What is the reason behind Islam's rapid spread?

If you already have the history, why are you asking?

If you are implying that Islam grew by military force and politics, then it spread the same way that Christianity did. If you look at Islam, which is about 600 yeara old) and you compare it to Christianity at 600 years old, you will find many similarities. The differenc become that we are in the information age.

The method in which Christiaity spread is the same as any claim you can make on Islam.

I'm sure that if you reseach hard enough, you'd find this kind of correlation between religion and war with all religions.

It seems it's simply a numbers game.

Comments and Observations:

Introduction:

The Islamic religion has a long history of myth making. The claim they are the fastest growing religion in the world is pure myth. We have collected the latest statistics from David A. Barrett's huge two volume, "World Christian Encyclopedia", the 2001 AD edition. In case you haven't heard of this work, it is the world standard for religious statistics.

Muslim's claim that their growth rate is 235 percent and 47 percent for Christianity. This statistic came from the Readers Digest Almanac and Yearbook 1983, and represents 235 percent increase over 50 years. Muslims always leave off the 50 year fact to make it appear they are going 235% every year. A simple review of the readers Digest study shows that the growth rate of Islam vs. Christianity is directly linked to the birth rate in Third World countries where Islam dominates and not actual conversions to each religion. Christianity has always been larger than Islam. These statistics from Readers Digest are over 20 years old. Further, we do not consider readers digest to be an authority on such matters. Why will Muslims not quote real authoritative statistics from certified research groups who show Islam is not the fastest growing religion in 3/4's of the worlds countries.

There are over a billion Muslims in the world today, including 3 to 5 million in the U.S., making it the second most populous religion on earth after Christianity. According to some estimates, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. (The Joy of Sects, Peter Occhigrosso, 1996, p394-397)
Islam is the religion which has developed from the preaching and life of Muhammad, a citizen of the city of Mecca in Arabia, who early in the seventh century of the Christian Era appeared as a preacher of monotheism to his own people and founded a religious movement which today counts perhaps as many as 300,000,000 followers, mostly in the heat belt from Indonesia to Morocco. (Islam: Muhammad and His Religion, Arthur Jeffery, 1958, p xi-xiv)
Before we examine the true facts from informed statisticians, we want to make it clear that we are not claiming Christianity is the fastest growing religion on earth. Such a claim is a needless as it is irresponsible. Having said this, in terms of sheer numbers, there are more Christians being added to planet earth, than any other religion on earth, including Islam.

The muslim population seems to be exploding.





(Sorry, couldn't resist. Besides, I've just been told I have a special punishment waiting for me after death, so...in for a penny - in for a pound !!)

Oh, dear... hang in there, Eorl.

low rent.

Islam is indeed the fastest growing religion on Earth....

Even CNN (a "US" media corp.) and BBC's surveys had shown this. Imposter's source above is a 'christian source', I doubt its objectivity. Its not that Islam is growing because of the growing population of the 3rd. Its ironic that despite 9/11 and London bombings, Islam is winning most converts in USA and UK.

That's because they are seeing the truth about Islam even though the disbelievers detest it.

Breathless claims backed by no evidence, eagerly parrotted by credulous media to an uncritical audience notwithstanding, there is no credible evidence to confirm the assertion Islam is the "fastest growing religion in the world". The assertion is a meme and nothing more. In fact, the most comprehensive relevant, credible statistical survey available indicates something quite different from that which the adherents of that meme would have you believe.

If one is to consider percentage of growth over the past few decades, the leading candidates would be Falun Gong and Neo-Paganism, and "No Religious Affiliation" is growing at the fastest pace observed since such studies were initiated. While in some regions, primarilly 3rd-World, Islam's net growth currently outperforms that of Christianity, by any quantitative metric - overall growth, percentage growth, number of net converts - Christianity outdoes Islam globally, and at a rate of growth increasingly more robust than that of Islam.

SOURCE

The following source is from CNN.....

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9704/14/egypt.islam/

This one is of BBC.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/islam_around_the_world/html/default.stm




Well, the sources above are not Islamic sources. Thus, I take those sources as more reliable that others.

Grandmaster, the sources you offer merely repeat the meme - present and/or endorse assertion as fact but without providing or at the very least referrencing data supportive of the assertion; that precisely meets the parameter "Breathless claims backed by no evidence, eagerly parrotted by credulous media to an uncritical audience". Your response validates my point.

Now there may be credible empirical evidence supportive of the proposition that "Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world", I'm not saying there isn't, I'm saying that the most comprehensive relevant, credible statistical survey of which I am aware contradicts the proposition. There is significant differentiation to be made between "Claim" and "evidence-driven conclusion".

The claim here at discussion is that "Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world". I have provided credible empirical evidence countering that claim. To this point in this discussion proponents of that claim have provided only repetition of the claim.


Oh - and welcome to A2K.

I have not come across your "evidence" and thus, I am not commenting yet. The way I see it..... CNN and BBC ( major media giants located in countries [USA & UK] where Islam is mostly seen as a medieval "terrorist" religion ) would never broadcast that "Islam is the fastest growing religion" if this wasn't a fact.

Although I do not trust everything the media says, I really think their statistical resources are far more superior that yours, Mr Timberlandko.

That's odd - a functioning link to the pertinent website recently has been provided - perhaps you might want to read back a few posts.



