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ہفتہ 8 فروری 2003Saturday, February 08, 2003
Muslim Population
Tom Friedman in an anti-France op-ed in the New York Times argued to replace France with India in the UN Security Council:
Because India is the world’s biggest democracy, the world’s largest Hindu nation and the world’s second-largest Muslim nation, and, quite frankly, India is just so much more serious than France these days.
Now I know it’s popular to bash France in the US and all, but this is not what this post is about. Like a lot of other people in the media, Friedman is a little behind in terms of population data. India is not the “world’s second-largest Muslim nation” nowadays. It used to be for most part from 1972-early 1990s (I think, but any actual data is welcome). Here is the population data for the countries with large Muslim populations from the CIA World Factbook.
| Country | Population | Percentage of Muslims | Muslim Population |
| Indonesia | 231,328,092 | 88.0% | 203,568,721 |
| Pakistan | 147,663,429 | 97.0% | 143,233,526 |
| India | 1,045,845,226 | 12.0% | 125,501,427 |
| Bangladesh | 133,376,684 | 83.0% | 110,702,648 |
| Turkey | 67,308,928 | 99.8% | 67,174,310 |
| Egypt | 70,712,345 | 94.0% | 66,469,604 |
| Iran | 66,622,704 | 99.0% | 65,956,477 |
| Nigeria | 129,934,911 | 50.0% | 64,967,456 |
| Ehtiopia | 67,673,031 | 47.5% | 32,144,690 |
| Morocco | 31,167,783 | 98.7% | 30,762,602 |
UPDATE: Thanks to CalPundit for the link.
Tags: muslims, population
Posted by Zack at February 8, 2003 10:42 PM in Islam and Other Religions
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Comments
Posted by: zizka (1 comments) at February 10, 2003 10:05 PM
Friedman’s assertion is indeed incorrect. But the number of Indian muslims is a little higher than what you suggest. It’s closer to 135 million rather than 125 million as you suggest. The “religious tables” of the 2001 census are likely to be out in 2005, which will settle the issue for good.
Posted by: Ritesh (2 comments) at September 3, 2003 10:18 AM
Friedman’s assertion is indeed incorrect. But the number of Indian muslims is a little higher than what you suggest. It’s closer to 135 million rather than 125 million as you suggest. The “religious tables” of the 2001 census are likely to be out in 2005, which will settle the issue for good.
Posted by: Ritesh (2 comments) at September 3, 2003 10:18 AM
Ritesh: You might be correct, but I am working off of CIA World Factbook estimates since their numbers are yearly estimates. Comparing individual census figures is problematic since censuses are taken at different times.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at September 3, 2003 4:28 PM
muslims in india account for 14 to 15 percent of the total population …
right-wing hindus place the muslim population between 120 and 130 million,
muslims themselves claim to number 220 and 250 million,
but the most respected and accurate estimations come form india’s english language newspapers which put the muslim population between 150 and 200 million.
most likely it is 150 million — anyways, the muslims of india do not refer to themselves as “indian muslims” they despise india as a hindu nation and identify themselves simply as “muslims” or belonging to the Islamic Nation, or Ummah.
Posted by: Raja_Hindustani (1 comments) at October 15, 2003 10:04 PM
but the most respected and accurate estimations come form india’s english language newspapers which put the muslim population between 150 and 200 million.
Wouldn’t the census be the best estimate instead of the newspapers?
the muslims of india do not refer to themselves as “indian muslims” they despise india as a hindu nation
I know quite a few Indian Muslims and almost all are proud Indians. What do you base your statement on?
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at October 17, 2003 12:51 AM
The true figure of Muslim population in India is still a state secret. The Indian census reports it to be around 12% while the Indian media puts it between 15-17% of the total population. While the Indian Muslims claim to be around 20% of the total Indian population.
So the official figures gives Pakistan with 150 million people and over 98% Muslim population the second position in the Muslim world after Indonesia.
Posted by: Arsalan Khan (3 comments) at October 24, 2003 10:27 PM
Arsalan: Unless there is a specific reason to think that the census figures are not accurate, I would go with the census numbers.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at October 27, 2003 5:48 PM
As Islam is 27% of the world population, and the fastest growing religion in the world…. The muslims in India will be 30%-40% of the Indian population in a few years.
And Muslims in India can be proud to call them self proud Indians. Of course , it’s their homeland. But when you say that you are Indian
people catch this up..
Indian>>Hindian>>>Hindi>>>Hind>>>Hindu????
That’s not what they are
they are Indian>>>Muslim!!!!
Posted by: Ahmed (1 comments) at November 6, 2003 2:53 PM
Ahmed: Most estimates of world Muslim population are in the 19-20% range.
The muslims in India will be 30%-40% of the Indian population in a few years.
In India, Muslims are nowadays 12-13%. Now, the rate of growth of Muslims is larger than the overall growth rate, but it is not that large.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at November 6, 2003 9:31 PM
I’ve carried out a few survey myself for the population statistics of India over the recent years. I do totally disagree that the Muslim population is around 12% in India, as China’s Muslim Population is estmiated well over 150 million. During the time of partition of India & Pakistan, more Muslims had stayed within India. Yet Muslim population has increased in 3 to 4 folds yet Indian Muslims cannot have been increased by .10 fold. I do estimate Indian Muslims to be well over 250 million just over 25%, which brings the Hindu population down between 65% - 68% and not as claimed to be 80% - 82%.
Posted by: Hussain (3 comments) at November 14, 2003 9:54 PM
Hussain: Would you like to share more of the details of your survey results and methodology? Also, why do you think your survey is correct while the census is not?
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at November 16, 2003 8:21 PM
I think the muslim population of india is 15% and it should be around 150 million, regarding that most muslims in india stayed in india after partition is wrong because pakistan had two wings at the time of patition, east pakistan and west pakistan whose combined populatin was almost 60% of the total muslim population of the subcontinent,today east pakistan is banladesh with a muslim population of 125 million west pakistan is pakistan with a muslim population of 145 million and india with a muslim population of around 150 million
Posted by: ws ahmed (1 comments) at November 21, 2003 10:01 AM
ws ahmed: Why do you think it is 15% and not the 12% that the census reports?
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at November 23, 2003 3:15 AM
The Indian census puts Muslim population at around 12% Indian Media claims Muslims are betweem 14-17%. The Indian Muslims claims to be around 20% of the total Indian population. Why are census being manipulated ? Indian and Hindu parties then justify in giving lower percentage of jobs in government and admission to elite universities to Muslims. The lower percentage also gives less sleepless nights to the Hindu fascist parties and government of India.
Posted by: Arsalan Khan (3 comments) at November 24, 2003 8:22 PM
In the growth of Muslim population in India or the world over, it is not their quantity that is a cause for concern, but their quality. The literacy rate among Muslims is the lowest. Most of them limit themselves to learning Urdu and Arabic. They are rarely to be seen in areas like industry, technology, science. In India, the number of Muslim criminals is far greater than proportion of Muslims in the general population. But in fields such as science and technology or in the creative arts, a Muslim is an exception to the rule. This is not specific to India, but is the case with the entire Muslim world. The advances made by Muslim states are generally in the fields of global terrorism and in the manufacture of chemical weapons of mass destruction. Advances in these fields, fuel their warlike aggressive mentality. Most Islamic nations are military-theocratic dictatorships. Democracy is an irrelevant concept for them as Iraq is proving today. Most Muslims generally do not go in for secular education and prefer madrassahs. This is so as Muslims look upon
anything non-Islamic is “haram” i.e. illegitimate.
According to Islam, Muslim women have to wear the ‘Hijab’ (known as ‘Burqua’ in India and ‘Chador’ in Iran). This is the traditional black coloured tent-like gown of Muslim women when they move outdoors. The Burqua covers the entire body of a lady including the face. Similarly Muslim men have to grow their beard. Going about without a Burqua for women and without a beard for men is considered “haram” i.e. illegitimate.
More at: http://www.hindutva.com
Posted by: Hindutva (1 comments) at December 3, 2003 5:34 AM
Hindutva,
You said that “According to Islam, Muslim women have to wear the ‘Hijab’.” This is not true, Muslim woman aren’t required to wear the Hijab. This is an Arab invention, women are just required to be modest.
Posted by: Shey (5 comments) at January 2, 2004 8:56 PM
I agree with Shey and this is true for most religions as every one has to cover their heads specially women(I don’t know why) when they pray.
In my view religion is just a way to control Illiterate powerless population.
Posted by: Janet (1 comments) at January 3, 2004 3:13 PM
I think all this is a bunch of crap. The muslim nations do not cherish the seperation of the state and church. We don’t care about what religion you follow,just keep it out of the country’s developmental effort.
Posted by: rajeev (1 comments) at January 5, 2004 12:20 PM
I just wanted 2 say that im pakistani and that ive been 2 india only once in my life but i know the estimate in 2002 when i last went; The estimate by the indian govt is 153,998,870
Posted by: k.k (1 comments) at January 5, 2004 12:45 PM
rajeev: You don’t make any sense.
k.k: Do you have any source for that?
