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.

By Zack

Dad, gadget guy, bookworm, political animal, global nomad, cyclist, hiker, tennis player, photographer

326 comments

  1. Friends,

    If Joel, Sanjoy,Prabha, etc, are to be banned, then why not also ban Asif, Uncle Rauf and several other Muslim commentors for all the abuses and blasphemies they’ve used against Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, etc?

    why does Rai Yashendra not indict Asif of abusing the Hindu faith?

    Obviously, Rai yashendra is teased, defeated and foiled in his own game. He thought that by praising the Quran through the quotes on the Miraj, he’d first win over Asif and other Muslims to his side and then slowly he would start preaching the radical messages of Sri Sri Thakurji – Muhammad was not the last prophet, Chaitanya was the prophet who came after Muhammad, Muhammad should be worshipped as Allah, the need to follow caste rules, etc. This was his game plan – a typical Hindutvaadi approach !

    But, when the views of Thakurji were prematurely exposed by me, he had no answer and could not defend his own shaky position – that the teachings of Sri Thakurji were really very different from the message of the Quran.

    At least, we’ve never used abusive language (f***, bas***, etc); in fact, we’ve never criticised any prophet. In one message, Joel saluted all prophets – past, present and future.

    All we have done is to expose the fanaticism and ignorance of the Muslims and of other criminal elements like Rai Yashendra on this forum.

    Can anyone refute the fact the historical/archaeological references to Miraj in Quran are incorrect and that the Al Aqsa Masjid did not exist at the time of Muhammad’s Miraj?

    We’ve not denounced the Miraj; in fact, we’ve acknowledged its mystical significance.

    Every other debunking of the myths abounding in the Quran like the recent myth bursting regarding the “origin of the universe from smoke” is valid.

    No sane person will endorse the Quranic verse stating that the universe originated from smoke. The verifiable scientific facts prove otherwise.

    Is it wrong to point out these factual errors in the present version of the Quran?

    Was Copernicus wrong when he pointed out that the earth was round and not flat?

    Should people be left to believe in the myths preached by the Quran that the universe originated from smoke or that creation out of nothing is possible?

    Our collective conscience will neither allow bigots to abuse one religion while promoting myths from their own religious books nor can our conscience permit the preaching of anti-national ideology as done by Asif and others on this forum.

    Proponents of Sri Sri Thakur believe that their preachings will make Muslims renounce the Quran.

    If the Muslims read the books of Sri Sri Thakurji, they’ll notice, as pointed out in an earlier message by me, that Thakurji did not consider Muhammad to be the Last Prophet. Will any Muslim agree to this view as promoted by Sri Thakurji? NO.

    All the 9 points typed by me in the earlier message clearly indicate that Thakurji had ideas (e.g, on caste, eugenics, marriage, diet, prophet worship, equating the human soul with God, etc) that were very different from the teachings of the present version of the Quran. None of these radical points are to be found in the Quran.

    This is what we pointed out. That’s all. What wrong have we done?

    Will Asif ever abide by Thakurji’s instructions to worship Muhammad as Allah, to consider himself as Allah, to look upon Sri Chaitanya as the prophet who came after Muhammad or to marry according to caste and gotra? NO, NO, NEVER.

    Why will Asif or any other orthodox Muslim never agree with what Sri Sri Thakurji preached?

    Obviously, they won’t agree since the Quran preaches otherwise.

    Asif or any Muslim would consider it the greatest BLASPHEMY to even think that Muhammad should be worshipped as Allah or that Chaitanya was the prophet after Muhammad.

    I am sure that Asif and other orthodox Muslims would physically thrash Rai Yashendra to hear him preach that Muhammad ought to be worshipped as Allah or that Muhammad was NOT the Last Prophet !!!! They will follow what the Quran says, not what Sri Thakurji had to say.

    We challenge Rai Yashendra to preach Sri Thakurji’s sweet but radical philosophy in any Muslim dominated area !!!

    Can Rai Yashendra kindly go to the Aligarh Muslim University or to any mosque and tell the Muslims there that they should start worshipping Muhammad as Allah or that they should stop considering Muhammad as the last prophet and accept Chaitanya as the prophet who succeeded Muhammad? THIS IS A CHALLENGE TO RAI YASHENDRA !!! He dare not preach all that and he knows the outcome !!! Within minutes, he’ll be dead or badly beaten up !!!

    We don’t ask for the expulsion of Rai Yashendra or Asif or anyone else from this august forum as we value dissent !

    Warm Regards,

    Sanjoy Parkar and others present.

