Guest guest Posted October 8, 2009 Report Share Posted October 8, 2009 8 October 2009 One in four is Muslim, study says A report from an American think-tank has estimated 1.57 billion Muslims populate the world - with 60% in Asia. The report, by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, took three years to compile, with census data from 232 countries and territories. It showed that 20% of Muslims lived in the Middle East and North Africa. The data also showed that there were more Muslims in Germany than in Lebanon, and more in Russia than in Jordan and Libya together. Researchers analysed approximately 1,500 sources including census reports, demographic studies and general population surveys. Senior researcher Brian Grim told CNN that the overall figure was a surprise and said: " Overall, the number is higher than I expected. " The report, published on Wednesday, also found that Ethiopia has nearly as many Muslims as Afghanistan. MUSLIM POPULATION BY REGION Asia and the Pacific: 61.9% Middle East - North Africa: 20.1% Sub-Saharan Africa: 15.3% Europe: 2.4% Americas: 0.3% Amaney Jamal, an assistant professor of politics at Princeton University, told the AP news agency: " This whole idea that Muslims are Arabs and Arabs are Muslims is really just obliterated by this report. " Instead the report found that more than 300 million Muslims live in countries where Islam was not the majority religion. Of the total Muslim population, 10-13% are Shia Muslims and 87-90% are Sunni Muslims. Most Shias live in Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq. Europe is home to 38 million Muslims - around 5% of its population with European Muslims making up slightly more than 2% of the world's Muslim population. More than half of the 4.6 million Muslims in the Americas live in the US - however they make up just 0.8% of the population there. The Pew Forum has said the findings will lay the foundation for a forthcoming study that will look at how Muslim populations worldwide have grown and what they may look like in the future. It also plans to compile figures for the other major world religions. According to internet-based group, Adherents, there are currently 2.1 billion Christians, 900 million Hindus and 14 million Jews worldwide. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8296200.stm , " adishakti_org " <adishakti_org wrote: > > Alexa Web Information Company > October 3, 2009 > Adishakti.org users come from these countries: > > 32.8% United States > 23.7% India > 13.4% Pakistan > 5.4% Canada > 2.7% Indonesia > 2.3% United Kingdom > 1.6% Philippines > 1.4% Turkey > 1.2% Mexico > 0.8% Malaysia > 14.8% OTHER Less > > --------------------------- > > Dear messengers of the Resurrection, > > Namste - i bow to His Ruh who resides in you! > > Malaysia is the latest Muslim country to join the top ten. We now > have four Muslim nations and that is just great. i really wish that > Malaysia, the land of my birth, will retain that position. > > Alexa Web Information Company > October 2, 2009 > Adishakti.org users come from these countries: > > 32.6% United States > 24.0% India > 12.4% Pakistan > 4.7% Canada > 3.1% United Kingdom > 3.0% Indonesia > 1.3% Philippines > 1.3% Turkey > 1.1% Mexico > 0.5% Malaysia > 15.9% OTHER Less > > As His messengers all you need to do is direct the believers to this > site. That is all you need to do as the acceptance or rejection of > the Great News is a personal decision that has no bearing on you. > > We hope the Muslims will wake up to the present blessed Al Qadr (The > Night of Destiny), and realize that their Holy Quran is indeed a > living, breathing scripture. The Quran declares that the Great News > of Al-Qiyamah (The Resurrection) is for all believers, irrespective > of race, religion or creed. It is a universal message calling out to > all who believe in God Almighty and the promised Resurrection. Those > who truly understand the Great News (Al Naba) in _detail_ will easily submit to its irrefutable Signs. That is why all pages of Al-Qiyamah now carry His Call: > > LAA UQSIM BI-YAWM AL-QIYAMAH; > WA-LAA UQSIM BI-AN-NAFSAL-LAWWAAMAH > I do call to witness the Resurrection Day; > And I do call to witness the self-reproaching Spirit. > > Concerning what are they disputing? > Concerning the Great News. [5889] > About which they cannot agree. > Verily, they shall soon (come to) know! > Verily, verily they shall soon (come to) know! > > surah 78:1-5 Al Naba' (The Great News) > > " 5889. Great News: usually understood to mean the News or Message of > the