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at January 5, 2004 11:23 PM
Zack, I can’t believe that you get comments on a year-old post. Wow. If others can do it, why can’t I.
Anyway, in the last Indian census a few years ago, the Muslim pop was estimated at about 14% overall (the CIA numbers are out of date). The highest proportion was in Kerala, where about 25% of the pop is Muslim. Next is UP where about 17% is Muslim.
All of this can be found at the Indian Census site. The site is good, but the tag-line is absurd – “we also count people in India”. Is their primary mandate to count people in Myanmar? Or perhaps they mean that their primary mandate is to count cows.
http://www.censusindia.net/
Posted by: Ikram (63 comments) at January 6, 2004 11:09 AM
Ikram: This post is the 2nd most popular one. Lots of people seem to be searching for world Muslim population or Muslim population in India or France.
The CIA numbers are from the 1991 census. I did check the Indian census site, but could only find the 1991 numbers for religion. I think it said somewhere that 2001 religion data would be out in 2005. Is the info out now? Can you point it to me?
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at January 6, 2004 11:40 AM
Im reading your all your comments on the population of Islam and im thinking about a few things.
India has a Islamic population of around 120-150 million (disputed, whatever)
This is around the same number of muslims living in the country of Pakistan
Yet, i can say with some confidence that being a Muslim in India is FAR less dangerous than a hindu in Pakistan. Why is that? Why is it that a good chunk of the hindu population in India can live peacefully among the muslims in their country when hindus are being killed and persecuted all the time in Pakistan?
Think about it.
Posted by: Sindhi student (2 comments) at January 8, 2004 12:47 AM
Sindhi: The persecution of minorities in Pakistan is indeed deplorable and a topic I can’t do justice to in a comment.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at January 10, 2004 3:32 AM
Im not trying to cut on Islam or Pakistan but it makes no sense at all that they claim to want to liberate the oppressed muslims of india when most of the muslims really arent oppressed.
Posted by: Sindhi student (2 comments) at January 10, 2004 12:11 PM
Sindhi: I haven”t heard of any Pakistani claims to liberate Indian Muslims. The only exception is Kashmir and that is a much more complicated issue than “claim to want to liberate the oppressed muslims of india.”
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at January 11, 2004 3:01 AM
It’s was only a matter of time, & w/ the introduction of WMD’s , well, your time is up.
Posted by: zeke (1 comments) at January 11, 2004 12:16 PM
zeke: What introduction of WMDs?
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at January 12, 2004 12:52 AM
So how much more complicated of an issue is it Zack?
Posted by: Sindhi student (2 comments) at January 12, 2004 9:40 PM
Sindhi: You might want to read this post as well as the links in it.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at January 13, 2004 2:32 PM
this is all totally irrelevent to populational statistics
Posted by: Jahmeen (1 comments) at January 13, 2004 8:51 PM
I agree with Sindhi student, the Muslim population in India is probably around 120-150 million, but it is indeed growing year by year. So that would make India the third largest Muslim country in the world behind Indonesia and Pakistan. And Bangladesh is right behind India with the fourth largest Muslim population.
Posted by: Malik (1 comments) at January 15, 2004 2:30 AM
Ok ive read most of those articles and the impression that i have received is that whereever there is a muslim majority….no other religious minority, particularly hinduism can live there in safety. This was my point earlier…
Posted by: Sindhi student (2 comments) at January 15, 2004 12:03 PM
Sindhi: I guess then there is no way I can change your mind.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at January 16, 2004 3:02 AM
I was trying to see otherwise…but you sent me the links to prove me wrong.
Posted by: Sindhi student (2 comments) at January 16, 2004 10:46 AM
im really sad to hear a pakistani hindu saying that he is not being treated well in pakistan,please dont forget you are still safe in pakistan whereas across the border indian muslims are being butchered in the state of gujarat and are often termed as traitors,whereas in pakistan there has never been such an incident.
Posted by: faraz (1 comments) at January 28, 2004 1:25 PM
faraz: Pakistan’s treatment of minorities is nothing to be proud of. While I haven’t heard of anything on the scale of the Gujrat massacre (except the army action in East Pakistan/Bangladesh in 1971), we have treated minorities very badly.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at January 29, 2004 7:17 PM
Jeams: Your comment was offensive and has been disenvoweled. Further offensive comments will result in a ban.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at February 4, 2004 3:15 PM
I am also not confident of Pakistani religious census figures. The Muslim population has stood at 97% from 1951 to 2002 census. Muslims usually have higher fertility rate so their percentage should be increasing but is stuck at the same point.
The Hindus in Pakistan are mostly concentrated in Sindh province in rural areas. There are few anti-Hindu cases but no persecution or riots as in India. The only cases of Temple destruction occurred only after Hindu lunatics detroyed Babari Masjid in Ayodhya.
Posted by: Arsalan Khan (3 comments) at February 4, 2004 9:09 PM
Arsalan: The Muslim population has stood at 97% from 1951 to 2002 census.
Can you point me where I can find this info? I did find out that Muslims were around 85% of Pakistan in 1951 but that includes East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) which probably had a higher minority percentage.
Muslims usually have higher fertility rate.
Why? I don’t think this is necessarily true and I have great doubts if it is true in Pakistan.
Regarding persecution, there are lots of subtle (and otherwise) ways minorities are persecuted in Pakistan. Can’t think of any large scale massacres/riots other than those in 1971 and then after the destruction of Babri Mosque in India but overall the treatment meted out to minorities is not good.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at February 5, 2004 9:42 AM
What I’m going to say next is purely just out of curiousity and imagination but I’d like to hear much feedback….
I’m sure anyone who has followed India Pakistan news in the past couple months knows that relations between that 2 nations have improved eons more in recent times than it has been since partition. In my opinion, this is some of the best news I have heard, which brings me to my point….
What if.. Pakistan and India were to ever reunite? With India’s economy growing at almost 8 percent and their rise as the worlds largest I.T. power, I honestly think that if it was possible for both nations to overlook their differences there it would be a HUGE gain for both economies in the long run. There has been talk (again this is probably unlikely) of making a united Rupee amongst all south asian nations (Nepal Bangladesh Sri Lanka India Pakistan). This I believe will be an enormous asset to a reunited Pakistan-India. The US sends almost 1 billion dollars to Pakistan in foreign aid, and i think with uniting this money along with indian aid a powerful military can be built along the n-w frontier province to fight any kind of terrorism occuring in the area. This would in turn be of huge benefit to the US which is failing miserably in their hunt for Bin Laden.
Anyways, this is really just a dream world. But its always thought provoking to think ‘what if?’
Posted by: Sindhi Student (2 comments) at February 22, 2004 1:58 PM
Sindhi: relations between that 2 nations have improved eons more in recent times than it has been since partition.
I think the key word is “improve.” After all, Pakistan and India have just gotten back to the situation when Vajpayee visited Lahore (in 1998?).
I think a reunion of India and Pakistan could be a good thing in the long term. Right now, it is out of question because of the bad relations and the hatred on both sides.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at February 22, 2004 10:35 PM
I read in an article that 95% of people in both nations want a lasting peace between each other. I think the fact that they are looking forward to ending bitterness and hatred is a very good thing, and although i am fairly young, I can’t really remember a time in the past where Pakistan and India were actually looking forward to meeting with each other to make truce. My only fear is that Hindu or Muslim terrorist groups make an attack on either side to ruin any achievements made.
—— India will beat Pakistan in cricket March 13. Haha.
Posted by: Sindhi Student (2 comments) at February 25, 2004 4:12 PM
Sindhi: It is true that most people want peace. There is, however, mistrust (majority) and hatred (minority) of the other as well. It’ll take some time to get rid of that. I guess I am too old not to be cynical. :-)
And India can’t win since this is not the World Cup.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at February 25, 2004 10:49 PM
as salam ‘alaikum
A serious game is being played in India at the moment. Muslims are being shifted out of Gujarat. Dalits from Orissas (Udiya) are being settled in every district of the state in thousands of families. Muslims are being shifted out of UP and Bihar and being shifted to Punjab, Udaipur, Malegaon, Jalgaon. Please beware, as it is not possible to assume an figure for the Muslims of India as being right today. Nor do the Muslims of India know their true real number and nor does the Indian government (though it has the best idea) and nor does the media. I willl give an example
The Indian government says muslims are 25% in the Border District of Nagaur in Rajasthan State.
Having known this area very well, I found 3/4 of the villages there completely Muslim. And the villages were relatively larger than the Hindu ones, while the Hindus were the majority in the the eastern towns and in Nagaur city, though the rural population of the state is 70%
and Allah knows best
Posted by: Wadood Ali Ahmed al Sijistani (12 comments) at March 4, 2004 1:50 PM
Wadood: I have no way to evaluate your anecdotes. The numbers I have given are generally based on official census figures. In India’s case, the population estimate is for 2002 and the 12% number is from the 1991 census. The religion numbers from the 2001 census are not available yet.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at March 4, 2004 2:51 PM
as salam ‘alaikum
I would caution my Muslims from believing strongly into any figure being given by the Indian government or the Muslims in India
and Allah knows Best
Posted by: wadood Ali Ahmed al Sijistani (12 comments) at March 4, 2004 3:17 PM
wadood: You are cautioning against all sorts of figures and institutions. Why? Which statistics should be then consider reliable?