  2. BUSTING ANOTHER MYTH IN THE QURAN:

    DO MOUNTAINS PREVENT EARTHQUAKES?

    1.The Prophets (Al-Anbiya’) 21:31, Middle Meccan,
    “And We have set on the earth firm mountains, lest it should shake with them…”

    2.The Bee (Al-Nahl) 16:15, Late Meccan,
    “And He has cast onto the earth firm mountains lest it should shake with you…”

    3.Luqman 31:10, Late Meccan, “He has created the heavens without supports that you can see, and has cast onto the earth firm mountains lest it should shake with you..”

    4.The News (Al-Naba’) 78:6-7, Early Meccan,
    “Have We not made the earth an expanse, and the mountains as stakes.”(“as those used to anchor a tent in the ground” –
    Bucaille p182.)

    5.The Overwhelming (Al-Ghashiya) 88:17,19, Early Meccan,
    “Do they (the unbelievers) not look…at the mountains, how they have been pitched (like a tent)” (Translation Bucaille p 181)

    THE ANALYSIS:

    I have heard several Muslims talk about this and how this is the latest scientific insight. On the scientific discussion of this issue see the chapter in Dr. Campbell’s book. I have a different question here:

    Given that this idea is given quite some emphasis in the Qur’an since it is repeated several times, I am wondering what Muslims think about the several dozens of earthquakes that happen every year? Some of them of greatly devastating power!

    If the prevention of earthquakes was the purpose for mountains, why are they not preventing them? Isn’t this claim [without any science] refuted by anybody who is able to read a newspaper?

    Of course, people know that the earth can still shake even if there is a mountain, ask the people of Mount Rainer, the inhabitants in the Himalayan towns near Tehri, the still petrified people of Pompeii or more recently those living in the mountainous region of Kashmir.

    Even small tremors in mountain regions kill people all the time, which is why, if youve ever driven through a mountain side, youve probably seen a sign saying “look out for falling rocks!!”.

    Mountains are created by the collision of the earths plates, and are thus instead the product of ‘shaking’ as opposed to the preventor of earth shaking. Also, since we know for a fact that this collision of plates is what creates Mountains.

    PS:

    Question: Do mountains have any effect on the rotation of the earth on its axis? As far as ‘balancing it out’is concerned.

    Answer: Mountains have little or no effect on the rotation of the Earth. Compared to the diameter of the Earth, mountains are no more than a roughness on the surface. If you look at a textured globe, you can see and feel that the mountains are no more than small bumps compared to the Earth.

    Lots of Love:

    Sanjoy

  3. AN ENLIGHTENED QUOTE ON REALITY

    Compare the following quote with the crude, fictional, dualistic verses found in the Quran, Bible, certain Puranas and the Zohar (Zaboor) which speak of the Ultimate Reality as something independent of Nature and Man as if Cause can ever be divorced from its effects !

    Monism/Advaita or Unity underlying diversity is actually the theme of Existence as confirmed by common sense, scientific analysis and mystical experience.

    The Quote:

    “That in which all these worlds (planes) seem to exist steadily, That of which all these worlds are a possession, That from which all these worlds arise, That for which all these exist, That by which all these worlds come into existence and That which is indeed all these – That alone is the existing Reality. Let us cherish That Self, which is the Reality, in the Heart.”

    – Sri Ramana Maharshi

    Regards and good wishes: Sanjoy.

  4. I guess Muslims world over are suffering from Stockholm syndrome where Islam is their captor. No wonder they are not ready to reason with plain logic (or shall I say plain common sense?).

    The answers provided through the quotes from Quran gives me an impression that these quotes can be interpreted in many ways and people in this forum answering questions are looking for quotes rather than looking for answers.

    It’s like pessimist and an optimist looking at half filled glass of wine. (half empty; half full).

    I just have two questions.

    1. Is Islam a flawless religion?
    2. Does Quran answers all questions?

    If your answer is yes for both the questions, then my dear friend I would say “best of luck with Islam.”

    All this quotes from Quran in this forum makes me think that Islam is just like another telebrand advertisement on Tv. “too good to be true.”

  5. As far as I know the during the partition the population of Muslims in India was more than that of newly formed Pakistan.

    Every Indian agress on this fact but somehow census even after showing a higher growth of Muslims in India shows that Indian muslim population is less than Pakistan’s which is ridiculous.

    I completely disagree with the people who say that Muslim population is 12 or 13% in India because it is supposed to be greater than 15% when compared to Pakistan.

