When interpreting the numbers on this page, be weary that the fact that a belief or value x exists for a given subset of Muslims does not by itself show that Islam is wholly or even partly responsible for that being the case. For example, the fact that 43% of 1182 million Muslims believe in witchcraft does not necessitate that Islam is part of the causal explanation (any more than the fact that x percentage of Muslims use Facebook necessitates that Islam is part of the reason why). On their own, the statistics on this page say what is the case, not why, and it requires inferential work to come to views around the latter question.

Be also aware that someone might respond to a question with a particular answer not because they genuinely believe it, but because they think that is how they should answer it. For example, a Catholic might answer that they believe the bread and wine in communion literally transform into the flesh and blood of Christ not because they actually believe it does, but because they believe they should believe such things. (And keep in mind that the interviews carried out by Pew would often be conducted in front of one's family members in the family home.) Polls like those carried out by Pew find answers based upon what people report believing, not what they genuinely believe, and the two needn't be the same.

Finally, the statistics on this page were gathered from samples that represent anywhere from 0.9 to 1.2 billion of the world's Muslims (with the value varying by the particular question asked). While this is more than half of the world's Muslims, it is not all of them, and one must recognize that the totality of the views of the others (in Europe, America, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere) may or may not align with what is set out above.