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at March 4, 2004 4:14 PM
as salam ‘alaikum
The reason is in my first post in this thread.
Please do not exaggerate. I only mentioned one institution (The Indian Government) and the common Muslim in India.
and Allah knows Best
Posted by: wadood ali ahmed al Sijistani (12 comments) at March 6, 2004 9:35 PM
wadood: I don’t doubt your anecdote. But I have no idea how much weight to give it. Plus I have no idea whether the problem was your anecdote, a local census problem or a systematic undercounting of Muslims.
And in another comment, you said not to believe CIA World Factbook figures as well.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at March 10, 2004 4:20 PM
information
Posted by: Ali Akbar (1 comments) at March 17, 2004 8:00 AM
bal: This is your warning for posting a genocidal comment. All vowels will be removed from your posts. Any further comments like this will result in a ban.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at March 28, 2004 6:44 PM
Well, being an Indian Muslim, and having lived in India, for most of my life, I would like to contribute with my own experience. Just as someone gave an example of Nagaur, Rajasthan up there, I can speak for Ahmedabad in Gujarat and Bombay.
I have been going to Ahmedabad a few times a year since childhood, and frankly, until a few years back, I would not believe anyone who said that there were more Hindus than Muslims there. Ofcourse, I did not visit all areas in Ahmedabad, but still you must realise that there was a preponderance of Muslims and they are definitely more than the 18% claimed by the census.
In Bombay, Muslims are claimed to be abt 16% by the census, and I can say it is definitely not more than 20% based on my experience of living there all my life. While Muslims are fairly widespread in South Bombay, as you go up to the suburbs, there are very few Muslim suburbs. Ofcourse, Bombay is the most cosmopolitan city of India, and there are a lot of cosmopolitan societies, with all people living together, but still when you visit professional institutions, the number of Muslims is definitely low. I wouldn’t say it is because of discrimination, but because of Muslims not working hard enough. However of the many places in India I have seen, Muslims in Bombay are the most progressive and richest Muslims from India. A lot of the high-end businesses are held by Muslims as are many famous doctors, lawyers, architects etc and ofcourse Muslims are widely present in the film industry. In fact, for the past few years, the toppers in SSC and HSC have quite often been Muslims. I see changes taking place in Muslim society in Bombay, with many youngsters now aspiring to become professionals and businessmen, even among the poorer classes unlike in Ahmedabad(which is really backward). The future is bright for them.
Posted by: Taha (2 comments) at April 7, 2004 1:47 PM
Taha: Thanks for your comment.
Regarding population estimates from general observation, my experience is that most people misjudge the data. Not saying you are wrong since censuses can be wrong as well, but something to keep in mind.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at April 7, 2004 7:15 PM
I don’t know how minorities are treated in Pakistan but,minorities especially Muslims in some parts of India are being mentally assaulted and physically aswell sometimes.Surely,Godhra carnage is a blot on the face of Secularism and Tolerance.People arrested in Godhra carnage are all charged with POTA.While people arrested in post-Godhra carnage are all roaming free in the Society.If the people involved in Godhra carnage are terrorists then,the people involved in post-Godhra carnage are also terrorists for sure. I would not rule out that, there is no discrimination against minorities in India.Christians are also often ill-treated by Hindu lunatics and fanatics.Before pointing out other nations for their ill-treatment of minorities it is time for our own extremists to set an example.
Posted by: Noorullah Khan (1 comments) at April 13, 2004 12:56 AM
India got independence on 15th Aug 1947.It is a combined effort of all the people of the country. It is not just by people of one race or one religion. It is a joint effort of Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and everybody in the country. Finally we got freedom. Each and everybody of the country has right to enjoy freedom. According to our constitution every Indian is equal and enjoys equal rights. It was the situation until congress was ruling India.But situations changed after 1992 when Babri Masjid was demolished for attaining power in the centre by BJP.Everybody in the country know that it is a communal party playing with the communal feelings of scape goat like poor Indians. It has been the communal face of India since 12 years after demolition of the Masjid.
BJP has put an end to secularism. What for Dr.BabaSaheb Ambedkar and all othe intellectuals of the country has sought secularism in this country. They who are the true patriots (Mahatma Gandhi, Chandrasekhar Azad , SubhashChandra Bose,Bhagat Singh) of the country,sacrified their lives for this country , would have never imagined the present communal India. They know the values of democracy, freedom secularism, and integrity of this country. They actually felt that all Indians are like their brothers and sisters.
But , now the situation is changed. People like Thackeray and Togadia who kill Indians in the name of religion are calling themselves patriots of this country.Togadia publicly makes a statement in news papers that they(VHP,RSS) were the cause for post Godhra carnage. News papers publish the news on the front page. All the people of this country go thru these things. Those people include President, Prime Minister, Defence Minister Justices of various Courts in India. Everybody who believe in our constitution criticize the act. But till now the (Best Bakery) case is unsolved.
I would like to ask Togadia whether he has ever pledged in his school days. If so has he just taken oath for the sake of formality in schools. Please remember Mr that it contains “All Indians are my brothers and sisters”. I guess he is a PhD. He speaks about killing of Muslims. Does a PhD degree teaches you to kill your own brothers and sisters?
If education is to teach u behave in barbaric manner then there is no use of having a PhD degree.
Several people were killed in post Godhra carnage .Togadia claimed that it was like a revenge on Muslims. It means he is definitely involved in the killings. When he goes home, start eating food doesn’t he find flesh of innocent people in his plate and their blood in his drinking water? How can he live peacefully by killing so many people? Shouldn’t he answer to the suppressed voices of the people whose beloved were killed. If all this is to attain power, then shame on you and your politics.
Now I ask u people of India a person who kills our own Indians in the name of race and religion and plays worst political games with their innocence …is he a patriot or terrorist? Certainly a licensed terrorist of the present Indian government.
Posted by: Ali Ahmed Al Madani (2 comments) at April 13, 2004 6:57 AM
Sorry guys but this post is about the populations of Muslims in different countries and not about treatment of minorities in India.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at April 14, 2004 3:45 AM
i think ther eis more muslims in india than in pak
as said earlier 60% of muslims from british india went to the muslim state, which again separated into two almost equal parts , pakistan and bangladesh
that will make it 30% pak 30% bangla 40% india
now if pak got almost 145 million and bangla follow right after with 140 million , then india shut have more than 150 million…
the growth rate is higher in india… couse of the muslims population is more poorer… and that results in mass baby booms… i would rather say extra babyboom, it is enough babyes there from before…
well thats my point of view…and i would say it is more than 12% muslims there
and in indian registers…ismailis , khojas and qadiyanis also regarding as muslims…so if we cut em it wont reach the 12% it will still be higher than that…
Posted by: Ottoman (1 comments) at April 16, 2004 6:04 PM
The assasination of Abdel Azeez Rantissi is abhorable.
Posted by: Ali Ahmed Al Madani (2 comments) at April 19, 2004 1:48 PM
Ottoman: If I remember correctly, in 1947, Muslims were almost equally divided among India, West and East Pakistan. The population growth rates have however varied over time.
I haven’t seen any reason to doubt the Indian census and I’ll stick with those figures until someone can give me a reason not to.
in indian registers…ismailis , khojas and qadiyanis also regarding as muslims.
Why should we exclude those groups. Ahmedis/Qadiyanis claim to be Muslims but some Muslims (and the state of Pakistan) reject that. So their case is controversial. But I haven’t heard anyone argue that Ismailies aren’t Muslims.
Madani: What has Rantissi got to do with the topic of this post?
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at April 19, 2004 3:02 PM
Regarding the post, I had only a few comments to make. India does have a good share of muslim population. But majority of states from Maharashtra/Madhya Pradesh/Tamil Nadu/Rajasthan/Orissa/Chattisgarh/Himachal/Punjab/Haryana/Gujarat/Uttaranchal/NorthEast excluding Assam/ Andhra Pradesh/Goa have a population of muslims less than 10%. These states contribute about 600-700 million of India. So that would mean that there are roughly 60 Million in these states. From UP/Karnatak/Kerala/Assam/West bengal, they would contribute atleast 80 million people. So in all that would be about 140 Million muslims which is more than 12% of the population. But that hardly counts for anything in a country that has 81% Hindus. But still inspite of the few riots/ and Congress counting muslims as votebanks. Muslims haven’t had it too bad. Unfortunate that many muslims are poor. But who is to blame for that ? Muslims themselves who have lost an identity to hindus. They sometimes don’t live in unison with the rest of the country. That makes it very difficult to really make them progress. Luckily because of Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Kaif, Indians have let go of the fact that indian muslims support the pakistan team during india-pakistan match. These trio of cricketers have done more to mobilise and make proud the indian muslims than anything before. They have brought an identity of Indian Muslims into the centrestage and it was very heartening to see all Indians rejoice and hindus be proud of these cricketers and make no difference between them . I think this will change the indian mindsets, and get off the congress party who only treats muslims as votebanks, and forget abt them after elections. Atleast the NDA government has ensured better recognition for them on the national stage, and made a staunch Hindu like me know more about the religion and bring about respect for the community.
