Map: The State of Islam Around the Globe

Newsweek Web Exclusive

« Return to Multimedia

Discuss

Member Comments

  • Posted By: Onghan @ 03/04/2009 1:25:59 PM

    @ Newsweek Editor, your map, The State of Islam still needs further correction since in the large map and special map for Turkey is highlighted in yellow while Edirne, Tekirdag and Istanbul are cut out. Please accurate this mistake.

    • Posted By: Truth supreme @ 03/04/2009 2:12:53 PM

      EnteYou mean the areas taken from greece by force?r Your Comment

      • Posted By: Onghan @ 03/08/2009 8:52:26 PM

        greece has taken all its territory by force from ottoman! it is right?
        i dont want to talk about needless things. all states takes territory by force.

        @ newsweek! your turkey map is wrong!

        • Posted By: elementalist @ 05/16/2009 10:42:40 AM

          Exactly. The same way the followers of Mohammed took all of the land by force beginning with Medina, Mecca, and on through the Middle East, Northern Africa, India, Southern Europe, etc., until the modern era, when many countries started taking some of it away. Live with it. Maps change in this world .. just as you suggest by your statement above.

  • Posted By: haroldmcnamara @ 03/09/2009 4:05:57 PM

    newsweek is the most ignorant magazine i have ever seen. i mean what does "radical" islam mean? so when a moslem person does something.. its a big hulabooloo.. i mean who killed 12, 000, 000 people in the holocaust -- a catholic. what is the kkk -- a christian group. what did our christian friends do to africa -- they ransacked their land of resources and then murdered them. finally the spanish murdered indians and fed them to war dogs. and are our american identity much better? we murdered indians like they were animals. 1 000 000 deaths in iraq and afganistan compared with 5000 for al qaeda. seems like the most liberal country in the middle east -- israel just murdered in cold-blood 1000 palestinians.

    • Posted By: elementalist @ 05/16/2009 10:35:23 AM

      We don't kill people if they insult our savior, Jesus Christ. And did you not see the global uproar over the cartoon of Mohammed?The murder of Van Gogh? Daniel Pearl? Wake up man, because your neck would be slit in a heartbeat by the Muslims if they ruled here. All you would need to do to earn your Islamic necktie is to say no to Islam.

  • Posted By: Concernedhuman @ 03/04/2009 5:18:58 AM

    Can someone explain to me why Israel has the right to exist? I dont mean the jewish people, they obviously have a right to exist anywhere. Im talking about the State of Israel.

    • Posted By: elementalist @ 05/16/2009 10:30:29 AM

      Israel had a national existence in Judea (modern Palestine) long before the Roman empire came into existence. The only archaeological evidence of a people living in the region indicates that they were Jewish, with two temples having been built by them on the current site of the Dome of The Rock mosque (an abomination). The last temple was destroyed in 70AD, when the Romans killed about 1.5 million Jews, and ultimately renamed the land of Judea, Palestina as an insult to the surviving Jews over their past mortal enemies, the Phillistines. I think these are a few good reasons among the many that exist, that the nation of Israel has the right to exist where it stands, and that the multi-national, so-called Palestinians are little more than squatters and should be evicted back to the nations of their origins.

  • Posted By: ShakilMansoor @ 03/10/2009 9:25:47 AM

    Why is Bangladesh not among the coutries? How do you list its degree of Religious Freedom?
    S.A.Mansoor, Dhaka, Bangladesh 03/12/2009.

  • Posted By: Afg man @ 03/07/2009 2:57:20 PM

    I am a muslim living in USA. and i get mad when an uneducated person with no brain would say "Koran says it is ok to kill people or rap people and have slaves". The meaning of Koran is Peace and Love. Lets get this right next time. We have bad and good people in every religious and we can't say that muslim is the reason that there is war in the world. Everybody wants to be on the top and muslim is one of them. I am proud to say we are winning too. Tell me why who ever studies muslim the next you know they are practicing muslim. Muslim is the oldest religious and most growing population in the world.
    When you talking about nuclear don't forget to point your finger at your self too. I mean USa had and probley have nuclear and already used it too. Who is going to grante that they won't use it again. Why is USA in Iran's business? Everyone believe that Usa have the best technology and have the best modern weopans if they use it in Iran, Iran will be no longer in the map. Lets everybody just have peace and enjoy what god has given us.

