Institute for Social Policy and Understanding
{{short description|American research organization}}
{{COI|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU)
| image = File:ISPU Logo.png
| abbreviation = ISPU
| established = {{start date|2002}}
| type = 501(c)3 organization
| tax_id = 38-3633581
| location = Washington, D.C. & Dearborn, MI, U.S.
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}
The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) is a research organization with a focus on American Muslims. The Institute produces an annual American Muslim Poll and serves as a resource for journalists. Its reports and surveys have included topics such as political leanings, attitudes on censorship, experiences of discrimination, and responses to religiously motivated violence.{{cite web |last1=Ahmed |first1=Amal |title=A better quality of data on Muslim Americans |url=https://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/institute-for-social-policy-and-understanding.php |website=Columbia Journalism Review |accessdate=7 September 2019}}
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting says, "The American Muslim Poll addresses a gaping deficit in popular knowledge: About 50 percent of Americans say they don’t know a Muslim in real life, leaving half the country to rely on the media to understand approximately 3.5 million of their compatriots, and 1.8 billion people around the world".{{cite web |last1=Berk |first1=Hannah |title=Beyond Religion: Covering American Muslim Communities Confidently and Creatively |url=https://pulitzercenter.org/blog/beyond-religion-covering-american-muslim-communities-confidently-and-creatively |website=Pulitzer Center |accessdate=7 September 2019}}
History
Following the September 11 attacks, individuals came together to form ISPU to provide insights into the Islamic community in America. In April 2003, SPU's fellow published an article in The Encyclopedia of the Human Genome titled 'Race and Difference: Orientalism and Western Concepts.' ISPU officially incorporated December 17, 2003.{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://ispu.org/about-us/#story |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=ISPU |language=en-US}}
Funding
The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding is funded by individual donors and institutional grants, including the Democracy Fund, The New York Community Trust, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Pillars Fund, and Proteus Fund.{{cite web |title=Institute for Social Policy and Understanding |url=https://www.democracyfund.org/portfolio/entry/institute-for-social-policy-understanding |website=Democracy Fund |accessdate=7 September 2019}}{{cite web |title=Oral Histories and Data Tell the Stories of Muslims in New York |url=https://www.nycommunitytrust.org/newsroom/oral-histories-and-data-tell-the-stories-of-muslims-in-new-york/ |website=New York Community Trust |accessdate=7 September 2019}}{{cite web |title=Community BriefStrength Through Diversity: Four Cases of Local and State Level Coalition Success |url=https://www.ispu.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ISPU-Strength-Through-Diversity.pdf |website=ISPU |accessdate=7 September 2019}}{{cite web |title=Our Portfolio |url=https://pillarsfund.org/grants/our-portfolio/ |website=Pillars Fund |accessdate=7 September 2019}}{{cite web |last1=Downing |first1=Claire |title=10 Lessons Learned From 10 Years of RTF Grantmaking Lesson 5: Islamophobia is an Intersectional Phenomenon, and We Must Tackle It with Our Partners Across All Racial Justice Movements |url=https://www.proteusfund.org/10-lessons-learned-from-10-years-of-rtf-grantmaking-lesson-5/ |website=Proteus Fund |date=30 July 2019 |accessdate=7 September 2019}}
Research areas and projects
ISPU's research areas include:{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://ispu.org/ |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=ISPU |language=en-US}}
- Developing community - focused on researching family & wellness and building community capacity.
- Building understanding - protecting American pluralism while quantifying Muslim contributions
- Thought leadership - offering platforms for discussion and informing national conversations.
Along with publishing original research, ISPU provides toolkits, interviews, webinars, presentations and workshops to disseminate this research to government officials, media professionals, educators, faith leaders and the general public.
Subject matter covered by ISPU studies and projects include: Studying marriage and divorce among American Muslims, tracking challenges facing American Muslim youth, analyzing Muslim spaces (mosques, community centers, etc.), and fostering debate and discussion on CVE (Countering Violent Extremism). ISPU has also conducted studies on Islamophobia and bias in media coverage of ideologically motivated violence in the United States.
Scholars and fellows
ISPU works with a number of experts on a wide variety of issues related to their respective areas of research and specialty. Affiliated scholars and fellows include: Laila Alawa, Moustafa Bayoumi, Hassan Abbas, Arsalan Iftikhar, Asifa Quraishi-Landes, Ihsan Bagby, and Hatem Bazian, among others.{{Cite web |title=Our Scholars |url=https://ispu.org/scholars/ |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=ISPU |language=en-US}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|383633581}}
{{authority control}}
Category:2002 establishments in the United States
Category:Think tanks established in 2002
Category:Think tanks based in Washington, D.C.