British census data on Muslim numbers amplified Anglo-American fears.

Evidence

The “scientific” dimension of European imperialism not only seemed to affirm existing views about Muslims and Islam it also helped deepen fears by proving how many Muslims existed. Anglo-American literature about Muslims repeatedly stressed their considerable population. Recall that in Smith’s essay on Turkey, he warned Americans of “hordes of yet unnamed barbarian invaders” that might sweep the US if enough missionaries did not meet the Islamic threat. In 1842 Hayward indicated a world population of 140 million Muslims. An 1850 letter in the Missionary Herald by a “Mr. Hume” began with a reckoning of the relative numbers of Muslims and Hindus in Bombay, drawing on data derived from the recently instituted census there. — Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, Common Heritage, Uncommon Fear, 90

The resulting numbers alarmed Britons because the population of Muslims exceeded their expectations. But more than statistics on the overall Muslim population, those tracking its growth only worsened Anglo-American fears. Muslims appeared to out-proliferate Hindus and Christians. — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 153

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to work on how demographic statistics and quantification shaped colonial governance and racial/religious anxieties in the British Empire. — connects to: Americans derived much of their Islamophobia from British colonial sources. — Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, Common Heritage, Uncommon Fear:…, 40; Nineteenth-century Anglo-American observers feared a globally unified Islam centered on the Ottoman caliph — Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, Common Heritage, Uncommon Fear:…, 67; Anglo-American observers explained Muslim expansion as caused by inherent religious fanaticism. — Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, Common Heritage, Uncommon Fear:…, 85 (+8 more)
• SEED: Essay angle: how ‘objective’ demographic tools become engines of panic — the census as a fear-generating instrument rather than a neutral counting device.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg, Common Heritage, Uncommon Fear:…, 90; Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 153
• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source

Broader Connections

• American Islamophobia borrowed British stereotypes because Americans had little contact with Muslims #expands (0.60)
• Both Americans and Britons held Islam a perennial menace by its proselytizing and violence #expands (0.55)