India has never been so truly secular. This is India Shining.
Posted by: SecularHindu (4 comments) at April 20, 2004 3:29 PM
Again, I like to comment about the Muslim Population statistics in India. I recently met a few dozen Indians (Hindus, Sikhs) would also state the the India Census is normally incorrect, as my Muslim villages are counted as Hindu, where some areas are projected and not counted by the vote census. Above the rest, I found evidence carried out by a few Doctors in India the Muslims do number over 25% of the total population, with well over the region of 25 million. It is also important to note that once CIA confirm population statistics of any nation, apart from USA census, every is correct according to CIA. Yet USA census where ethnic population is concerned is always wrong, I wonder why >>>!
Posted by: Hussain (3 comments) at May 4, 2004 11:05 AM
Population Statistics for China were criticised by alot of Muslims both from China and around the world to CIA census. Yet no comments were made by the CIA reporting on the census statistics, and where again a few of us have written to CIA branch for the census information for India no reply to date. Yet it is confirmed by CIA now that Muslims number over 2 billion from 2002 yet Muslims sources have claim being over 2 billion in 1995. India alone has over 250 million and not 25 million, and China over 154 million and not 34 million.
Posted by: Hussain (3 comments) at May 4, 2004 11:11 AM
Hussain: Censuses are never 100% accurate. There are always some errors, especially in counting the poor and indigent.
India’s count of its Muslim population could be somewhat off, but I don’t think it can be off by a factor of 2 (12% vs 25%) as you allege.
China is a different matter. I haven’t looked at Chinese statistics recently but what I remember from 10-15 years ago is that because of Chinese repression of religion, no one had any idea of the number of Muslims in China.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at May 5, 2004 7:13 PM
Muslims are not terrorists. DOT. FULLSTOP
Posted by: Sami (1 comments) at May 9, 2004 6:48 AM
Low percentage of muslim population shown as per the cencus is to create a feeling that the mulims are still and always a very tiny population in India, but the truth is different. Allah knows the best..
Seek refuge in Allah and pray to Allah that what happend with Spanish muslims may not happen with Indian muslims.
Atleast now we must have faith in us and create a political background for the muslims without holding the tails of so called secular forces….
Posted by: Sheik (1 comments) at May 15, 2004 3:57 AM
Sami: You are correct that Muslims are not terrorists. However, some Muslims are.
Sheik: I don’t understand where all this conspiracy theory mongering is coming from.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at May 16, 2004 1:13 AM
And Muslims in India can be proud to call them self proud Indians. Of course , it’s their homeland. But when you say that you are Indian
people catch this up..
Indian>>Hindian>>>Hindi>>>Hind>>>Hindu????
That’s not what they are
they are Indian>>>Muslim!!
Before mentioning this you must think that the word Hindu derives from the word Sindu (river).
As the Aryans invaded India on BC 2nd century through Sindu River they are called as sindu when india called as only HIND. later they called there religion as Hindu.
So a muslim also can proud himslef as indian as the name india was derived from the word HIND.
Posted by: Ahmed (1 comments) at May 25, 2004 12:05 PM
Ahmed: Every Indian Muslim I know can be called an Indian nationalist.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at May 29, 2004 12:21 AM
pls send me the exact muslim population in india
Posted by: sibgat (1 comments) at July 31, 2004 7:14 AM
hi to all muslims around the world, i hope the growth increase and if we help each others ,the muslim world population will increase and it will help us reunite together………….may alah bless each and everyone specially (afghanistan)…witch suffered alot.
Posted by: rahim (1 comments) at August 2, 2004 1:08 AM
sibgat: Here is the religion data from the Indian Census of 1991. The 2001 census religion data hasn’t been released yet.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at August 2, 2004 2:40 PM
Can anybody give some information about incidence of bigamy among Muslims vis a vis among other communities?
Posted by: FAZAL (1 comments) at August 9, 2004 2:37 AM
Fazal: Anecdotally, I haven’t found bigamy to be very common among South Asian Muslims. But I don’t have any actual data.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at August 9, 2004 4:54 PM
inshaallah one day india would become a muslim country.those who are non muslim should study islam in detail,and they would find it what is a true religion
Posted by: arsalan (1 comments) at October 8, 2004 2:38 PM
hey arsalan, how u doin 2day buddy? hope all’s well…. [Edited by Siteowner]
Posted by: Indian (3 comments) at October 9, 2004 9:22 AM
One more question for u zack! how come a motrifying remark made by the so called big hole in the arse “i mean arsalan” about Hindu’s has not been deleted and the commenter banned?
Posted by: Indian (3 comments) at October 9, 2004 9:30 AM
I have one more thing to say to all u anti Indian ppl….. when u talk about muslims being oppressed in india an blah blah bull shit….y dont u compare the Indian situation with that of pakistan’s…..coz we in india have a democracy and not a military regime…..we have muslim leaders who are politically active in India…..where as in pakistan being hindu is a sin coz u have a military regime and minorities such as hindus are oppressed all the time and forced to follow islamic laws……that is so friggin ridiculous. Muslims in India are not illtreated in those respects,they have their rights, where as in pakistan the rights of the hindus have been snatched away from them…!
Posted by: Indian (3 comments) at October 9, 2004 9:47 AM
arsalan: I sincerely hope you are talking about convincing people to convert to Islam peacefully and reasonably and not thinking about conquering and killing.
Indian: I have removed some offensive personal comments from you. Keep the discussion civil. Disagree with arsalan as strongly as you can but don’t insult him or his family.
Regarding not banning arsalan, I try to keep the discussion as open as possible. Plus proselytization is not a crime. I have asked him to explain.
While the treatment of minorities is not at all good in all South Asian countries, I don’t know if we can directly compare whether India or Pakistan is doing marginally better in this regard. You are, of course, correct that India is a democracy and has a secular constitution unlike Pakistan.
Posted by: Zack
(1778 comments) at October 11, 2004 11:06 AM
First of all I am sorry for digressing from the main topic of Muslim population.
I think that people of any state or religion or other factors would always love to live in peace (barring the psychos). We humans take to the ‘other’ routes only when it poses a question to our existence.
What I am trying to say here is that religious fanaticism or the ensuing riots are not a fiction of a common man, who is more busy with his daily life. It is rather perpetrated by those who make the fanaticism the ‘route’ to their very existence and in there they find their success. I am referring to the Politicians. I believe that no one would ever endanger someone else’s peace - but these politicians have a direct interest in doing so. These are the people who incenerate the fires of riots. Rather than discussing Hindu-Muslim we should really move to eliminate this desease of humanity and more importantly as a means we should educate people (the poor masses) so that they can decide on their own.
Irony is that we all know this but do not understand.
Posted by: Prateek (1 comments) at October 21, 2004 4:34 AM
I was a proud Indian Muslim but now as I am an American Citizen I call myself an American Muslim.
But I still love India as any other Indian American irrespective of Religon.
As many people say that Indian Muslim population is about 150 million.
All Muslims are as loyal to their country as the Hindus. The only thing these FANATIC HINDUS like that guy Hindutwa think only those Muslims are loyal who represent India in national sports an play good againg Pakistan or those who design nuclear missiles for India like our Muslim President.
As that Sindhi guy is saying about Pakistan can he compare how many Hindus are killed in Pakistan because they are Hindus and how many Muslims are killed in India because they are Muslims. I am not a fan of Pakistan or have anything to do with it but one thing is there are lot more Muslims killed In India than the Hindus in Pakistan
There is very less descrimination of Muslims in India as far as education is concerned. They are lacking behind because they don’t work hard in School.
But there is descrimination in jobs and that is because if you get 100 aplicants of very similar calibe you will tend to hire the one who has your beliefs. This is mainly because of such a high unemployment.
Posted by: Nadeem (1 comments) at November 4, 2004 4:29 PM
Zack — BTW, what religion r u from? bcoz that will certainly explain everything.
Posted by: John (1 comments) at November 6, 2004 10:14 PM
John: I am a Muslim, though I have no idea how that would “explain everything.”
Posted by: Zack
(1778 comments) at November 7, 2004 1:00 AM
i want to just say that non muslim should understand islam and learn what is in it.the arab who were the idol worshipper become good muslim when they learned what it is really about.I hope that you should understand islam and choice better one from it.site owner i am perfectly fine.inshaallah one day whole india would become a muslim country
Posted by: arsalan (1 comments) at November 11, 2004 2:25 AM
i believe that the area of india is becoming muslim really fast.converging of hindus is fast because people are finding as a peacefull and a real religion.you will think that islam is a religion of terrorist,but that not the case, it has been misunderstood.those people who are fighting is because muslim are being attack by those people.so muslim are not going to sit and get their ass kick, they would fight.same discrimination is happening in india,and it would not be long that muslim will rise in india and would take an action against them.when this happen every non muslim realize that islam is true religion.