    Anyways many Hindus are pissed off and scared to learn that Muslim growth might make India a Muslim Country, which I believe is impossible.

  6. Ahmed’s right in saying that the Indian Muslim population is above the officially declared 12-13%. It’s my guess that the Muslims in India form about 15-16% of the total population.

    Ahmed’s also correct in stating that many Hindus are pissed off and scared that India might turn into a Muslim country. Again, Ahmed rightly remarks that the chance of India becoming a Muslim dominated nation is impossible.

    On the other hand, what if India does becomes a Muslim nation? What’ll it prove? Will any the fanciful claims of Islam be proved by such a happening? NO. Will Allah shower his blessings on India in such a case? NO. (If Allah had truly blessed his chosen flock, then the Islamic world would not have presented such a pathetic picture – backward in every aspect !) The only thing that’ll be corroborated is that the reproductive capacity of the Indian Muslims is phenomenal. Qualitatively speaking, the nation will plummet down the scale and crass superstitions, myths, cruelty and falsehood of the Islamic kind (taken from the Quran) will spread all over.

    Regards,

    Joel P

  7. HELLO FRIENDS,
    I WANT TO SAY SOMETHING IN THIS TOPIC, THAT EVERY RELIGION IS HAVING SAME BASE, THAT IS, GOD IS EVERY WHERE, LOVE TO ALL, HELP TO NEEDY PEOPLE, SPREADING OF HUMANITY, SO, LOVE TO HUMANITY AND PEOPLE OF ALL RELIGIONS

  8. India is very peaceful country than others. I’ve been lot of arabs country and I found that particularly muslim of india / Pak / Bangla can not live over there. If they live there they have to like as a Slave of arabs.

    If muslim of india or pak are thinks that one day india will become muslim coutnry they are totally wrong. They will create mess like todays pakistan only.

    I think muslim of india needs to really learn their history. You are not a creator of islam (arabs) but u are a converted non – islamic persons who survived under the mercy of arabs.

    I have read so many person writes that india will become muslim country soon. Don’t forget that when hindu will reunite in india then there is no place for others in sub continents, who thinks to destroy them.

    Finally ram / rahim is same so you won’t mind word.

    Jai shree ram (Mercy with you).

  9. islamic nations are in deep sh*t. Dependent on others, spreading terrorism, thanx to islam.

    a muslim jihadi terrorists is the true follower of islam, who strap a bomb and blow innocent people.

    I wonder if each step/action of muslim men is due to the lust of 72 virgins in jannat, go get ur hures, y not leave us non-muslims in peace, hateful war mongers.

    Its due to islam you are so low life evil beings.
    LIVE and LET LIVE please.

  10. India’s muslim population is slightly higher than the usual 12.5 to 13.5% quoted by national media. The reason being that within Indian national statistics both Jammu and Kashmir and Assam are excluded. When they are included the muslim population of India constitute around 15 to 17% of the total population (more likely to be around 16%). Hence with an Indian population of around 1,060,000,000, Indian Muslims make up around 165m to 170m, clearly placing India as the second most populous muslim nation on the planet.

  11. Hello everybody,

    the exact number of a particular population has prooved to be a major fact for political affairs and mass opinion controlling. As a matter of fact many countries in the world do experiment this situation through their muslim population…..I am living in france and there has been great turmoils on the exact number of the muslim population living here especially after 9/11 . census starting from 3 million up to 6 wich makes about 10% of the entire french population, yet it still has to be seriously searched since the french law forbids any population census based on ethnicity or religious criterias.

    As soon as these results were being more and more talked about, we have came across large concerns raised by leftist and conservativ parties that were talking about an invasion of france and a threat to the french identity, wich led to a great political crisis in the mid 2002 when we had a notorious racist presidential candidate make it to the final election run, well he didn’t win but all that being said i think that number manipulation is always a big issue and is present all over the world and in all fields (economy, growth, employment rate etc etc)….it’is one of the greatest tool that the corrupted governments have used to hide their weaks and injustices.

    peace to all of you

  12. Dear Yashendra,

    I want to know the name of grandson(Kalki Avataar) of Sri Sri thakur.Where it has been told that He would be the Prophet after Thakur.

  13. Well.. I have few clarifications to make as there have been numerous attempts to tarnish the secular image of India. Well, many muslims as well as Hindus die in riots. So, taking the count of muslims alone is wrong. If Hindus are riot lovers, then you should be seeing in Pakistan too. In Pakistan, Hindus don’t provoke Muslims. Even if a temple is destroyed, they keep quite. Where in here, muslims go on rampage even on issues like Danish cartoons. Here in India, Hindus are always provoked. Either through bombings, or through hatred speech as you can see in some messages etc., Here no one talks about Godhra itself, but have plenty to say about post-Godhra.

