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Demographical Points about the Islamic World
In the present situation, The Islamic World has encountered great difficulties which the matter of Palestine has been the most important one in the recent half century. The dependency of the leaders of most Islamic Countries on arrogance has disturbed the Islamic World and has connected the Islamic Countries to the mentioned powers.
In Arabic and North-African countries which have the majority of Muslims and with the Islamic culture combined with their history and customs, the Muslim activists are being suppressed by political reactionary leaders.
In Algeria, when Muslims achieved a great victory through a completely free election, the political leaders of this country started destroying it and they also punished and tortured the Muslim characters. In Tunisia and Egypt, any Islamic effort or motion is extremely destroyed and Muslim activists are followed by security forces. Islamic organizations must even be established only with the recommendation of the Information Ministry. In Kashmir, the Muslims are being killed by the Indian security forces and their youths are bearing hard tortures in prisons. The Serbs of Bosnia were also killing Muslims through aggressive attacks. Although Communism collapsed in Tajikistan, but its remained influence is still causing the death of Muslims. The Muslims of Azerbaijan are being killed by Armenians and in Myanmar; they are forced to leave their country by the Buddhist government, so they have come to Bangladesh.
The Baberi Mosque which is a religious place for the Muslims of India has been destroyed by radical Indians and with the support of the police of this country. Many other countries have encountered internal wars, tribal clashes and clashes in the borders such as Sudan and Somalia.
The other problem is that in some of these Islamic countries, the political leaders exceed from the Divine Teachings and are against faithful people who are under their pressure. They cooperate with arrogant powers, paganism and cruelty. The leaders of these countries have prevented the development of their lands to secure the western objectives and to perform their policies. They have forced Muslims to adopt a non-Divine living, culture and policy. The use of Islamic laws has disappeared in the governmental, social and practical matters and most of these countries have not brought even a name of Islam in their constitution law. On the other hand, the West tries to seize security and calm from Muslims by provoking national emotions, causing the feel of danger from their borders and creating convulsion in strategic points and their aim is to not let the Muslim societies think and take the capacity of Islamic forces in these chaos. The aids which are given to Islamic countries are usually used for suppressing Muslims and Islamic movements. Regretfully it must be said that negative propagandas are in a way that most of the Islamic countries are being against the Islamic Revolution of Iran instead of fighting the main Muslim enemies especially Israel. They try to put Iran under great pressure in international relations by vast propaganda and political attacks and all of this is being planned and supported by the USA.
The Statistics of the Islamic World
The western statistical centers related to arrogant powers, beside their claim and scientific accuracy; try to show the number of Muslims less than what it is in the publications. For example "Britannia Encyclopedia" recorded the number of the World's Muslims as 474,300,000 people in 1968 but four years later in 1972 this number was reduced to 471,300,000 people which was less than before. But in those years the population of the Jews increased from 13/5 to 14/5 million people according to their statistics and this was also valid for Christians. The scientific councils and population organizations of Islamic countries show increase for Muslims. So this shows that we cannot rely on western sources to understand the real population of the world's Muslims and the population of the Muslim minorities.
"Motmer-al-Islami" of Pakistan, knows the number of Muslims as 647,011,080 in 1964. "Alettehad" magazine, the formal organ of the Federation of Islamic Councils of American and Canadian University Students, knew a number of 659,245,083 people for the Muslim population in 1968. Statistics shows that in 1970 there were 733000000 Muslim living in the world. According to the Global Calendar of 1983, the number of Muslims was known as 900,000,000 people, but Ali Katani, in his book named "Muslim Minorities in Today's World", mentions this number as 1,029,427,000 according to the statistic sources of 1982. From this population 636,720,000 people live in independent Islamic countries and 392,707,000 of them live in non-Islamic countries as Muslim minorities.
According to the statistics of the Islamic world (published by the Guidance Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran), at the beginning of 1983, the number of Muslims in countries with more than 50 percent Muslims reached to 709,992,000 and it was 285,207,113 in other countries. According to the published statistics related to 1986, the number of Muslims was 850,354,300 in 51 independent Islamic countries and it was 1,149,638,180 in countries which between 1 to 49 percent of their population were Muslims.
