Tag: MENA

Statistics provided by research group Euromonitor International reported a constant increase in the use of alcohol in several countries where the Muslim religion, which prohibits the use of any product capable of affecting behaviour (drugs included), is dominant. Quoting the survey, Le Monde reported that between 2005 and 2010 the average consumption by the French dropped from 104.2 litres of alcohol per year to 96.7, while in the same period in the Middle East and Africa area it increased by 25%, from 11.7 billion litres to 15.2 billion.^[2]

“The Gulf is an important market for us to continue growing,” said Jane Ewing, Diageo’s general manager for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The London-based maker of Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka posted a 16 per cent rise in regional net sales last year [2010] and expects sales to double in the next five years in the MENA region. The Gulf Arab region alone accounted for 44 per cent of Diageo’s total sales in MENA, with the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon being its two largest markets.^[3]

According to the study [cited by the Alriyadyh Arabic language daily], Arab countries spend more than $10 billion on Viagra and other anti-impotence medicines every year and that Saudi Arabia [ranked sixth largest consumer of sex drugs] alone spends over $1.5 billion [10 times more than Russia although the population in Russia is more than 10 times the Saudis]. It is followed by Egypt and the UAE, which spend about $one billion and $500 million respectively.^[4]

While alcohol consumption is supposedly forbidden, the Muslim world has seen nearly double the increase in alcohol consumption in the past decade, according to a new study.Across the Islamic world, The Economist magazine said, consumption is on the rise, with an increase of some 72 percent between 2001 and 2011.

“I believe it 100 percent,” said Egyptian lawyer Ahmed, who regularly joins his friends at a bar after work for a beer.

“We just like to enjoy ourselves and this whole religion thing has not been something that hinders us,” he told Bikyamasr.com.

Surprisingly, the Islamic world’s increase in boozing has been as the rest of the world has only grown in its alcohol consumption by some 30 percent.

The magazine, in its report on the new figures, said that the “rise [in alcohol-sales in the Middle East] is unlikely to be accounted for by non-Muslims and foreigners alone.”

Muslims are just as likely to partake in drinking as their non-Muslim counterparts. Granted, there are some Muslims who maintain abstinence to drinking, but the magazine and others believe Muslims have had a direct role in the rise of alcohol.

Although a taboo in many Muslim countries, more so in places like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Pakistan where it is legally banned, drinking is still commonplace.

In other places, such as Lebanon, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia and Egypt it is legal to consume alcohol and bars are often crowded.
. . .

While there are some countries where drinking is lower, overall drinking is becoming a common part of many lives in the Islamic world, from Morocco to Indonesia.

Children

• 4 out of 5 Middle-Eastern women are sexually abused between the ages of 3 and 6 by family members.

• More than half of all Yemeni girls are married before reaching puberty.

• About 1 in 10 pregnancies in the Arab world ends in abortion. In Pakistan every 6th pregnancy is terminated.

• 94% of Yemeni children (2-14 yrs) subjected to violence from a parent or guardian. (read more)

Crime & Prejudice

• 2011 Pew study finds Muslims are more “phobic” of non-Muslims than the non-Muslims are “Islamophobic” of Muslims.

• According to FBI 2008 statistics, anti-Muslim incidents in the US are dropping and only account for 1.3% of all hate crimes.

• Jewish victims of hate crimes in the US outnumber Muslim victims by a 10-1 ratio.

• Anti-Christian hate crime incidents outnumber anti-Muslim incidents in the US. (read more)

Free Speech

• Turkey has more journalists in prison than any other country in the world, almost double that of China and Iran.

• 40% of Indonesian Muslims say they would use violence against those blaspheming Islam.

• 78% of British Muslims support punishing people who publish cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad.

• Since 1990, 52 people accused of blasphemy in Pakistan have been extra-judicially killed by lynch mobs. (read more)

Homosexuals

• Homosexual relationships, acts or behavior illegal in 36 Islamic countries. 10 impose the death penalty for homosexuals.

• As of 1999 in Iran, more than 4000 lesbians and gays had been executed since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

• Two thirds of all reported incidents of anti-gay violence in Amsterdam are by Muslim youths.

• A 2009 Gallup survey could not find a single UK Muslim who approved of homosexuality. (read more)

• Pornography

  • Google survey finds mostly Muslim states seek access to sex-related websites (they rank 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 & 8 in the top 10).
  • Iranians made the highest number of visits to “immoral sites” on Ashura Day.
  • Approximately 2 million online users watch pornographic films each minute in Turkey.
  • Pakistan ranked No. 1 in searches for “child sex,” “animal sex,” “rape sex,” “camel sex,” “dog sex,” “rape video.” (read more)

  • Scripture

    • There are 164 Jihad verses in the Qur’an & nearly 500 verses (roughly 1 out of every 12) that speak of Hell.
    • Practicing Muslims recite anti-Semitic & anti-Christian rhetoric at least 17 times a day, and over 5,000 times a year.
    • Compared to Mein Kampf, the non-abrograted Medinan verses of the Qur’an contain more than 2x the amount of anti-Jewish text.
    • 122 peaceful Qur’anic verses have been abrogated by the Sword verse (9:5) and Fighting verse (9:29). (read more)

    Slavery

    • Africans taken (or died in the process of being taken) as slaves by Muslims is estimated to be higher than 140 million.
    • 1.25 million white European Christians were captured and sold into the Muslim slave trade between the 16th and 19th century.
    • The Islamic slave trade still flourishes in Muslim countries. There are over half a million slaves in Mauritania alone.
    • Christian Solidarity International (CSI) has liberated over 80,000 Sudanese slaves taken captive by Arab Muslims. (read more)

    Women

    • In terms of cultural/tribal/religious danger to women, 4 of the 5 most dangerous countries are Muslim majorities.
    • Egyptian women are sexually harassed 7 times every 200 meters and well over two-thirds are harassed on a daily basis.
    • The Maldives, an Islamic country with a 100% Muslim population, has the highest divorce rate in the world.
    • Egyptian study contradict widely held belief that unveiled women are more likely to suffer harassment than veiled ones. (read more)
• http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Muslim_Statistics