Posted by: umar (1 comments) at November 11, 2004 6:02 AM
how can you hindus believe in a thing that you have created yourself?humans are no god.there is one God and that is allah because if there was lots of god than there would not be anything stable and no creature would be surviving.everybody would be figthing for power and destroying each other creation
Posted by: uncle rauf (1 comments) at November 11, 2004 6:10 AM
Guys, this post was about the populous Muslim countries. So take your “India becoming Muslim” fantasies and Hindu-bashing elsewhere.
Posted by: Zack
(1778 comments) at November 12, 2004 8:44 PM
I just want make a comment about what this “Sindhi” guy said. He claims that things would be alot better if somehow India and Pakistan got back together again. Man, what kind of freaky dreamworld do you live in. Yo, you need to go get educated or read some history kid. The reason why Pakistan was created in the first place was because of that fact that Muslims and Hindus couldnt get along with each other. Muslim and Hindus are so different in their religious beliefs and culture that it is impossible for them to live peacefully without any incident. Muslims believe in one God, while hindus worship idols. Hindus consider some animals to be sacred, for example a cow, while Muslims and people of other religious believes consider it a viable part of their food chain.
The argument that muslims and hindus have lived together for so many years is true considering the fact that it was under muslim kings. Infact India in its entirety(starting from pakistan upto bangladesh) was never ruled by hindus. Different hindu Rajas have controlled a vast part of it, but never has a single hindu ruler ever controlled the whole of India.
Anyways I dont want to sound like a guy who is a complete bigot and doesnt believe in complete harmony with people of other religons, but the fact of the matter is, an india with a hindu majority and a sizeable muslim population is impracticle. Besides the hindus already think of the rising population of india as a threat, you think they would have sat well with a muslim population close to 450 million. It would have been an invitation to chaos.
Posted by: Omar (1 comments) at November 18, 2004 9:16 PM
Omar, the comments made by me obviously were just to provoke thought and comment. I’m not a fool. It’s virtually impossible to reunite India-Pakistan. I should have rephrased my comments. I meant it to be that India-Pakistan could develop a relationship like U.S-Canada.
BTW, England aided in developing Pakistan for their own political interests by driving the differences farther between Hindus and Muslims. Despite the religious differences, it’s not like the Hindus and Muslims NEVER got along. You seem to have a wrong impression of the relationships Hindus-Muslims have had throughout history.
Posted by: Sindhi Student (3 comments) at December 1, 2004 1:05 AM
I don’t have the energy to reply to so many off-topic comments.
Coming back to the original topic, according to the latest Indian census, the percentage of Muslims in India is 13.4%. As the July 2004 Indian population estimate is 1,065,070,607, the number of Muslims in India comes out to 143 million. Compare that to Pakistan’s 154 million Muslims.
Posted by: Zack
(1778 comments) at December 2, 2004 9:22 PM
Zack,
You can’t assume that the percentage of Islam has remained at exactly 13.4% since 2001, when India’s population was at 1.03 billion. At around 1.07 billion people now, I’d guess that the Islamic Indian population would be around 14%.
The data shows that over the past 43 years, only Islam has shown consistent growth in India, at a gain of 2.7% from 1961. Every other religion has remained stagnant or decreased as a of the total population. With Islam having a stated population of around 138,000,000 in 2001 at 13.4 of the population, the number is different now. Since the percentage of Islam in India has increased more from 1991-2001 than previous years, I would apply that growth from 2001 to 2004 as well. I assume that about Islam has increased at about .5% gain from 2001. Therefore, Islam, at 14% of of the 1.07 billion Indian population, is almost 150 million.
“Compare that to Pakistan’s population of 154 million.”
Could you send me the link where you received the data for Pakistan’s religious populations?
Posted by: Sindhi Student (3 comments) at December 3, 2004 12:03 PM
Sindhi: Point. Let’s say Indian Muslim population is in the range 143-148 million (13.4-13.9%).
The percentage of Muslims in Pakistan in 96.28% according to the 1998 census. The July 2004 population estimate is 159,196,336.
Note that I am using the latest population estimates from the CIA World Factbook. The Pakistani and Indian cnesus organizations give different current population estimates. However, CIA factbook religion data is out of date and inexact.
Posted by: Zack
(1778 comments) at December 3, 2004 1:15 PM
Soo many negative posts, anyway dose anyone know where i can find a reliable source for south asian muslim populations and growth trends for the coming years? I aggree that some of the figures presented at the CIA Factbook are quite out of date, even in regards to China… Shame! :(
And info will help, i need it for some research essays! Thankyou.
Posted by: Ren Guiziang (1 comments) at February 15, 2005 1:00 PM
Ren: Other than the Pakistani and Indian census websites, I can’t help you.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at February 18, 2005 11:14 AM
Zack,
I believe you may want to check this website if you haven’t already done so.
http://www.islamicpopulation.com/asia_islam.html
They claim that India has the highest number of muslims living in the country than anywhere else in the world, with a stated population of 213 million. Is this an accurate site?
Posted by: Sindhi Student (2 comments) at March 9, 2005 11:11 AM
Sindhi: Here is how they say they got the 20% number:
In an interview with a well circulated newspaper of India “The Hindu”, MR. Justice K. M. Yusuf, a retired Judge from Calcutta High Court and chairman of West Bengal Minority Commission, says that in his view the total percentage of Muslims in India is at least 20 %.
Another reason we believe that total percentage of Muslim in India is 20% at least, because if we notice the increase of population rate in Pakistan we will observe that after 1947 the total Muslim population in that country increased by almost 5 fold (Library of Congress). So, obviously the Muslim population in India has also increased at that rate. And it is well established fact the rate of increase in Indian Muslim community is very highest.
This does not seem like sound methodology to me.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at March 9, 2005 4:22 PM | PGP Sig
One thing is for certain there is no muslim oppression in India as it is always tried to be shown… I am a Hindu and at times i feel the laws made r only for us and not the muslims..there is a law in india that after 10p.m. the sound decimals have to be bare min. I stay in a Muslim locality and at the time of any of their festivals they blare their loudspeakers upto 3 or 4 a.m. causing severe inconvience to everybody. The police when informed do not take any action against these people fearing their never ending tales of minority harresment.Even during Friday prayers they start praying on the roads thereby stopping traffic…These r just a few instances… Sometimes one feels whether this is really our HINDUSTAN… They r Pampered beyond limits and when i read ur articles and someone suggests the Indian muslims are troubled it really leaves me AMUSED…..
Posted by: raj (1 comments) at May 8, 2005 5:00 PM
raj: I think the reality is somewhere between “pampered” and “oppressed.”
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at May 9, 2005 8:58 PM | PGP Sig
Sorry for deviating from the main topic, but Hinduism is a far more complicated religion than most people would be able to understand (Hindus included) Idol worship is only symbolic, Hinduism really believes in one formless and limitless omnipresent omni etc etc all powerful genderless GOD. The multitudes of Gods and Godesses and stories about them that have given shape to hinduism of today are really just stories (Puranas), part of Hindu mythology and were meant to be treated as such. Although we see reconversions today, Hinduism also does not believe in converting people - as long as you are a good person, consider yourself a good Hindu, no matter how big a meat eater you are or how ignorant you ar about Hindus living in India. A young Pakistani American Muslim woman recently wrote a book called why I am a Muslim. A very good and well written book. She describes how certain cultural aspects that were never part of actual Islam are considered Muslim traditions. Hinduism is much much older than Islam. So traditions have been imbibed into Hinduism to a far greater extent than in any other religion. Most people, Hindus included, think that those traditions are integral part of their religion.
I am particularly proud of the fact that we do not try to convert other people into our religion. In any other religion, religious tolerance is an oxymoron. Whether we do it by persuation or by force if we are trying to convert people to our faith, we are making a loud statement that we do not tolerate other religions (other peoples views) and would like the entire world to think just the way we do. Reminds me of some sci fi Hollywood movies where an alien power tries to take over the world and rule it by making everyone think just the way it thinks. To me such a thought is scary. I hope better sense prevails on all those so keen on converting others.
Now Zack, the cenus by Govt of India is not reliable. A true estimate would make the right wing Hindu Nationalists angry. As we are all aware, there are right wing Hindu Nationalists who are already claiming that the muslim population is higher than 25%. Most muslims in India actually believe that number to be true, and like some of the people here in the group, they hope that the entire India would someday become Muslim. Although it seems far fetched at present, it may become a reality. The true percentage of Muslims in India is like someone quoted “Allah knows best”.
