A waxing crescent: Islam is growing. But ageing and slowing. That will change the world

THE ECONOMIST [The Economist Newspaper Ltd] - January 27, 2011
[...] The authors call their calculations demographic, not political. Drawing on earlier Pew research, they say conversion is not a big factor in the global contest between Islam, Christianity and other faiths; the converts balance out. Nor do they assess piety; via the imperfect data of the United Nations, the European Union and national statistics, they aim simply to measure how many people call themselves Muslim, at least culturally, if asked.

New numbers, they say, will change the world map. As Indonesia prospers, its birth rate is falling; South Asia's remains very high. By 2030, 80m extra mouths in Pakistan will boost its Muslim numbers to 256m, ousting Indonesia (with 239m) as the most populous Islamic land. India's Muslim minority will be nearly as large at 236m-though growth is slowing there too. And in 2030 India's Muslims will still constitute only a modest 15.9% of that country's swelling total, against 14.6% now. ...

Eurabian nights
The total Muslim share of Europe's population is predicted to grow from 6% now to 8% in 2030: hardly the stuff of nightmares. But amid that are some sharp rises. The report assumes Britain has 2.9m Muslims now (far higher than the usual estimates, which suggest 2.4m at most), rising to 5.6m by 2030. As poor migrants start families in Spain and Italy, numbers there will rocket; in France and Germany, where some Muslims are middle-class, rises will be more modest-though from a higher base. Russia's Muslims will increase to 14.4% or 18.6m, up from 11.7% now (partly because non-Muslims are declining). The report takes a cautious baseline of 2.6m American Muslims in 2010, but predicts the number will surge by 2030 to 6.2m, or 1.7% of the population-about the same size as Jews or Episcopalians. In Canada the Muslim share will surge from 2.8% to 6.6%. ...

Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://www.economist.com/node/18008022


See:
The Future of the Global Muslim Population Projections for 2010-2030
http://pewforum.org/The-Future-of-the-Global-Muslim-Population.aspx



Majority of Muslims want Islam in politics, poll says
LOS ANGELES TIMES [Tribune Company] - By Meris Lutz - December 6, 2010
Reporting from Beirut - A majority of Muslims around the world welcome a significant role for Islam in their countries' political life, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center, but have mixed feelings toward militant religious groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

According to the survey, majorities in Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Nigeria would favor changing current laws to allow stoning as a punishment for adultery, hand amputation for theft and death for those who convert from Islam to another religion. About 85% of Pakistani Muslims said they would support a law segregating men and women in the workplace.

Muslims in Indonesia, Egypt, Nigeria and Jordan were among the most enthusiastic, with more than three-quarters of poll respondents in those countries reporting positive views of Islam's influence in politics: either that Islam had a large role in politics, and that was a good thing, or that it played a small role, and that was bad.

Turkish Muslims were the most conflicted, with just more than half reporting positive views of Islam's influence in politics. Turkey has struggled in recent years to balance a secular political system with an increasingly fervent Muslim population. ...

Edited :: See Original Report Here
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/06/world/la-fg-1206-muslim-poll-20101206

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