According to a table published by the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1991, the number of Muslims reached to 1,155,200,000 people. In the table the population of the Islamic world has been distributed as the following:
Regions and Populations
North Africa, Egypt 100,500,000
West Africa 125,000,000
Center Africa 18,000,000
East Africa 93,000,000
South-Africa 15,300,000
Arabic nations 62,600,000
Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey 114,800,000
India 180,500,000
South-East Asia 275,000,000
Far East 81,000,000
Europe 18300000
America, the Pacific ocean 5,900,000
Total 1,155,200,000
The population poles of Islamic countries:
1-South Asia with 3 countries 204,190,000
2- South-East Asia with 3 countries 186,720,000
3- Middle East and South-West Asia with 15 countries 139,940,000
4- West Africa with 8 countries 134,420,000
5- North Africa with 5 countries 10,670,000
6- The African Desert with 6 countries 48,600,000
7- East Africa and the region of Horn 28,840,000
8- Balkan with 2 countries 8,000,000
Asia has appropriated 65 percent of the Muslims. 25 percent of the Muslims live in the Arabic countries and 10 percent of them are in Africa. Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh have more than 40 percent of the world's Muslims.
The most populated Islamic country is Indonesia which has 187 million people. The less populated Muslim country is Maldives which has 180,000 Muslims living there.
The average of the relative accumulation of Islamic countries is about 103 people in one square which the most is 774 people in Bangladesh and the less is for the Republic of the Western Sahara.
There are different ideas about the number of independent Islamic countries. In a book named "Gazetteer/World/Muslim" which was published in 1964, 36 Islamic countries with more than 50 percent Muslims were known as independent Islamic countries.
Dr.Abolfazl Ezzati introduced 40 countries with more than 50 percent Muslims in an article named "A brief acquaintance of the Islamic world". Dr.Mohammad Gorji believes countries with more than 75 percent Muslims are Muslim countries and with this definition, 34 Islamic countries are studied as Islamic countries from all the countries of the world. Some believe that counties are Muslims which are members of the Organization of the Islamic conference (OIC). Ali Katani in "Muslim minorities" and Gholam Hussein Khorshidi in "The common Islamic market" have the same idea. In this division, Uganda and Gabon with less than 50 percent Muslims have been members of this organization but Ethiopia was not considered Islamic, although it has more than 50 percent Muslims. According to the statistics published in 1986, 52 countries were introduced as Islamic Countries with more than 50 percent Muslims.
The average of the yearly population growth rate of Islamic countries is 3 percent which the most is for Qatar which is 9 percent and the less is related to Afghanistan with 1/9 percent. The average of age is 48 years in Islamic countries which the less with 38 years is for Chad in the African Desert. The hope for living is 57/7 years in these countries and the average of age is 23/4 years.
The average of birth is 39/6 in thousand in Islamic countries and the average of death is 16/6 in thousand. The death of children is reported as 95 people in one thousand.
Because of different age groups in Islamic countries, these statistics can be mentioned:
%25/24 people of these countries are between (0) to (14) years old. %5/25 percent of them have more than 60 years and 52/5 percent of the rest are between (15) to (59) years old.
The average of the number of the families are 5/35 people in Islamic countries.
Although Islam has emphasized on education, but statistics indicate high illiteracy in Islamic countries and that is because of colonial plots and cultural stagnation. According to the statistics of 1980, only 37 percent were able to read and write in these countries. In most of these countries, the educational system has a colonized structure; therefore the students of these educational centers have been trained by the western culture and are away from their own culture. In this system, education is less according to professional skills and educated people are more attracted by employing service centers. High education is for rich and selected people in these countries. It must be noted that Iran and a few other countries are excluded.
The confusions of the education system has caused the deprivation of 30 percent of people from going to school and the rate of repeating an educational grade is between 15 to 30 percent in Islamic countries.
In all Islamic countries, there is one hospital bed for every 900 people. Countries with oil resources especially Middle East countries have a better situation by relying on their economic sources.
In Qatar, there is one hospital bed for every 96 people but in Afghanistan it is one bed for every 6500 people.
In Islamic countries there is a doctor for every 14500 people and this number is 9000 one for the Muslim countries of Asia and 20000 for the Muslim countries of Africa. The catastrophe is seen in Ethiopia which has one doctor for every 73000 people.