Resurrection. " > > Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, Amana Corporation, 1989. > > Types of Kufr (Disbelief) — Adapted from 'Tafseer ibn Katheer' > > 1. Kufrul-'Inaad: Disbelief out of stubbornness; > 2. Kufrul-Inkaar: Disbelief out of denial; > 3. Kufrul-Kibr: Disbelief out of arrogance and pride; > 4. Kufrul-Juhood: Disbelief out of rejection; > 5. Kufrul-Nifaaq: Disbelief out of hypocrisy; > 6. Kufrul-Kurh: Disbelief out of detesting any of Allah's commands; > 7. Kufrul-Istihzaha: Disbelief due to mockery and derision; > 8. Kufrul-I'raadh: Disbelief due to avoidance; > > In Abdullah Yusuf Ali's commentary Kufr, Kafara, Kafir, and > derivative forms of the word imply a deliberate rejection of faith, > revelation and truth of the Holy Qur'an: " The culmination of Allah's > Revelation is in the Qur'an, which confirms previous scriptures, > corrects the errors which men introduced into them, and explains many > points in detail for all who seek right worship and service to Allah— > whether they inherit the previous Books or not. It is a universal > Message ... The worst and most hardened sinner is the man to whom > Allah's Signs are actually brought home and who yet prefers Evil and > turns away from the Light of Allah. The Signs may be in the words and > guidance of a great Teacher or in some sorrow or warning, but from > which he deliberately refuses to profit. The penalty—the Nemesis—must > necessary come eventually. " > > According to Ibn Taymiyah (1263 – 1328) " kufr is the attribute of > everyone who rejects something that God has commanded us to believe > in, after news of that has reached him, whether he rejects it in his > heart without uttering it, or he speaks those words of rejection > without believing it in his heart, or he does both; or he does an > action which is described in the texts as putting one beyond the pale > of faith. " > > However, this explanation of kufr is most lucid and applicable to the > sheer gravity, importance, and dire consequences of this universal > Message of Al-Qiyamah (The Resurrection): " Just as faith for Muslims > has to do not with believing but with knowing, so kufr, rejection, is > not a lack of belief, not an intellectual position that holds that > something is otherwise than is the case, and certainly it is not mere > ignorance. Rather it, too, like its correlative iman, presupposes > knowledge; for it is an active repudiation of what one knows to be > true. This is why it is a sin, and indeed a (the) monstrous sin. It > is the one final, cosmic (or some would say, the one final human) > wrong; the deliberate saying of 'no' to what one knows to be right. " > (Wilfred Cantwell Smith, On Understanding Islam: Selected Studies, > 1981, page 154) > > Therefore most of the Al-Kufr ul Akbar (major disbeliefs) are > applicable to those rejecting or disbelieving Allah's (SWT) Signs and > surahs upholding the collection, promulgation, recital, explanation > and warning of the following: > > i) His Call to witness Al-Qiyamah (The Resurrection); > ii) His Call to witness His Ruh (self-reproaching Spirit); > iii) His Call to heed Al Naba (The Great News); > iv) His Call to participate in Al Qadr (The Night of Power and > Destiny); > v) His Call to confirm His Revelations, Signs, and Warnings (of i-iv). > > Thus kaffir (non-believer) here is applied to all humankind, both > Muslim and non-Muslim, who reject the Call that God has commanded us > to believe in after His Revelations, Signs and Warnings have reached > us. The Qur'an clearly warns that many will disbelief, even mock, the > Great News and Sure Signs of Al-Qiyamah. > > So be forewarned, and in the Hereafter never deny deliverance of this > clear Warning: " O ye assembly of Jinns and men! came there not unto > you messengers from amongst you, setting forth unto you My signs, and > warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours? " Qur'an 6.130 > > And those still rejecting, hesitant or unable to make up their minds > even after hearing the Great News and shown the Signs, Allah (SWT) > questions: " Are they waiting until the Hour comes to them suddenly? > All the Signs thereof have already come. Once the Hour comes to them, > how will they benefit from their message? " " Why do they not study the > Quran carefully? Do they have locks on their minds? " Qur'an 47:18-24 > > The last paragraph is yet another warning from Allah (SWT) that prior > to the Wrath of the End (Al Qariah) humans are offered the Mercy of > the Resurrection (Al Qadr). And once the Hour of Al Qariah comes