  • Posted By: Afg man @ 03/07/2009 2:55:37 PM

    I am a muslim living in USA. and i get mad when an uneducated person with no brain would say "Koran says it is ok to kill people or rap people and have slaves". The meaning of Koran is Peace and Love. Lets get this right next time. We have bad and good people in every religious and we can't say that muslim is the reason that there is war in the world. Everybody wants to be on the top and muslim is one of them. I am proud to say we are winning too. Tell me why who ever studies muslim the next you know they are practicing muslim. Muslim is the oldest religious and most growing population in the world.
    When you talking about nuclear don't forget to point your finger at your self too. I mean USa had and probley have nuclear and already used it too. Who is going to grante that they won't use it again. Why is USA in Iran's business? Everyone believe that Usa have the best technology and have the best modern weopans if they use it in Iran, Iran will be no longer in the map. Lets everybody just have peace and enjoy what god has given us.

  • Posted By: nicenezgon @ 03/02/2009 7:21:24 PM

    This is just another example of how ignorant our so called "educated press" is. Islam is the worst thing that has ever been established on the planet earth. It is responsible for the murder and death of millions upon millions of people. The first battles the American people fought after gaining our independence were against Islam. They were raiding our ships on the Barbary Coast and killing our people and making slaves out of them. When Jefferson met with them he was told. "The Koran says it is our job to kill you and make slaves of you". This is the reason why the first translation of the Koran was made. Jefferson wanted to study it to find out who his enemy was. So if you think is is only the militants you have a problem with, you are dead (no pun intended) wrong. Islam tolerates nothing. When Islam takes over an area it destroys all traces of any religion or does not agree with Islam. Archeologists would have many more things from prior civilizations if it were not for Islam. Islam teaches that rape, murder, theft, lies and anything else you can think of is OK as long as it furthers the cause of Islam. Thus you can not negotiate with these people because you can not believe anything they say. Just look at the Middle East. Israel has been a nuclear power for many years and has never used it. How long do you think it will be before Iran uses their Nukes once they have them. I will give you a first hand example of just how inaccurate this article is. It shows the Philippines as a country where religion is free. In a way, that is true, But if you want to be totally honest about it you have to look at the complete picture. The Island of Mindanao is where the Muslim population is the highest. (more than 40%) During the last Philippine national elections they were not able to hold the elections there. The Muslims threatened to kill anyone that manned the polling stations. (The Philippines uses school teachers for this purpose.) And these are "peaceful muslims" the ones the Philippine Government is trying to help. Islam is a religion of lies. If their god (the moon god) was so great, he would do all his killing himself and not have to depend on his brainwashed followers to do it for him. Christianity teaches that Christ died for our sins and that anyone (including Muslims) can have eternal life by accepting him as their savior. Islam promises you eternal life if you kill someone that does not accept Islam. Now which would you rather have living next to you? A Muslim (where it is acceptable to kill your own child if he turns away from Islam), or a Christian, where you are taught to "Love thy neighbor as thyself")??? Please wake up America before it is too late.

    • Posted By: goldendoor13 @ 03/06/2009 4:15:06 PM

      I've lived in the MIddle East and am currently teaching a college course on the Middle East, and I can tell you, nicenezgon, that your view of Islam is wrong. Militant, radical Islamists make up less than one percent of the world's Muslim population, which is for the most part good people with good families. People like you, with a bigoted, ignorant view of Islam are a HUGE obstacle to helping establish peace in the Middle East, to say nothing about how much your views contradict true Christianity. Please, do some research.

  • Posted By: JB619 @ 03/05/2009 4:52:30 AM

    So we are to leave radical Islam alone?
    No I don't think so.
    Look at just what happened to Sri Lanka's cricket team! And for what?

    • Posted By: tonygalli @ 03/06/2009 2:51:37 PM

      But that???s not how I read the article. Groups like the ones in Pakistan who attacked others (non-Muslims) just because they are other, whether for religious or social-political reasons, indeed ARE the same type of global jihadists we need to overcome! But merely implementing sharia-law in their own country, as disgusting as it is, itself is not enough to justify military action. There are other, if ???weaker,??? ways we can help victims/refugees of extreme Islam in terms of said countries internal despotism. Military action against outright aggression toward other nations is clearly justified internationally (hence the large support for Iraq War I). Genocide in a state???s borders is a murkier area. But simply for bad regimes, theocratic authoritarianism, and lack of democracy alone, war is clearly not the right tool. War can even work against such humanitarian efforts (Iraq II).

      Still, when all is said and done, I don???t know if extreme Muslims, such as the Taliban operating in Pakistan, can be trusted not to use WMD???s if in power or in government positions. Is there not a close connection between their internal tyranny and their external imperialism and hegemony? Especially for those whose worldview doesn???t recognize the modern nation-state system, the UN, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the inherent right of non-Muslims to believe in/practice other religions, follow non-Arab cultural practices, or have religiously neutral governments (not to mention the basic irrationality of those with supernatural, apocalytic beliefs).