Lack of food and malnutrition, quantitative and qualitative hunger, infected and fungous diseases, pressure caused by hard work, losses of the war and regional, internal or tribal conflicts on one hand, and lack of medicine, lack of development in healing and medicine industry and being weak in public immunity on the other hand, are the reason for the increase of death rate in these countries.
Language and Race
Although according to the Quran and Islamic verses, it is wrong to valuate racism in Islam, but recognizing societies and social groups does not have anything to do with this matter. It has been brought in a Hadith that: “If one of you loves his Muslim brother, he must ask him the name of his father and family and his tribe, because brotherhood obligates him to be aware of his situation and an incomplete acquaintance is something idiot.”
Islam is a reality which has accepted different nations and even Quran relates this to God. But this must not create self-glorification. Arrogant forces provoke racial tribes, groups and nations for the aim of causing separation between Islamic countries and they support these conflicts to destroy Islamic governments.
From the 46 Islamic countries, 19 of them have Arabic and Sámi races. Other minor races can also be found in these countries such as Kurds in Iraq and Syria and Berber groups in African countries with an Arabic language. In 11 Islamic countries which all of them are located in Africa, the Blacks are the dominant race and Arabs and white Europeans are also among them.
In Turkey, most of them are Anatoly Turks which are related to the Sámi race and their main minority is the Kurds. The racial sources of Iran are Persian and Arian. Pakistanis are white and also from Send and Punjab. The people of Djibouti and Somalia are from the Somali and Afar race. In Ethiopia the three races of Gala, Arab and Amhar are seen. The Albanians are from Tusk Albania. In some Islamic countries, many races are living with various dialects. The number of them reaches to 300 races in Indonesia and 250 races in Nigeria.
The common language is Arabic in 20 Islamic countries and beside it other vernacular languages such Persian, Kurdish, Berber are used. Because of the colonization of some of these countries, languages like French, English and Portugal are common too. Except their main language, people also use vernacular languages which are according to their culture and traditions. The language of Iranians is Persian and the formal language in Turkey is Turkish. In Indonesia, Bangladesh, Maldives, Malaysia, Djibouti and Somalia vernacular or native languages are used.
Muslim Minorities
Muslim minorities have accepted Islam and are living in other countries with the Islamic culture and have separated themselves from non-Muslims with their specific culture and determined behavior. They can form a moral power by their brotherhood and by following religious leaders, protecting their Islamic identity, avoiding separation and non-Islamic programs. By the help of their moral power none of the political provokes and social pressures can harm them.
Although some countries have a peaceful life beside Muslim minorities, but in some political units Muslims are under great pressures. Christian propaganda and financial promises are the problems threatening minorities.
In some parts of the world, the leaders of countries have had great suppression against Muslims and have killed, tortured and exiled them. The behavior of governments like Ethiopia, Thailand, Philippine and Burma (Myanmar) shows this clear violation. The problems of the minorities which are one third of the world’s Muslim population can be summarized in 12 points:
1) Unreal statistics given about them by other countries. This has been seen in Britannica and New York Times Encyclopedia.
2) In spite of the fact that the language of most of the Muslims is Arabic, they don’t study it in non-Islamic countries and they are separated from the Islamic culture.
3) The education of Muslim children in the educational system of non-Muslim countries.
4) Being attracted to the culture of the host countries especially in the countries with cultures that contrast the Islamic culture.
5) The existence of social corruption and humiliating the social values of Muslims, advertising and expanding non-Islamic cultures and denying moral values to separate young Muslims from Islamic thoughts and behaviors.
6) Financial and economical problems and difficulties caused by governments for Muslims.
7) Contradiction for Muslim children, because they are under the training method of their parents at home but social realities are against Islamic values. Non-Muslim students strengthen this contradiction.
8) Separation from Muslim countries and observing those countries from the view of arrogant advertisement and non-Muslim countries. For example, some Muslim minorities think wrong about Iran because of the negative propagandas.
9) Not respecting the thoughts and opinions of the Muslims and not paying attention to their political and social rights and depriving them from cultural facilities and welfare.
10) Not participating in the political and martial affairs of the host country although they form a considerable minority. In Ethiopia, Tanzania and Mozambique although the major are Muslims, but they have no influence on the country.
