POPULATION GROWTH IN ISLAMIC COUNTRIES

      The issue of population has become one of the most discussed topics of recent years. Especially the population growth rate in Islamic countries disturbs the international powers that have been exploiting these countries for years. These countries are worried that the balances - or imbalances - which are in their favour in all respects may change. The governments in Islamic countries, which are disconnected from their people, seem to be inclined to accept and implement their policies on population without any evaluation. This issue has become one of the most talked about topics due to the recent Cairo Population Conference. Here, we will analyse the population issue in the light of some scientific data and try to prove that the high population growth rate is not the real cause of poverty. Firstly, let us make a comparison between Islamic countries and technologically developed Western countries in terms of population: In Indonesia, which has the largest population among Islamic countries and ranks fourth in terms of population after China, India and the USA, the number of people per km2 is 98. This number is 76.8 in Turkey, 145.5 in Pakistan, 57 in Egypt, 99 in Nigeria and 799.3 in Bangladesh. These are the most populous Islamic countries. The number of people per km2 in some Western countries is as follows: Germany 227.6, Belgium 330, England 238, Netherlands 368.5, Italy 190, Switzerland 169, France 106, Monaco 15,641. For example, the number of people per km2 in the Netherlands is 4.8 times higher than in Turkey. Can anyone stand up and say: 'The Netherlands has golden soil, whereas only 20 per cent of Turkey's soil is suitable for agriculture'? On the contrary, it would be more appropriate to say: 'If technical facilities were developed and our lands were used efficiently, Turkey's lands could feed four times the current population, i.e. 320 million people'. Because Turkish soils are at least as fertile as the soils of the Netherlands. Nevertheless, while the Turkish government wants to control the population growth rate, the Dutch government encourages population growth and increases the child allowance for a family in proportion to the number of children. Meanwhile, let us remind that the Netherlands feeds a population of 15.302.000 (more than a quarter of Turkey's population) with 41.526 km2 of land (i.e. about one twentieth of Turkey's land area) and exports many agricultural products and animal foodstuffs.

     It can be seen that the governments in the Islamic countries, which do not care about protecting the interests of their peoples, but rather about compromising with the international interest forces, more precisely with the colonial powers, cite the population as the cause of backwardness and poverty in order to hide their own incompetence and failures. In reality, the cause of poverty and backwardness is the wrong policies pursued. Naturally, when countries are impoverished by these wrong policies, population becomes a problem. However, the solution should be sought not in reducing the population but in making it productive. Because even if the population of a country is reduced by half, population will still be a problem if the rulers do not prioritise the interests of their people and do not strive for their welfare. Secondly, the young population is a productive population. The important thing is to create production space for this productive population. No one can say: "Our lands are not enough to open production areas for the growing generations and to utilise their potential energy efficiently". Because the figures we have given above reveal the groundlessness of this claim. Islamic countries are in a very good situation in this respect. The reason why Western countries have problems in terms of population is the increasing number of elderly people who do not produce and are a burden on the state and other strata of society. Especially in countries where capitalist and pragmatist understanding is dominant, this problem is even more effective. Let us now compare some Islamic countries with Western countries in this respect. In Turkey, 80.5 per cent of the population is under the age of 45, 12.6 per cent is between the ages of 45 and 60, and 6.9 per cent is 60 and over. In Pakistan, the proportion of those under the age of 45 is 83.8 per cent, the proportion of those between the ages of 45-60 is 9.3 per cent and the proportion of those aged 60 and over is 6.9 per cent. In Nigeria, the proportion of those under the age of 45 is 87.8 per cent, the proportion of those between the ages of 45-60 is 8 per cent, and the proportion of those aged 60 and over is 4.2 per cent. In Malaysia, 84.6 per cent of those under the age of 45, 9.6 per cent between the ages of 45 and 60, and 5.8 per cent aged 60 and over. The situation in some Western countries is as follows: In France, 64.5 per cent of those under the age of 45, 15.5 per cent of those between the ages of 45 and 60, and 20 per cent of those aged 60 and over. In the Netherlands, the rate of those under the age of 45 is 65.7 per cent, the rate of those between the ages of 45 and 60 is 16.8 per cent and the rate of those aged 60 and over is 17.5 per cent. In Belgium, 62.4 per cent of those under the age of 45, 16.9 per cent of those between the ages of 45 and 60, and 20.7 per cent of those aged 60 and over. In Germany, 58.6 per cent of the population under the age of 45, 20.6 per cent between the ages of 45 and 60, and 20.8 per cent aged 60 and over. In addition to this, considering that the population growth in Western countries is almost negligible and in some countries even non-existent, it is understood that the Western world is getting older and that in the near future the proportion of those who can work will be less than the proportion of those who cannot work. Looking at this situation, it is possible to make the following observations:

1. An increase in population means continuous renewal and preservation of the proportion of the population that can work. If the population does not increase or decreases, it means an increase in the elderly and therefore inactive population.
2. If the governments in Islamic countries can properly utilise the energetic young population in these countries, they will be able to increase their economic development at the same rate and prepare a much better environment for future generations.
3. If the population growth rate falls below 1 per cent or even zero as in Western countries, an ageing period will begin in Islamic countries fifty years later, which is more dangerous for Islamic countries. Because although Western countries have developed their industries to such an extent, it is difficult for them to handle the existing elderly population. For the Islamic countries, which are economically very backward and will only reap the fruits of their development efforts after many years even if they start a development move from today, the increase in the rate of the elderly population will cause more serious problems.
4. Another important fact is this: With a population of about 1.5 billion, it constitutes a majority close to the Muslim population of the whole world. Despite this, no one says that China threatens the world with such a large population.

                                Why is the West disturbed by the population of the Islamic world?

     The Christian world's discomfort with the population of the Islamic world started centuries ago. Westerners started to produce policies aimed at preventing the population growth in the Islamic world about two centuries ago. These policies were formalised and made more effective after the 1930s. In recent years, the US and the West have begun to stipulate that Islamic countries should endeavour to reduce the rate of population growth when extending loans to them. They even stipulate that a certain percentage of their loans should be used for this purpose. Why do the Westerners constantly endeavour to increase the population in their own countries, while they are disturbed by the population growth in Islamic countries? Is it because there is not enough population in their own countries and the population in Islamic countries is much higher than the capacity of these countries to feed them? We have shown above with figures that this is not the case. Today, the number of people per km2 in all Western European countries is higher than in Turkey. As we have mentioned above, in some countries this number is five or six times higher than in Turkey. The main concern arises from the damage that may be caused to the colonialist practices that are still being implemented in this last quarter of the twentieth century. Today, an economically backward Islamic country has to sell at least 40,000 tonnes of rice to buy a fighter jet. Islamic countries allocate on average 90 per cent of their annual budgets for armaments, military expenditures and foreign debt payments. The proportion they allocate to development and civil services is 10 per cent on average. Despite spending so much money on armaments and military expenditures, they do not have the power to threaten the industrialised countries in this field. Because they already buy military equipment from these countries. The reason for this is the wrong practices of the governments in Islamic countries. The colonial powers want these wrong practices to continue and they always have the opportunity to sell an outdated fighter jet and get 40 thousand tonnes of rice in return. When Islamic countries cannot find enough money to buy military equipment or other industrial products, the industrialised countries, which have given modern dimensions to colonialism, give loans from their own coffers that will return to them, and then they can buy as many foodstuffs as they want with the interest of these loans for years. But the situation will change if the population of the Islamic countries increases and it becomes necessary for this population to consume the foodstuffs they buy for the price of a junk aeroplane or an outdated car. The rulers of the Islamic countries will have to change their policies in the face of the demands of their people, or they will have to transfer this duty to the cadres that their people want. After this stage, Islamic countries will look for ways to develop their industries and stand on their own resources in order to get rid of external dependence in the economic field. This is the economic dimension of the issue. In addition, there are also political, social and religious dimensions, which would be too lengthy to go into here.

