Muslim population growth refers to the topic of population growth of the global Muslim community. In 2006, countries with a Muslim majority had an average population growth rate of 1.8% per year (when weighted by percentage Muslim and population size).[1] This compares with a world population growth rate of 1.12% per year.[2] As of 2011, it is predicted that the world's Muslim population will grow twice as fast as non-Muslims over the next 20 years. By 2030, Muslims will make up more than a quarter of the global population.[3][4]
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The Quran does not make any explicit statements about the morality of contraception, but contains statements encouraging procreation. Prophet Muhammad also is reported to have said "marry and procreate". However, marriage and reproduction is not a required principle for Muslims.[5]
Coitus interruptus, a primitive form of birth control, was a known practice at the time of Prophet Muhammad, and his companions engaged in it. Prophet Muhammad knew about this, but did not prohibit it. Umar and Ali, the second and fourth of the Rashidun caliphs, respectively, defended the practice.[5]
Muslims scholars have extended the example of coitus interruptus, by analogy, to declaring permissible other forms of contraception, subject to three conditions:[5][6]
Muslims in India have a much higher total fertility rate (TFR) compared to that of other religious communities in the country.[7] Because of higher birthrates and an influx of migrants from neighboring Bangladesh, the percentage of Muslims in India has risen from about 8% in 1951 to 13.6% in 2001.[8] The Muslim population growth rate is higher by more than 10% of the total growth compared to that of Hindus.[9] Muslim percentage is expected to grow from 14.6% in 2010 to 15.9% in 2030.[4]
Hindus had their population growing by 20.3 per cent between 1991 and 2001, where as Muslim population grew by 36 per cent in 1991-2001.[10]
Demographers have put forward several factors behind high birthrates among Muslims in India. According to sociologists Roger and Patricia Jeffery, socio-economic conditions rather than religious determinism is the main reason for higher Muslim birthrates. Indian Muslims are poorer and less educated compared to their Hindu counterparts.[11] However, other sociologists point out that religious factors can explain high Muslim birthrates. Surveys indicate that Muslims in India have been relatively less willing to adopt family planning measures and that Muslim girls get married at a much younger age compared to Hindu girls.[12] According to Paul Kurtz, Muslims in India are much more resistant to modern contraceptive measures compared to Hindus and as a consequence, the decline in fertility rate among Hindu women is much higher compared to that of Muslim women.[13][7]
According to a high level committee appointed by the Prime Minister of India in 2006, by the end of the 21st century India's Muslim population will reach 320 to 340 million people (or 18% of India's total projected population).[14] Swapan Dasgupta, a prominent Indian journalist, has raised concerns that the higher Muslim population growth rate in India could adversely effect the country's social harmony.[15]
Data for the rates of growth of Islam in Europe reveal that the growing number of Muslims is due primarily to immigration (in the West) and higher birth rates (worldwide).[16]
Conversion rates had a significant increase in the North America after the 9/11 attacks, which most likely caused more Americans to study Islam in depth.[19][20] According to the New York Times, 25% of American Muslims are converts to Islam.[21] In Britain, around 10,000 – 20,000 people convert to Islam per year.<<Proper citation needed|October 2011>> [22]