to > them, how will they benefit from their contemporary message of Al > Qadr i.e., from the Great News of the messengers from amongst you? > How will those reading these lines benefit if they continue to doubt > and wait, and the Striking Day comes suddenly? What use then will be > the Mercy and Compassion of Al Qadr (Night of Destiny) if the morn of > the Al Qariah (Striking Day) ends His Peace? Why doesn't the Ummah > then not study the Quran with painstaking effort to avoid the errors, > mistranslation and ignorance of the ulema that have presently > paralyzed their minds from believing the Great News? Why don't they > use their own mental faculties and intelligence to understand Al- > Qiyamah, the heart and soul of the living, breathing Quran? Living > and breathing because God Almighty is now talking directly to you > through His Holy Book! After all, it is Allah (SWT) who has now > called out to all Believers with this Decree: " I do call to witness > the Resurrection Day; And I do call to witness the self-reproaching > Spirit. " He is specifically addressing you in particular (and > Believers is general) to do so! > > Only now in this modern age of universal education, mass media and > publishing technology—after 14 centuries and unlike the illiterate > past—is it possible to own and be sufficiently literate to " study the > Quran carefully " in languages they understand best.* And just in case > the Believers start studying the entire Qur'an, it must be stressed > that Allah (SWT) is referring specifically to those eschatological > Signs and surahs upholding His Call to bear witness of the > Resurrection! They must thoroughly examine and understand the Signs > that have already manifested, and set forth by messengers from > amongst themselves. > > Without question, to " study the Quran carefully " means using one's > own mental faculties, not those of the ulema (Muslim clergy) who have > for centuries put " locks on their minds " and are the very reason for > the Ummah's present predicament i.e., their unprecedented kaffir-like > mindset, reaction, rejection and mocking of His Call, Signs and Great > News of the Resurrection. They must know that during Al Qadr > no 'graves are going to open up' as this is His Night of Compassion > and Mercy. So " Peace!... This until the rise of the morn! " (Quran > 97:5) > > " There is so much blind faith, there is so much of wrong ideas, so > much of organizational fortresses they have built. All kinds of > nonsensical things are going on in this world, but they'll all be > finished. " > > Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi > Vienna, Austria, 8 June 1988 > > " We are now in the Blossom Time, as I call it, because many flowers > are born and they are to become the fruits. This is the Resurrection > Time, which is described in all the scriptures. But it's not like > this, the way they had described us. Something wrong with them that > all the dead bodies who are in the graves will come out of the > graves. I mean, how much is left out of them, God knows. Must be some > bones or maybe some skulls there. So they'll come out of the graves > and they will get their Resurrection!!!? This is a very wrong idea. > > Once I happened to meet a fellow, a Muslim from Bosnia and he told > Me, " I want to die for my religion, for God's sake. " I said, " But > why? Who told you to die? " He said, " Now, if I die in the name of > God, I'll be resurrected. " I said, " It's all wrong. That's not the > way it is going to work out. Resurrection is going to work out this > way that at this time, all these souls will take their birth. All > these souls will take their birth and they will be resurrected. As > human beings they'll have to come. " > > That's why we find all kinds of funny people these days, all kinds of > cruel, criminal, all kinds of idiotic, stupid, I mean very queer, > weird, funny ideas which find such, such a variety of people and such > a tremendous population that we should understand they have to have > their chance of Resurrection. But how many will come? That's the > point. How many are going to come? " > > Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi > Philadelphia, USA — October 15, 1993 > > So Peace to all Believers bearing witness to the Resurrection (Al- > Qiyamah)! So Peace to all Believers bearing witness to His self- > reproaching Spirit (Ruh)! So Peace to all Believers resurrecting > themselves during this blessed Night of Power and Destiny (Al Qadr)! > So Peace to all Believers of the Great News (Al Naba)! So