11) In some African countries like Congo, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Togo, Ghana, South Africa, Zaire and Angola the drought, tribal and boundary wars have caused financial poverty for the Muslims. So they are in need of financial support which is given to them by arrogant propaganda and political influence.
12) Not recognizing them formally and this has caused many political and social problems. A definite idea cannot be given for the statistics of Muslim minorities because many countries do not offer a precise statistics of their religion followers and the reason is their internal religion conflicts. But this can also be an excuse for their political aims. In western countries, America and other developed countries they avoid enumerating the population of Muslims. Muslims also conceal their religious believes in countries which might would cause danger for them.
According to the statistics of 1982, 39270700 Muslims were living in 49 non-Muslim countries which was 11/6 percent of the entire Muslims. In another Statistics related to 1981, the number of Muslims was 285207113 in 63 countries with 1 to 49 percent Muslims. In 1985, the number of Muslim minorities reached to 371 million people which had decreased in comparison with 1982. This great difference might be because of considering countries with more than 50 percent Muslims as a Muslim country. In some sources, 57 countries have been introduced as Muslim countries but the research group of Times magazine has mentioned it as 37 countries. According to the statistics of 1986, the number of Muslims in 68 non-Islamic countries was known as 299283880 people.
The refugees of the Islamic World
Among the Islamic countries, Iran has the most refugees with more than 2/5 million Afghans and Iraqis. Pakistan is second with 2 million and Sudan third with 1/5 million. In Ethiopia, about half million of Muslims are homeless because of Anti Muslim groups in North West of this country and the periodic droughts. The bloody war between Somalia and Etiopia made thousands of people homeless in Harjbil and Sidamu. One third of Somalia’s homeless people are from Uganda which have abandoned their country because of war and drought. Mozambique’s refugees are dispersed in this country and the near countries. They are more than 300000 people and 10000 are being added to them each month.
Thousands of homeless Burundi people have gone to the Islamic country of Tanzania because of the tribal wars in their country. Most of the Cameron’s homeless people which are about 300000 people have settled in the city of Kusuy and are 10 times as much as the vernaculars of this region. Homeless Africans are dispersed in 20 country of this continent and have settled in countries which have economical and social problems themselves.
The insecurity origin from wars and political convulsions in the South East of Asia has also dispatched the homeless people to near countries. The homeless of Indochina are usually sent to Malaysia by sea. The inequality of Philippine’s forces with Moro Muslims and the attacks and pressures of the central government to Muslim lands of Bangs Moro has made the Muslims leave their lands and come to Solo islands and the State of Sabah in Malaysia in order to save themselves from martial forces. In the bombardment of these lands, at least 2 million people became homeless. In the recent 15 months, about 300000 Myanmar Muslims living in Arakan were refugees to Bangladesh in "Blomekali" camp which is located on the part named "Ukiai".
The West of Asia and the Middle East have the most number of homeless people. The Marxist coup de’tat on 27th of April 1987 and the attack of the Red Army to Afghanistan caused 5 million people homeless which consist one third of the world's vagrants. In the war of Iraq against Iran which started in 1359 (shamsi), thousands of Iraqis were sent to different parts of Iran by the government of Iraq. The second group of homeless Iraqis is from the sorrowful event of Halabche which people left their homes. During the war of the Persian Gulf, the attack of Iraq to Kuwait and the unequal war between people and the Baasi army, a great number of people moved toward the bounders of Turkey and Iran.
One of the most sorrowful impressions of Palestine being occupied by Zionists was the vagrant of 3 million Muslim which lost their properties and dispersed in the Middle East and different parts of the world. Zionism has the aim to prepare an opportunity for Jews to migrate from all parts of the world to bring the relative accumulation of population to a point that there would be no choice to accept these 3 million people. The United Nations thought of forming an organization for helping the vagrants in 1949 and they started their work in 1951 but this organization does not have a strong and equal position against the homeless. European countries which all the time talk about human advantages and rights, have rejected the vagrants by approving restrictive laws which are injustice. For example, during the attacks of the Serbs to the Islamic countries of Bosnia, 1 million Muslims were homeless and the government of German refused to accept them.
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