There are more atrocities against Muslims in India than against Hindus in Pakistan because there are hardly any Hindus left in Pakistan. If we really need an honest account, we should consider all the Hindus and Sikhs that were killed during partition. In comparison, riots in India were better controlled by police. When Babri masjid was demolished, most politicians associated with it dissociated themselves calling it henious and shameful. Mulayam Singh Yadav, the then chief minister of UP brought in the PAC, a mostly Muslim police force and killed a large number of Hindus who were still rioting. The Govt and all media deplored the demolition act. In Pakistan however, MPs lead the masses into rampage bringing down all Hindu temples they could lay their hands on. People cheered and the general opinion was a very happy one. Hindus do not have overground temples in Pakistan (generally) The are no politicians in Pakistan that are analogous to Laloo Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Arjun Singh (Muslim butt lickers or pseudo secularists whatever one may call them) and the likes. Comparing India and Pakistan is like comparing the moon with the horse’s butt (Bengali translation).
What irritates me most is when journalists write that after partition India was divided into a Muslim Pakistan and a Hindu majority India. A naive reader will think that partition created two theocratic nations, India being a Hindu nation. Zack, you too gave your religious bias away when you wrote that it is not proper to discuss which nation (India or Pakistan) is ‘marginally’ better in treating minorities. Inspite of Gujrat violence and Babari Masjid demolition, India is way better in its treatment of religious minorities than ANY theocratic Muslim nation, and Zack, admit it or not, you know it too.
Hope peace prevails.
Ajay.
Posted by: Ajay (1 comments) at June 13, 2005 3:39 AM
Ajay:
the census by Govt of India is not reliable.
It probably isn’t, but my contention is that it is the best available estimate. Has there been any systematic study of the errors and biases in the Indian census? I know that statisticians in the US use statistical analysis to estimate the true population from census person counts and population samples. The general idea is that some parts of the population, like immigrants, minorities and the poor, are not fully counted in a person count.
you too gave your religious bias away when you wrote that it is not proper to discuss which nation (India or Pakistan) is ‘marginally’ better in treating minorities.
My point in saying that was not a quantitative analysis. For one thing, I don’t think this is the thread to discuss the treatment of minorities in India and Pakistan. For another, in both countries there have been lots of problems with minority rights over the years. While India might be better, its record is nothing to be proud of.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at June 15, 2005 11:31 PM | PGP Sig
To all my Indian Friends ( irrespective of religion, caste, creed etc.),
Though the topic discussed here is about percentage of Muslim population in India, I would like to
take the liberty of drawing your attention to other realities faced by majority of Indians now and those which they may face in future :
1) Even after 57 years of independence, we are still debating on the population demography in India. Instead we are forgetting the following facts:
(i) More than 30 of our population lives below poverty line. This figure has remained
unchanged for 5 decades. The rest ( barring rich and upper middle class) are struggling
daily to meet both ends.
(ii) Lack of proper Medical facilities and very few Hospitals.
(iii) Rising cost of basic amenities, medicines and education.
(iv) Unemployment problem due to large population.
(v) A very small portion of rich people (whether Hindus or Muslims) maintain autonomy
over everything and keep on multiplying money, it is middle class & poor who suffers
because of their manipulative practices.
(v) Lack of water and power supply.
(vi) Add to this, we have a growing population of AIDs victims. As per govt. figures, in many
pockets, it has scaled to more than 2 of the region’s population. Hence, actual figures
could be higher. Every one will agree that it could cause a havoc if this trend continues.
All the above problems are affecting Hindus & Muslims alike. And we are arguing over
trivial issues.
(2) As for India becoming a Muslim country. If it makes India a prosperous, healthy and society
free of violence, then I would be glad to be a Muslim in such an India. But wait! Wasn’t Pakistan
supposed to be a heaven for Muslims? But where it is now. The Bangladeshis willingly separated
due to atrocities from their Muslim brothers. Even with lower population density than India, it
has been a failure even though it was created with great hope from many Muslim leaders.
Frequently we hear of bomb blasts in a …… mosque killing ……, in a purely Muslim state!
Are Indian Muslims really treated as their brothers? or simply regarded as Moha…..( sorry)
I had heard from two Aga Khanis that certain clergymen in Pakistan were demanding to
banish (Aga Khanis, Isamilies ) from Pakistan. Believe me this is what I heard and even I was
surprised.
The truth is that the inherent divisive characteristics of Hindus remained with them even after they
converted to Islam.
Similarly, a so called Hindu rashtra is not going to take India anywhere. The consequences
will be bad. Already, it is infested with caste differences. Hindu society is the only one in the
world which authorises caste distiction. Over and above this, rich Hindus exploit their poor brethrens severely and rob them of their rightful means. ( Baniyas, Builders, Zamindar etc.)
There is no limit of their greediness and rapacity. ( Squeezing the nation thru’ manipulative
practices as if everything belongs to them only).
Truth is that even if India remains as it is, or gets divided once again ,or becomes
a Muslim nation, the inhabitants will not really be benefitted unless they succeed
in achieving what is really to be achieved. It will then be ignored by the world, lagging
behind with problems without solutions.
Hence, imagine such a state alongwith all above ( economic, health etc problems).
Is this what we are wishing for ourselves and our future generation?
Regards
Posted by: Devang Patel (1 comments) at June 29, 2005 10:32 AM
As-salamwalikum
I am an Indian Muslim living in the city of Hyderabad. Regarding the population of muslims in India, I would say a fair estimate would be between 16% - 20%. I say this because i have travelled a lot throughout India and was frankly surprised to find muslims in some places. Evey village and every city has a sizeable population of muslims living within it. Now although hyderbad and its surrounding areas have abt 40% muslim population, the state of Andhra Pradesh has 15% muslim population.
As far as treatment of muslims in India is concered I would say all this talk about persecution is false. Agreed there are biased people here and you can find them but that is only because this is such a vast country with so many different peoples and cultures. I am no fan of India but I would say that we feel pretty safe here. There is a high handed way the police deal with people here but I think it is the same for hindus and muslims (although you can argue that muslims are meted out a little more unfair treatment). But on the whole its a great place to be in (ie hyderabad) and the only reason i can think of why muslims are so backward here is not because of Islam or muslim lack of intellect but more because there is an unwillingness to work hard and achieve something. I can say this because I am in engineering college for muslims and the situation here is absolutely abhorable. All said and done there slowly seems to be a desire to work hard now. That spark which was lacking for such a long time has been ignited and inshallah we will work hard and achieve our goals and be a postive growth for our society. Inshallah and pray for all muslims and humanity.
Posted by: M. Javad (1 comments) at July 9, 2005 11:40 AM
finally, is it all over?
Posted by: streetboy (1 comments) at August 19, 2005 6:54 AM
see we dont say that muslims should not live in india butt u see histry whereever muslim have increased there is terrisom ,religion convertion and distruction of histry.
Posted by: nanik udassi (2 comments) at August 23, 2005 6:43 AM
The Sindhi Hindu Population: Foreign Influences on Their Culture by Aileen Wortley.
[Edited by Site owner to remove text of article]
Posted by: nanik udassi (2 comments) at August 24, 2005 1:59 AM
nanik: Please don’t post other people’s essays in the comments. A link to the essay would have been better. I have replaced the text with a link.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at August 24, 2005 9:55 PM | PGP Sig
During 1947 there were 35% hindus in Bangladesh. Now we are 10%. What happent to those 25% hindus? Most of them were killed my muslims. Some of them were migrated to India. Whereas during 1947 the percentage of muslim was less than 13% in India. Now they are increasing. I do not know why donot they killed by hindus or kicked out India to fucking Pakistan. Bastard muslims.Fuck muslim. Fuck Quran. Fuck Arab
Posted by: Biswajit (1 comments) at September 6, 2005 2:44 AM
Biswajit: Watch your language.
On the content of your comment, I have also heard that the percentage of Hindus in Bangladesh has been decreasing, though I don’t know by how much. Regardless of the numbers, it is definitely not a good thing.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at September 7, 2005 11:11 PM | PGP Sig
I believe this post was originally about census numbers. However, as is almost to be expected in any India-Pakistan debate, this has basically turned into a mud-slinging test match.
For my part, I believe that census data is way too obsolete at best and grossly inaccurate at worst. However I agree with Zack that for the want of a statistically more reliable alternative, the census data certainly is the “lesser evil”.
Although I am currently a resident of US, I have travelled extensively within India and it is my personal opinion (also seems that it is the opinion of a number of people who have posted their views here) that the population of Indian muslims is grossly under-stated in official figures. However in response to some of the comments regarding India becoming a Muslim state - I have to say “happy day dreaming” because if India couldn’t be converted into a Muslim state in the better part of a 1000 years that it has suffered Islamic aggression, it is hard to believe that it will happen any time soon in the future!
Posted by: Susant (1 comments) at September 13, 2005 5:27 PM
Hey people
i would like to say that all people writte that indian muslim papulation is 3rd largest religion in the world and it’s not true they are not 3rd largest indian muslim papulation becuase indian muslim papulation have grow up to 250 million.
They are over 250 million living in india. Muslim papulation is nearly to 300 millon. They have take indonesian muslim papulation. Indian muslim papulation it’s world’s largest.