Peace until > the dreadful morn of the Great Calamity, the Striking Day (Al Qariah) > against the Unbelievers (Al-Kafirun)! > > Last, but not the least, the Qur'an insists that ample warning of > impending calamity must be always delivered by His messengers: > > " That is because thy Lord would never destroy the cities unjustly, > while their inhabitants were heedless. " (Quran 6.131); > " Never did We destroy a population, but had its warners - By way of > reminder; and We never are unjust. " (Quran 26:208-209); > " And never did Thy Lord destroy the townships, till He had raised up > in their mother-town a messenger reciting unto them Our revelations. " > (Quran 27:59); > > This cardinal rule has been expressly complied with and Warning of > the impending Great Calamity repeatedly announced and fearlessly > upheld by the incarnation of His Ruh for more than three decades > until Her retirement in 2008 at the age of 85. (Since Jesus is the > mandatory Sign of the Hour [Quran 43:61], and as the Comforter > promised and sent by God Almighty in Jesus' name, She has also > ceaselessly glorified Christ and His Message of the Last Judgment.) > > " I should do something to bring sense to these people (humanity). > Something should happen to them otherwise what I see is a complete > disaster. It is going to happen. I do not want to frighten you like > Mrs Thatcher does about the Russians. That might be imaginary. But > this is real. I am warning you that the Disaster is going to come as > destruction itself. " > > Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi > London, UK, 6 June 1983 > > " The Last Judgment has started. We are facing the Last Judgment > today. We are not aware of it. And all the satanic forces have come > out like the wolves in sheep's clothes. And they are trying to > attract you and you do not judge them. You only sit down and judge > the Reality. It has started! It is a fact! It has started! " > > Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi > Kingston, UK, 6 November 1980 > > " I have such respect for so many of them (Muslims). I wish they could > accept that this is not Jihad time anymore but Qiyamah Time, the > Resurrection Time, the Blossom Time. Are they going to miss it? " > > Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi > > * > — " Muslim illiteracy worldwide stands at about 51 percent for all age > groups over fifteen. Despite a rapid increase in primary school > enrollment, only 45 percent of Muslim children aged six to eleven > attend primary school. An even larger gap exists at higher levels of > research. " - Martin S. Kramer, Arab awakening and Islamic revival, > 1996, page 280; > — " The vast majority of Muslims do not speak Arabic as their native > tongue " - Christine Huda Dodge, The everything understanding Islam, > 2003, page 21; > — " The degree of knowledge of Arabic determines a person's > understanding of the Islamic creed. The Quran, the Hadith and Sira > traditions (Prophetic sayings and actions), and the writings of the > early Islamic scholars and jurists were in Arabic. Imam Shafei (767- > 820), the founder of the Shafei School of Sunni jurisprudence, > advocated that every Muslim should learn Arabic, at least to the > point of reciting the Quran (Hourani 1991, 68). Most non-Arab Muslims > do not understand Arabic. " - Elie Elhadj, The Islamic Shield, 2006, > page 22; > — " If your mother tongue is not Arabic, Satan (or his troops) will > encourage you to read the Quran in Arabic. Why does he do that? > Because he knows that you will not understand enough of it. The > majority of those who learn Arabic to study the Quran do not excel > enough to understand the implication or interpretation of certain > words when used in a special way in the Arabic language. They will > have a lot of shortcomings. Many Pakistani and Indian Muslims are > forced as children to read the Quran in Arabic and still as adults > read the Quran in Arabic but they do not understand a single word of > what they read... The Quran is a message, not just another beautiful > language book. If you cannot read it in Arabic do not wait until the > day you excel in your Arabic language, because this day may never > come. Trust God and know that He is the teacher of the Quran. He will > teach in any language and to any nationality, He created all things. > Read your Quran today, (do not wait any longer,) in any language that > you can understand and master and leave the rest to God. " Dr. Rashad > Khalifa, Ph.d. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.