  • Posted By: DrTodd @ 03/05/2009 1:43:23 PM

    Your map shows your geographical ignorance. You left out many islamic countries (bangladesh, libya, jordan) and included a historically christian country as muslim (philipines). What you really should do is also show us a map of religious freedom in historically christian countries (north and south america, europe, the philipines, etc) What you'll find is they are virtually all religiously free, whereas as muslim countries are at best partially free. What nonsense.

  • Posted By: Kerem08 @ 03/05/2009 3:38:47 AM

    I can cannot admit these idaes about Turkey.There is no fear or reason to come to power Sharia Rule.Turkey has been walking to EU membership.Turkey is at least as much democartic as EU.We cannot be put to the divisioned Suudi Arabia or Yemen We are different.

  • Posted By: mssm1365 @ 03/05/2009 2:41:37 AM

    I have just a bit question. You devide the world in 3 division. free, partly free and unfree. Can I ask you what the way of other people in the world is? The map shows there are no people in the world but colored places.

  • Posted By: EducatedDude @ 03/05/2009 2:03:22 AM

    Hey, I just noticed that the map include "Palestinian Territories", even though the population therein is only a few million. Yet Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Jordan, Oman, UAE, and Qatar are all left out, along with India, Bangladesh, and even China (which has tens of millions of Muslims in Xinjiang), not to mention the "Stans" of central asian. More foolishness.

    Really what you should have is a map of religious freedom (or lack thereof) in Islamic countries. The Philipinnes has religious freedom in spite of, not because of, Islam.

  • Posted By: EducatedDude @ 03/05/2009 1:51:08 AM

    Who created a "map of Islam" by population that includes an overwhelmingly Catholic country (Philippines) and leaves out countries with huge Islamic populations (India, Bangladesh)?

    Your magazine has a pretty weak grasp of facts. What an embarrassment.

  • Posted By: Chuckyhammer @ 03/05/2009 12:18:10 AM

    The Philippines is mostly Christine, with only a minority muslim population located in the south. This area where the majority is muslim, is not under gov't control, and there is violence against non-muslims, and is not safe for non-muslims. I don't know why the Philippines would be lumped in with Muslim majority countries. I don't see any of the partly free countries, that anybody that enjoys the freedoms of the West would want to live in these backward countires.

  • Posted By: Onghan @ 03/04/2009 1:25:45 PM

    @ Newsweek Editor, your map, The State of Islam still needs further correction since in the large map and special map for Turkey is highlighted in yellow while Edirne, Tekirdag and Istanbul are cut out. Please accurate this mistake.

  • Posted By: Afroman @ 03/04/2009 12:42:18 PM

    The Jews fought the invading greeks and the romans to the point where they needed to evacuate to avoid total extermination. Now they have returned. Why can they not promote their return through an affirmative action program?!? Westerners think 10 years is a long time; islam is a copy of islam, no wonder the jews continue to embarrass them!

  • Posted By: John_Historian @ 03/04/2009 7:34:25 AM

    Well, the Europeans didn't like Jews so they extradited them to the Palestinian Territories where the Jews had lived in piece among Muslems for centuries. Not to ignore the history, it's cool to answer why the previous plan of sending Jews to Uganda changed and instead of giving freedom to Palestinians from the British colonial empire, their lands -by use of force and terror- were given to Jews.

  • Posted By: DBMarlow @ 03/04/2009 6:39:17 AM

    Newsweek - when are you going to acknowledge your map was offensively wrong yesterday? Did you think if you quietly swept it under the rug, no one would notice?

    The fact you labeled ISRAEL as a "Palestinian Territory" calls to question your whole credibility when it comes to islam. Either your are too stupid to know basic geography, much less about the cult of islam, or you deliberately exposed your true agenda.

    There was a time when integrity was a part of journalism. Obviously, that is a quality Newsweek does not possess.

  • Posted By: Concernedhuman @ 03/04/2009 5:21:29 AM

    Can someone explain to me why its a given that Israel has the right to exist? Im not talking about the jewish people,for they have the right to exist obviously. Im talking about the state of Israel.

  • Posted By: DBMarlow @ 03/03/2009 2:43:32 PM

    Reason98 - you should have been here earlier when *Israel* was labeled as "Palestinian Territory." Newsweek has since changed it without acknowledging their goof.

Reply

Report Abuse

Enter comments if any for reporting abuse