abdirahman, who served more than a decade in the U.S. Army, was born in Somalia. She said the U.S. opened its doors to her amid the long civil war in her home country, something she has always felt grateful for, and it made her want to serve the country.

“I joined because I am grateful for America saving me,” she said. “I came from war-torn Somalia and America opened their door for us.”

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Shukri Abdirahman, a former Republican candidate for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District and a Muslim military veteran, left, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.
(Twitter  |  Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

The poll comes as the services grapple with policies on how to best accommodate members of religious minorities in the ranks, with the Air Force, Army and Navy all having policies that provide exemptions to…