Is Islam good for prosperity?

People of Arab descent living in the US are better educated and wealthier than the average American of non-Arab descent. That is one surprising conclusion drawn from data collected by the US Census Bureau in 2000. The census also found that Arab Americans are better educated and wealthier than Americans in general.

Whereas 24 per cent of all Americans hold college degrees, 41 per cent of Arab-Americans are college graduates. The median annual income of an Arab-American family living in the US is $52,300 - 4.6 per cent higher than the figure for all other American families. More than half of such families own their home. Forty-two per cent of people of Arab descent in the US work as managers or professionals, while the overall average is 34 per cent.

My take: Islam is an excellent religion for motivating commercial success (yes I do know that many Arab-Americans are Christians).  It is less effective at supporting rule of law, democracy, and checks and balances.  For those features, the idea that Christ is an individual victim, tortured by the Roman state, comes in handy.  Here is the link for the data.