Posted by: sunny (1 comments) at September 19, 2005 12:29 PM
After perusing the comments, I’d say that it’s probable that the Indian Muslim population stands at about 15% and the not absurd 13% or 25% which are the inputs of biased individuals. As far as Islam becoming the world’s no.1 religion or of India becoming a Muslim majority nation is concerned, it certainly cannot come about as the law governing the cosmos in all its aspects is “Unity Underlying Diversity”.
In fact, as far as the world following a standard faith is concerned, the only idea that comes closest is that of Self-Realisation.
If Self-Realisation becomes the world’s religion, it would unite mankind on subtler planes of Cosmic Consciousness as never before and drive out all those myths of the so-called superiority of any single religion over others.
With Self-Realisation as the world’s highest faith, Truth would be known first hand, as a matter of direct experiences, without the need to rely on some superficial book theories, half of which are false with the rest being shown to be mundane or common sense knowledge.
Then the need to demographically compete would disappear as all would value Truth as a matter of actual realisations without having to merely become slaves of mythical/unprovable book claims.
By the way, Allah is an original Vedic-Sanskrit word which means the Impersonal Cosmic Masculine Consciousness which is a manifestation of the supra cosmic Absolute Consciousness (God).
Besides, Eid, Kaaba, Hajj, Ra, Mam, Mim, Ain,Hajj, circumambulation of a stone pillar during Hajj, Tonsuring the head, clipping the hair, donning seamless garments and so many other key Islamic terms/customs are of Vedic origin.
And, above all, the Vedas are the only holy books to preach Reality in terms of the laws of Cosmic Consciousness and their varied gradations right down to matter. Quantum mechanics is slowly arriving at the same conclusion but the Vedas give out incisive details of Consciousness (as a graded manifested Consciousness-Force) that far surpasses any scientific exposition.
With the Semitic religions, God is extra-cosmic, creation occured out of nothing,heavens are undefinable places in the clouds or out of the universe and so on.
These absurdities are to be found in the Semitic books as they make not a single mention of Consciousness (as the underlying Reality of matter and of everything else). Ok Arsalan,
Javed?
Warm Regards,
Joel P
Posted by: joel pastakia (32 comments) at October 13, 2005 1:27 PM
Considering the naked disdain many Indian Muslim commentators on this site have for other communities,including for their own motherland, which is evident in their wishes that the world becomes Muslim or India gets converted into an Islamic nation, I would like to first of all query their source of beliefs.
How come you guys come to believe every fiction on the basis of uncorroborated book beliefs?
Just because a book blindly preaches something, why do you blindly believe what it says without employing a minimum rationality to at least theoretically verify its claims?
Practically speaking, nothing of the Quranic claims regarding creation out of nothing, creation in 6-8 days, virgin birth, winged horses, rivers of wine/milk/honey in heaven, boiling water in hell, whores in heaven and the rest makes sense (allegorically or otherwise) or can ever be proved.
If you guys can not answer a single query by using a little subtler rationality and if the Quran or any other book can not even define what heaven, hell or soul, etc, is in terms of their repective materio-functional basis and how they connect among themselves and how they link up with matter, then does it make sense to keep repeating all this gibberish?
What are the cosmic materials and forces of your heaven, hell, soul, etc, composed of? How do they connect with each other and with mind, vital, emotions and matter?
Underlying all diversity is Unity, do not forget this. Otherwise nothing could exist.
Do your uncorroborated religious beliefs answer any of these simple but fundamental qustions? Obviously, the answer is NO.
So, how can you claim that what you believe in is superior or even true?
And, do not bring Consciousness into the picture to answer the above queries related to the supra physical and its connections with matter.
Rememeber, not to quote Consciousness/Consciousnes-Force as your answer as none of the Semitic Books even mention Consciousness, nor do these dualistic Semitic Books explain things in a causal manner leading up to a Absolute Untiy as in expositions on monism in which finally it is declared, as science has discovered on the material plane, that unity underlies every phenomenon (physical or supra physical - everything is a graded manifestation of an Absolute Conscient Source).
Islam talks of God as extra-cosmic as if it is ever possible for cause to exist independent of effect. The effect is nothing but the cause in graded manifestation.
So, before rushing off to blindly quote a book, first check whether its teachings make cosmic and causal sense.
Finally, no one can even prove that Adham, Ibrahim, Ilyas, Isa, Musa, Yunus and the rest were historical characters. So, how do you believe in them?
MORAL: Leave demographics and calls to convert ot Islam aside, first focus on verifying whether your religious beliefs are rational and provable or are they purely fictional.
Regards,
Joel
Posted by: joel pastakia (32 comments) at October 13, 2005 2:00 PM
salam to all brothers and sisters,
firstly in reply to joel i would say that Quaran is a perfect Book and many islamic scholars have challenged any one to prove even a single fault in it. for more info on this check out www.aswatalislam.net/DisplayFilesP.aspx?TitleID=50027 . this website will even clarify your own beliefs about hinduism.
Also i have noticed that there are only non-muslim people here who are directly abusing islam and musims. like comments made by joel pastakia, Biswajit and a few others.. only in a forum they cannot accept the muslim views and (incorrect)population statistics…..so imagine these type of people us minorities have to face everyday in India.
Its disgraceful to see people talk like that…
Also in reply to comments made by people who think muslims are ruthless killing machines and terrorists and they kill people and hindus.
can any one explain to me how come there are more hindus in india than muslims even after the mughals and muslims have ruled over india for 100s of year. Mulims have always been tolerant and islam is the most tolerant religion in the world is proved by the huge population of hindus in india even after india beinf ruled by MUGHALS AND MUSLIMS FOR YEAR.
In a message to no muslims i would like to say is that…..SEE WHAT HAPPENNED TO MUSLIMS IN SPAIN WHEN THE CHRISTIANS TOOK OVER..NOW ONLY AROUND 1%MUSLIMs REMIAN THERE….YOU SHOULD BE THANKFUL TO THE PREACHING OF ISLAM THAT YOU ARE STILL IN INDIA EVEN AFTER MUSLIMS RULED OVER INDIA FOR 100’S AND 100’S OF YEAR.
Jasakalla khair.
Danish
Posted by: Danish (2 comments) at October 14, 2005 7:34 AM
In response to Mr Jasakhalla Khair who blindly parrots the claim that the Quran is a perfect book that remains unchallenged in its wisdom, I repeat that what I said in my previous mails more than breaks this blind belief of the so-called infallibility of the Quran.
Firstly, not a single key concept, terminology or ritual is original in the Quran. For instance, Allah, Eid, Kabba, Ra,Mam, Mim, Sim, Rabi, Hajj, sangmay aswad and many others are borrowed Vedic Sanskrit terms; the Hajj customs of tonsuring the head or clipping the hair, signifance attached to water (zam zam), donning of seamless clothes, circumambulation of the black stone, etc, pre-date Isalm and are directly plaigiarised from Vedic ritutals. The paltry Quranic science pertaining to simple geographical or astronomical facts, the elementary biological details, the information on food/diet, etc, are all directly lifted from the far older cultures of India, China, Greece and others.
Even monotheism is a very old Vedic idea that entered Judaism, Zororastrianism, Christianity and much later it was taken up by Islam, but, the Vedic Seers, having discovered the incompleteness and irrationality of monotheism, went beyond in their supra sensory searches and discovered that Monism or Unity underlying diversity to be the Ultimate Reality in which cuase is not divorced from effect with the latter being a graded manifestation of the supreme undelying cause.
Monism or Unity has also been confirmed by science on the physical plane as postulated by Bell’s, the Boots Strap, Holographic and other path-breaking theorems that postulate a single material force (GUF) as constituting the grand unity of all material existence.
Similarly, on a cosmic scale, the Vedas discovered an Ultimate Unity underlying the whole cosmos - A supra cosmic Absolute Consciousness that serves both as the subtle and gross material and efficient Cause of the multi-planar cosmos. The Absolute Consciounsess in manifestation is a Consciousness-Force that projects the graded cosmos right down to matter.
With Islam, puerile ideas of extra-cosmic god has to be introduced to explain the universe but this is untenable as it contradicts the rationale of universal causality which demands that cause and effects are never separate but always linked (as effect is the outcome of a cause).
funnily,an extra cosmic god is totally unconnected with the universe but still “magically” produces the cosmos “out-of -nothing” and manages to manipulate it “some-how or the other”.
Does “creation-out-of-nothing” and “cause-unlinked with effect” make the least rational sense? Not at all.
This is why monotheism/tauheed of the extra-cosmic kind is a falsehood but the spirituo-intellectually inferior ones take it to be the final revealed truth! Not surprising !!
On the other hand, since cause has to be the source of effect, it logically follows that the effect is nothing else but a partial or full manifestation of the underlying cause.
Besides, as the Quran does not make a single mention of Consciosuness,it’s not surprising that it is forced to preach an irrational extra-cosmic philosophy that rates “creation-out-of nothing” and “cause-totally-unconnected-with -effect” as “cardinal truths”, but, still “somehow”, as in fiction movies, both cause and effect manage to exist with cause, though external to effect, yet being capable of producing and governing the effect! This is all nonsense but it forms the staple religious diet of billions of people following the dualistic faiths.
