1 in 4 people now Muslim
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- October
- 9
One in 4 people in the world are now Muslim, according to a major new study from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
A study of more than 200 countries estimates that there are 1.57 billion Muslims. Most estimates have hovered around 1.3 billion.
The finding that is likely to get the most attention: more than 60% of the global Muslim population is in Asia and about 20% is in the Middle East and North Africa.
The AP’s Eric Gorski frames it well:
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The project, three years in the making, also presents a portrait of the Muslim world that might surprise some. For instance, Germany has more Muslims than Lebanon, China has more Muslims than Syria, Russia has more Muslims than Jordan and Libya combined, and Ethiopia has nearly as many Muslims as Afghanistan.
“This whole idea that Muslims are Arabs and Arabs are Muslims is really just obliterated by this report,” said Amaney Jamal, an assistant professor of politics at Princeton University who reviewed an advance copy.
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The world’s largest Muslim nation? Indonesia, with 203 million Muslims (or 13%).
The Sunni-Shia breakdown? 87-90% Sunni, 10-13% Shia
And where does Christianity stand? 2.1 to 2.2 billion followers.
Here’s an interesting “trailer” from the Pew people:
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These findings on the world Muslim population lay the foundation for a forthcoming study by the Pew Forum, scheduled to be released in 2010, that will estimate growth rates among Muslim populations worldwide and project Muslim populations into the future. The Pew Forum plans to launch a similar study of global Christianity in 2010 as well. The Pew Forum also plans to conduct in-depth public opinion surveys on the intersection of religion and public life around the world, starting with a 19-country survey of sub-Saharan Africa scheduled to be released later this year. These forthcoming studies are part of a larger effort – the Global Religious Futures Project, jointly funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation – that aims to increase people’s understanding of religion around the world.
This entry was posted
on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 9:30 am by Gary Stern.
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The world of religion, we don't have to tell you, is vast. The purpose of this blog is for Stern to note, flag and comment on some of the more interesting religious developments on the scene – weighty and quirky, somber and laughable, far away and just down the road. He won't interpret Scripture, take sides in conflicts or judge anyone. But he will take advantage of the journalist's license to observe.