Again you explicitly validate the point I earlier made. Claim and repetition of claim does not constitute anything other than claim. Neither the CNN article nor the BBC series you cited provide statiscal analysis to support the claim, they merely uncritically accept and credulously repeat the unsubstantiated claim.

Introduction:

The Islamic religion has a long history of myth making. The claim they are the fastest growing religion in the world is pure myth. We have collected the latest statistics from David A. Barrett's huge two volume, "World Christian Encyclopedia", the 2001 AD edition. In case you haven't heard of this work, it is the world standard for religious statistics.

Muslim's claim that their growth rate is 235 percent and 47 percent for Christianity. This statistic came from the Readers Digest Almanac and Yearbook 1983, and represents 235 percent increase over 50 years. Muslims always leave off the 50 year fact to make it appear they are going 235% every year. A simple review of the readers Digest study shows that the growth rate of Islam vs. Christianity is directly linked to the birth rate in Third World countries where Islam dominates and not actual conversions to each religion. Christianity has always been larger than Islam. These statistics from Readers Digest are over 20 years old. Further, we do not consider readers digest to be an authority on such matters. Why will Muslims not quote real authoritative statistics from certified research groups who show Islam is not the fastest growing religion in 3/4's of the worlds countries.

There are over a billion Muslims in the world today, including 3 to 5 million in the U.S., making it the second most populous religion on earth after Christianity. According to some estimates, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. (The Joy of Sects, Peter Occhigrosso, 1996, p394-397)
Islam is the religion which has developed from the preaching and life of Muhammad, a citizen of the city of Mecca in Arabia, who early in the seventh century of the Christian Era appeared as a preacher of monotheism to his own people and founded a religious movement which today counts perhaps as many as 300,000,000 followers, mostly in the heat belt from Indonesia to Morocco. (Islam: Muhammad and His Religion, Arthur Jeffery, 1958, p xi-xiv)
Before we examine the true facts from informed statisticians, we want to make it clear that we are not claiming Christianity is the fastest growing religion on earth. Such a claim is a needless as it is irresponsible. Having said this, in terms of sheer numbers, there are more Christians being added to planet earth, than any other religion on earth, including Islam. (see Table 1-2 for proof.)

Relative size and growth of Islam to Christianity:

From Table 1-1, there are 1.9 Billion Christians making up 31% of the world population, whereas there are only 1.2 Billion Muslims making up only 20% of the population. It seems that Allah's little trick by making Judas appear like Jesus, so Jesus could escape crucifixion and Judas was crucified in his place, kind of backfired, since 31% of the world's population never learned Allah played a trick and really believes that Jesus not only died, but was raised from the dead! This should be most troubling for Muslims to think that "Allah's deception" (Qur'an 4:156) actually became the world's largest religion!
From Table 1-1, the relative growth rates of Islam to Christianity are compiled from data that ended the very year before the great terrorist attacks of 911 against the world trade towers in 2001 and the train bomb in Spain in 2004. Statisticians are predicting that Islamic motivated terrorism will last the decade and bring Islam into great disrepute with the world population. This will have a very strong dampening effect on the long term predicted Islamic growth rates for the years 2025 and 2050.
From Table 1-1 you can see that the world growth rate of Muslims is 2.13, and for Christians it is 1.36. A closer look reveals, however that the birth rate of Muslims world wide, is literally double that of Christians. This is due to the fact that Muslims are largest in the developing world where dirt floors, thatched roofs and large families are common. When you the actual conversion rate, where men chose their religion, rather then are born into it, you can see that Christians are converting, on a percentage basis, almost twice as many as Muslims (1.7:1). This means that individual Christians are out converting Muslims almost two to one! What this means, is that as third world Muslim controlled countries gain the advantages of education and technology found in the Western world, their birth rate will drop off to match that of the West, but Christians will still continue to out convert them at a rate of 1.7:1.
Total adherents
New from conversion
Number of adherents to make one new convert:

Muslims
1,188,242,789
865,558
1,372

Christians
1,999,563,838
2,501,396
799

cicerone imposter.......

Sorry to burst your bubbles!

What you just typed above has been taken from a Christian site. Here is the link.....

http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-myths-fastest-growing.htm

Talk about bias..... :wink:

Dispute the partisanship of the referrenced site if you wish, Grandmaster - without providing legitimate, credible statistical evidence and analysis demonstrating the conclusions offered by that site to be oin error, your objections serve only to confirm further that the claim you are defending in fact is a meme - a broadspread, uncritically accepted assertion without basis in fact or evidence, while at odds with available evidence.

Grandmaster, Your charge of bias doesn't answer why their numbers are wrong. Please get with the program.

Bias does not mean untrue.

I could care less if Islam is fastest growing religion. as long as their not kicking in my door making me convert, I'm good. Hell, if they can make the Christians in the Mall leave me alone, then go for it.

Why is the discussion on which religions are growing relvant? The number of people that believe something has NO correlation to what the truth is.

Truth is not democratic.

If a bunch of people wnat to worship the Abrhamic God by any name, let them, just let those of us that don't be content.

@ Timberland & imposter,

Unauthorized statistics are mere numbers or data, blindly believing them is not an intelligent option. Especially when you are using Christian (only major opponent of Islam) sources. yes, I do not have statistics but every single non-Islamic sources aside from conservative Christian wedsites, points out that Islam is the fastest-growing religion on Earth.

I could be wrong but conversion to Islam seems to be a major trend.

Muhammad Ali? Mancolm X? Cat Stevens?