Survey finds diversity among Muslims

Almost all Muslims around the world believe in God and the prophet Mohammed but differ widely in other ways, a report released Thursday said. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life interviewed 38,000 Muslims, finding they have different levels of commitment to their faith and different practices. Some of the differences were regional. For example, Muslims in countries that were formerly part of the Soviet bloc are significantly less likely to say religion is important to their lives. In North Africa, Muslims older than 35 tend to be significantly more observant than those younger than 35. In Russia, that pattern is reversed while in other countries there is no pronounced generational difference. Muslims were questioned about a number of issues, including whether they believe the Koran is the word of God, how tolerant they are of Shiites or Sunnis and of smaller groups like the Sufis, whether they fast during Ramadan and whether they believe in angels.