Finally, if Consciousness (a non-computational quantity) is not taken into consideration, then, obviously, heavens, hells, souls, angels, god, devils, etc, become fictional concepts and though these are said to be supra-physical/non-physical entities, yet, paradoxically, they’ll will have to be explained in gross materialistic terms which is a serious contradiction (as hells, heavens, angels, djinns, etc, are clearly supra-physical planes/entities) and hence if Quran, Bible or Zaboor talks about them without introducing the concept of Consciousness, then every becomes a laughing stock, a fairy tale.
In such a situation, we find that, since the Quran, Bible or Zaboor, fail to mention Consciousness, every claim regarding hells, heavens, djins, etc, will consequntly have to be protrayed in gross material terms which does not tally with the non-material or supra-physical nature of these cosmic entities.
As a result, in the Quran or Bible, we discover irrational descriptions of some undefined heaven (in which rivers of alcohol/milk/honey flow), winged horses as in cartoon magazines, whores in heaven, boiling water in hell and so on.
If heaven, for, instance is a supra-physical place, how come there exist purely material things like alcohol/honey/milk there? Can boiling water exist in a non-physical (supra-physical) place like hell?
The impartial observer can easily smash such fictional and baseless allegories to bits by quering what is the material, force compostion of, for instance, heaven and how does it link with mind, vital, emotions and matter?
If heaven is a supra physical place, then how come it is a place of gross materiality (filled with honey, alcohol,milk, boiling water, etc) and further what is its materio-force basis and how does it link with matter?
It is only when Consciousness is considered that the picture becomes clear/logical.
Since Consciousness is the only non-computational quantity in existence in a universe of matter (as even science has discovered), it is thus rational to consider Consciousness as the supra-physical or non-physical basis of the universe and in its subtler states (free from the taint of matter), it is only logical to understand that Consciousness alone can account for the existence of supra-physical/non-physical planes or entities called heavens, hells, angels, etc.
Today, science has understood that Consciousness is the substratum of the Quantum World and through the theorems on parallel universes among others, undogmatic physicists have accepted the existence of the non-physical planes of existence. So many other proofs exist.
Though science has understood all this, yet the true nature of Consciousnes and the manner by which it connects with matter is a dark area for it. But, at least science is heading in the right direction unlike the dualistic faiths like Islam whose books, since they are devoid of this most crucial aspect (Consciousness, have concocted all sorts of irrational beliefs violating the laws of cause-efect and of painting heavens and hells in gross material terms (eg; rivers of milk in heaven) but, then, ironically, still claiming that heavens, hells, etc, are non-physical states.
No wonder pious Muslims keep looking up to the sky in search of the 7-heavens that are supossed to be piled one on top of the other with lamps dangling from the lower heaven! Laughably, “up” and “down” are relative terms as the earth being a near-sphere there is no absolute “Up” or “down”.
Remember, God, Heavens, Hells, etc, are within your own Consciousness and inherent in every atom! This postulation alone can rationally explain the nature and function of God-Nature-Man.
Everything else is fiction, though each one is free to believe in what he/she wants…though rational answers/empirical proofs will be conspicuously missing from such a blind believer’s bank of sterile knowledge with fiction usurping the place of rationality!
Joel P
Posted by: joel pastakia (32 comments) at October 15, 2005 11:29 AM
Wow, Joel.
For the first time in my life I’ve come across some really terrific rational arguments that blast Islamic myths to bits. Neither the Quran nor the Bible has a single rational answer/proof to confront any of your fundamental queries.
With us Muslims everything is based merely on uncorroborated beliefs without us possessing any rational answers or proofs to any cosmic question realting to heavens, hells, etc.
You rightly have also brought to light the lack of historical evidence concerning the old prophets Adham, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa, Yunus, etc.
Truly not an atom of proof exists to prove that these old Semitic prophets ever existed.
The absence of explanations based on Cosmic Consciousness and its varied subtler movements, as Joel has rightly pointed out, converts every Quranic or Biblical reference to heaven, hell, djinns, farishtas, etc, into mere myths/fairy tales.
Obviously, if Muslims believe in non-physical places like heavens,hells,etc, then the skeptic has every right to inquire as to what the nature of these places with respect to their material, force, functional composition are and the manner in which they are linked to our physical universe.
Naturally, only Consciousness (that connects down to matter) in its lower and higher expressions or planes can rationally provide a convincing answer. All else is fiction.
Bravo, Joel. I am impressed.
The poor fictionalists of Islam must be squirming in their seats but are unlikely to concede the poverty of the Quran. They’ll go on arguing till Quyamat. There’s no hope for them.
Has it rightly been said, that Subtle Rationality is the weapon the rabid Muslims and proselytising Christain Fathers fear the most because Rationality can demolish all the myths gathered for the past 1400 or 2000 years.
But come to think of it, how terrible it has been that these very Semitic myths have brought about so much of bloodshed. Frankly, Islamists are fighting over a pack of myths and unsubstantiated nonsensical beliefs.
Regards,
Ahmed Ishaque
Posted by: ahmed ishaque (3 comments) at October 16, 2005 3:37 AM
Guys, knock it off. If you haven’t noticed, this post was about the population of Muslims in different countries. You have strayed far from that topic.
Posted by: Zack (1778 comments) at October 20, 2005 5:04 PM | PGP Sig
I agree that we’ve strayed far from the topic under contention but the lengthy digression was certainly essential as many Muslim commenters have linked up demographics with the so-called religious superiority or Islamisation of the world or of India. This is why I guess, a truly secular braveheart like Joel had to step in and deliver a hard knock on the heads of these bigots by shattering all their fiction. He’s done a marvellous job of demonstrating the hollowness and outright puerility of Muslim beliefs. In fact as Joel has pointed out almost all the key Quranic terms/rituals have been plaigiarised from various ancient cultures - (even, as Joel noted, the word Allah - an original Sanskrit word from the Vedas signifying a minor aspect of the supra cosmic Absolute Consciousness consciousness, has been copied!)
Not one of the Islamist’s religious claims can ever be substantiated,but, on the contrary, their beliefs can be shown false except for juvenile ethical stuff (related to charity, honesty, non-stealing, etc) that has been known since millennia to humankind even before the advent of Islam or any faith for that matter.
Regards,
Ahmed Ishaque
Posted by: Ahmed Ishaque (3 comments) at October 21, 2005 12:15 AM
JOEL and AHMED ISHAQUE ARE THE SAME PERSON…100%
Message to both of you.
STOP COPYING STUFFS FROM ANTI ISLAM SITES AND POSTING IT HERE. FOR NONE OF THEM ARE TRUE.
BUT ONE THING THAT IS DEFINITELY TRUE IS THAT ALL YOU NON BELIEVERS WILL GO TO HELL.
Danish
Posted by: Danish (2 comments) at October 25, 2005 7:15 AM
Danish,
Like an ignorant person, all that a fanatic like you can do is to deny the arguments of others without being able to disprove anything.
Can you disprove anything I’ve said by providing sound reasons and proofs? On the other hand, can you provide me with rational answers and proofs to any of your naive claims of the so-called superiority of the Quran and so on?
I am sure you can not answer a single question rationally or provide a single proof to back up any of your silly superstitions of winged horses, creation out of nothing, extra-cosmic god, 6 or 8 day creation, whores in heaven, rivers of milk, honey and alcohol in heaven, boiling water in hell, and so on.
You don’t even know the definition of heaven or hell in terms of its materio-force composition and the manner in which it links with the rest of the cosmos and the way it connects with mind, emotions and matter.
Despite being so ignorant, yet you curse others by saying that they’ll go to hell. I am laughing.
But, hey, wait, Danish, what is the gross/subtle material-force composition of hell? How does it link with the the other planes of the cosmos and with mind, emotions and matter?
Do you have the answer? Does the Quran have the answer or proof even on the ordinary subject of hell? NO.
So, what’s the use of all your false boasts of the superiority of Islam and the juvenile rest.
Regards,
Joel
Posted by: joel Pastakia (32 comments) at October 26, 2005 12:39 AM
DANISH,
YOUR IGNORANCE IS SHOWING.
YOU DO NOT HAVE A SINGLE RATIONAL ANSWER OR ANY PROOF TO SUPPORT ANY OF YOUR FAIRY TALES DRAWN FORM THE QURAN, BIBLE, ZABOOR OR WHEREVER.
STOP MAKING A FOOL OF YOURSELF.
SO, WHAT IS THE USE OF CURSING PEOPLE AND WISHING THAT THEY ROAST IN HELL WHEN YOU CAN NOT EVEN DEFINE THE NATURE OF HELL?
This table works as evidence that Islamic terrorism is more a function of loose oil money than of Islam. Of these nations, only Iran has oil and only Iran is accused of terrorism.
It also works against the idea that Islamic terrorism is an expression of the desperation of the poor, because Bangla Desh, Ethiopia and Indonesia are also not important sources of terrorism.