    In India people like Kalam, Sharukh, Zaheer, Salman and so on are worshipped. Show me in any other Islamic country, other minorities are treated that way?. A common citizen in India doesn’t show difference between a Hindu and a Muslim.

    There is little irritation on the rise due to terrorist events and sponsorship. For ex., there were riots in Bangalore over Danish’s cartoons. Who is going to tolerate such events?.

    Let me ask a simple question. You kept on says Allah is the best and he does everything perfectly. As per the stats I know, Muslim population is around 15% of the world population.

    Why Allah, being so perfect, and the only God as you claim, created 85% of non-believers or Kafirs and put his children in a dangerous place?

    Muslims claim that the terrorism is due to oppression of Muslims around the world. How come there has been no prophet sent by him for the last 1200 years. Why did he leave his children fighting these futile wars? Since 85% are not believing in Allah, don’t you think this is the right time for him to send another messenger?

  14. /*Answer me Singh…If Pakistanis had their forefathers as Hindus and they were “forcefully” reverted to Islam,as you would like to see it that way,then how come Pakistan produces great scholars of Islam and a general population who can even die for Islam should the call given for*/

    Simple reason. They get brainwashed. Nothing more or less than that. They close their brains for any further analysis.

  15. The CIA Fact Book you linked to lists the Muslim population in Indonesia at 86.1% of the total population, there is a other category, that is 3.4%. How did you get 88.0% on this page?

  16. Damien: I wrote this in February 2003 and got the data form the CIA World Fact book at that time. The Fact Book updates the data every year and so it might have change din the intervening 4 years.

  17. Meaning of ‘Om’ & ‘Kafir’ explained for Muslims by Swami Ram Tirtha

    Swami Rama Tirtha had a meeting with Muslims in Lucknow in the year 1905. When the Muslims entered the room and offered Swami Rama the traditional salutation (Adab ‘Arz). The Paramahansa responded by saying ‘OM’ in serene and peaceful tones.

    To this the Muslims at once took exception. They wanted to know why Rama had not returned their greeting in the same way and what was the secret reason for which he was saying OM in reply to their greeting. Swami Rama answered them with great love and told them that he had no mysteries to hide and no mental reservations.

    The truth was (he said) that a person can give to others only what he possesses and that Rama himself only possessed OM and that alone. That OM, which was Rama’s sole possession, represented the non-duality of Vedanta. Pressed to explain what he meant, Swami Rama replied that God is really nameless, although people call him by various names such as Ishvara or Allah.

    Men of different faiths and persuasions feel their oneness with God by establishing some sort of relationship with him. It can be any relationship, but the truth or reality is only one. He is what he is, one without a second, indescribable and far beyond being circumscribed in words.

    But the ancient Rishis and Saints have called him and known him through the significant symbol OM. Swami Rama went on to expound the special place of OM as a universal name of God, but the Muslims objected that they had never seen any mention of OM in their own holy scriptures and asked him (if what he said was true) whether he could quote any reference to OM in their Koran. Rama replied gently:

    ‘Please listen to what is now being said. In the very beginning of your Koran, at the top, are three letters, alif (A), lam (L) and mim (M). Can any of you or any learned Mulawi of Islam explain what these three letters mean?’ The Moslems replied that this was a secret which Allah had kept to himself. Swami Rama laughed heartily at this remark and said: ‘When God has revealed the entire Koran for the benefit of mankind, as the Muslims claim, it is very strange that he has kept its very heading a secret. No.

    It is not so. If you, the Muslims who put full faith in the Koran do not know the secret of the letters A, L, M, Rama will tell you what they signify. Alif, lam and mim are nothing but alif (A), wao (O) and mim (M), that is, AOM or OM.’ The Muslims objected that the letter L is not the same as the letter O, but Swami Rama pointed out to them that in Arabic grammar L is pronounced O when it falls between a vowel and a consonant, as in the names Shamsuddin, which is written Shamsaldin, or Nizamuddin, which is written Nizamaldin.

    The letter lam (L) becomes silent and gives the sound of the Arabic letter pesh (O or U). Therefore ALM is no secret; it is clearly and unambiguously OM and nothing but OM. It is Kufra, heretical or a sin, to blame God for keeping it a secret.

