Why is islam the fastest growing religion

Hey I have read quiet a few books and sites about islam and I found out there is about 1.3 billion muslims and it is the fastest growing religion in the world. Have you seen the same? What do you think?

arachnid, you're talking about cultural acts and not religious ones (otherwise all people who followed the religion would be doing them, however you only see those acts being carried out in cultures where they were performed long before the introducation of the religion). If people choose to make them "religious" that does not mean they are religious. Just that they are trying to lend credibility to their pracitices. Just as the intolerance towards homosexuality has been given credance by christians in the states, or people who bomb abortion clinics claim to be doing God's work, doesnt make all the christians responsible for their acts.. should all christians be denounced because some people are carrying out acts of violence in the name of christianity?

It's the fastest growing religion because it has the most devout adherents. That means more children raised in islamic families*, and more people out there trying to convert others to their religion.

* Isn't it funny how your religion is almost always determined by what your parents believe? It's almost like all religions are equally made up and senseless!

For me the jury's still out - I don't believe 'convert or else' is acceptable - I'm disappointed very few Muslim's don't take a stand against the violence of the last 20 years - that makes it confusing as to the claim 'religion of peace' yet I see/hear/read so many examples of 'religion of intolerance' - don't understand the mindset 'ignore that giant elephant in the room' so shhh - so I'm still working on trying to understand all factors involved - certainly I'm not saying ALL of Islam is like this - I'm still studying the religion - jury's still out for me - still deciding.

*** it is the fastest growing religion in the world

I have yet to see any statistics that back up this widely spread Islamic propaganda. They've taken sporadic surveys here and there, and cherry picked the ones that promote the idea they want to spread.

Islam is spread primarily through childbirth and intermarriage. The idea that people are converting to Islam in droves is simply false.

I agree with toadaly. In the US for example, Islam is spreading somewhat by conversion, mainly in the African-American community. But the rise of Islam in the US is overwhelmingly because of increased immigration from Muslim countries.

***For me the jury's still out - I don't believe 'convert or else' is acceptable -***

Ohhh... I'll be laughing about THAT one for a while...

iam so surprised of some people who is ready to insult whenever the word Islam comes, and iam so pleased when any other religion is mentioned and muslims respect it, maybe thats why Islam is the fastest growing religion, cause it respect the others no matter what their religion is, the word Islam is an arabic word means peace so I don't think anyone who converted was forced to do so ,it was their choice,and I think when a lot of people choose something, it must be for good reasons, wish you all love and peace.

cleopatra1: I would recommend reading about and watching the videos of Ayaan Hirsi: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/fora/stories/2008/08/14/2335340.htm

She's a Muslim woman who has bravely spoken out for the millions of women who suffer repression, genital mutilation, 'honor killings' and more under the Islam religion. These are practices not of a 'funadmentalist fringe', but of what the majority of Muslims consider "mainstream". Also see the recent news on various 'honor killings' of women (and sometimes men) that are fully supported by the local constabulary: http://richarddawkins.net/article,2590,n,n

And regardless if you declare yourself 'more moderate' than the people who carry these acts out (who belong to sects that are considered moderate themselves in the Islamic world), it's my opinion that by following and supporting _any_ religion, you give undeserved credibility to the lunatic fringe who use the religion and their 'righteousness' as cover for unspeakable acts against their fellow man.

it's because that religion allows men to do what they want while it's desicrating woman. Men are in control. Which is easy for use to do but it's better to put god in the drivers seat

ty: Who defines what _is_ demanded by scripture, then? You claim that their actions aren't supported by _your_ religion, but that's only because of your interpretation. Others take other interpretations which lead them to other conclusions. You're essentially saying "that's not religious because I don't think it is", but it's obvious that there's no clear agreement on the meaning of scripture.

Do you have a quote from scripture?

ty: Why, should I? You're making a spurious distinction between 'cultural' and 'religious' acts, where a 'cultural' act is any that disagrees with _your_ interpretation of scripture, even if the people doing it are doing it under their own interpretation of the same holy book.

no, cultural acts preceed religion, and that's my point... religious acts are acts that generally are followed by people who follow the religion regardless of where they live or where their roots are...

You're still trying to make this distinction between "cultural acts" and "religious acts" in the context of a religion. As far as I can tell, the only thing that distinguishes the two is that you don't always agree with the former. It's plain, though, that those carrying out what you classify as "cultural acts" regard them as "religious acts", so it all comes down to a semantic distinction you're trying to make so you can say "oh no, that's not part of our religion".

But that's my point, some things are not part of the religion. And blaming the religion for something that preceeds the religion...
e.g. genital mutilation among somali women, blaming it on the religion, when the same religion in practically every other place doesnt have that practice, how does it make it part of the religion?