    The Muslims (who did not know Arabic or the rules of its grammar) were clearly impressed by Swami Rama’s explanation, but they caught on to his use of the word ‘Kufra’, meaning sin or heresy, and asked him to explain the meaning of that word and the related word ‘Kafir’, which to a Muslim means an infidel.

    Swami Rama said the truth is that the followers of Islam have very wrongly interpreted the words ‘Kufra’ and ‘Kafir’, and they have also made a very wrong use of these words. Swami Rama went on to point out to them with great love that Islam literally means ‘religion of peace’, but that instead of preaching love for God seated in the heart of each man and the brotherhood of all men, the so-called leaders of Islam, on account of their superficial knowledge or ignorance, had injected a spirit of hatred and alienation into the hearts of the ignorant Muslims.

    Dear friends, [he said], the meaning of Kufra [sin or heresy] is to hide. What? To hide the truth or reality is Kufra, and he who hides the truth is Kafir [infidel]. But how does a Kafir hide the truth? He hides it behind the curtain of his Khudi or ego, which has its roots in selfishness. In other words the person who asserts his ego or selfishness as against truth is a Kafir.

    Excerpted from Self-Knowledge Journal

  18. Singh i completely agree with you. Hindus are always provoked they never fight without cause. Islam tries to play the pity bullshit card but then wham try to make everyone like them constantly. I dont know what the other people under are trying to prove. All they are doing is attemoting to defend themselves but in the end its nothing related to your topic of discussion.

  19. Hey, after a long time I am back.

    Where have Asif and other fanatics gone?

    And, where is that thief Rai Yashendra Prasad? Heard he’s cheated a few more guys (Mithuna, Amal, etc) and has not repaid them back with these close friends of his bitching about his cheating ways no end.

    Anyway, Sindhi where are you? I’d like to revive our communication. Good luck to all.

    PS: Muslims believe that an extra-cosmic God created this cosmos out of nothing. How? But, science has proven long ago that energy that manifests as matter can neither be created nor destroyed but it simply exists and changes from one form to another. Energy (matter) is indestructible ! So, how can the universe be created out of nothing? Big lies these Muslims believe in.

    Joel P

  20. Is this a paki muslim site? Probably explains why Hinu and India bashing is rampant…sad save your energies to saving pakistan..

  21. Combine Muslim population of Pakistan + Bangladesh >>> Indian Muslim Population {Fact File}:

    According to my research the Muslim population in India is less than the combine population of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

    Whenever we talk that Muslim population of Pakistan is less than the population of India then everyone should realize that when Pakistan came into being, Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan so the freedom achieve by Muslims of India (before partition) was more than the Muslims are right now suffering in India (Read Sachar Report for that).

    By Syed Arbab Ahmed from Karachi, Pakistan.

  22. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare |
    Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare ||

    Hello Dear All,
    PRIDE IS A DISEASE.
    Don’t worry.
    Chant the above Maha Mantra 108 × 16 times daily and all your diseases will be cured.

  23. @Syed Arbab Ahmed

    lol u r talking about reports. start with talking about laws and regulations.. there is no country in this world, not even islamic nations of middle east who gives so much rights to muslims. in india muslim (even women) gets so many rights. india has given equal rights to every citizen because it is a secular nation.. it has not declared itself as islamic/hindu/christian or any other religion based nation. i know what happens to muhajirs over there. even shiya muslims suffer so many times in islamic nations. even though the country is semi presidental republic there is still no democracy.. condition improved a bit after musharaf left. (btw bush commented on that part)

  24. @Syed Arbab Ahmed

    lol u r talking about reports. start with talking about laws and regulations.. there is no country in this world, not even islamic nations of middle east who gives so much rights to muslims. in india muslim (even women) gets so many rights. india has given equal rights to every citizen because it is a secular nation.. it has not declared itself as islamic/hindu/christian or any other religion based nation. i know what happens to muhajirs over there. even shiya muslims suffer so many times in islamic nations. even though the country is semi presidental republic there is still no democracy.. condition improved a bit after musharaf left. (btw bush commented on that part) i do not say that india is perfect but the way you are saying that muslims suffer here that is completely incorrect. if they are suffering here why are they still staying here since so many decades. why is muslim population increasing in india?

  25. You don’t know about sri sri thakur anukulchandra.Sri sri thakur is the present prophet that was Prophet Mahhamed.They are both same.You have said that Sri sri thakur’s saying is wrong.But you didn’t take this quotation.Every man require Him who is one,Sri sri thakur or Mahammad.So,don’t post any wrong idea without knowing any scientific and true thing.Thanks.God bless you.

Comments are closed.