Population Reduction Practices

     Before talking about the practices aiming to reduce the rate of population growth, we would like to briefly touch upon population reduction practices. Wars are one of the leading population reduction practices. Especially in the wars fought between Islamic countries and in the attacks against these countries, in addition to various political and strategic calculations, it is also aimed to reduce the population in these countries. This claim of ours should not sound too fanciful. Look, according to the Italian magazine Panorama, an American pilot wrote on a bomb he was going to drop on Iraq: "For birth control in Iraq". But whether this news is true or not, it is not in vain that in wars against Islamic countries, civilian settlements are often targeted, bombs that cause more casualties are used and so on. Sometimes one war can replace a million abortions. One of the methods of population reduction is civil wars. Today, many Islamic countries are experiencing civil wars or regional conflicts based on artificial causes. Civil wars and regional conflicts also cause significant loss of life. Rwanda is a recent example. Mass migration and refugees caused by wars between countries and internal conflicts also cause many people to lose their lives. In such incidents, a considerable number of people lose their lives on the road during migration. Then, inadequate nutrition, health and sanitation services in refugee camps lead to deaths due to starvation or epidemics. In addition, child mortality in such cases is also seriously increasing. The largest number of mass migration and asylum cases occur in Islamic countries. After the Russian invasion, more than five million Afghans, more than one third of the country's population, fled to various countries, especially Pakistan. Millions of Palestinians became refugees after the Israeli occupation. Due to the war in Eritrea, more than one million Eritreans had to seek refuge in various countries, especially Sudan. Due to the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, more than half of the Muslims in this country had to seek refuge in other countries. These are just a few examples. Many other countries have experienced and are experiencing similar mass migration and asylum events. An important factor affecting the population in underdeveloped countries and especially in Islamic countries is child mortality. In these countries, the inadequacy of health services, especially preventive health services for children, leads to high child mortality rates. According to UNICEF reports, 13 million children died in the world in 1993. 8 million of these children died in Islamic countries. In other words, 61.53 per cent of child deaths occur in Islamic countries. The rate of child mortality in Islamic countries is 97 per thousand on average. Child mortality rates in some Islamic countries are as follows: Mauritania: 209 per thousand; Afghanistan: 164 per thousand; Niger: 125 per thousand; Djibouti: 112 per thousand; Bangladesh: 94 per thousand; Turkey: 91 per thousand. Child mortality rates in some Western countries are as follows: Germany: 7.5 per thousand; Belgium: 8.9 per thousand; France: 6.7 per thousand; Switzerland: 6.8 per thousand; Italy: 8.3 per thousand; Netherlands: 6.5 per thousand.       

     As can be seen, there is a great difference in child mortality rates. Despite this situation, there is no significant effort to reduce child mortality rates in Islamic countries. In addition to these, inadequate health services, poor traffic order, lack of attention to occupational safety, etc. also affect the population growth rate negatively. For this reason, the average life expectancy in developed countries is 76 years, while it is 54 years in Islamic countries.

Population Planning

     In fact, if the governments in Islamic countries could be the voice of their people, they should have said when the developed Western countries put projects for population planning in front of them, which they want to be implemented, they should have said: "Let us adopt a common attitude on this issue. Let us first compare the populations of our countries. Let's see how many people per km2 in your country and how many people in our country. Then let us compare our natural resources and determine which country can accommodate how much population. Then, according to the results of scientific research, let us decide together who should implement population planning programmes." Western countries would never be willing to accept such an offer. Because, as can be understood from the information we have given above, Islamic countries do not have enough population to be fed by their own natural resources, while Western countries feed their population with foodstuffs purchased from Islamic countries in exchange for scrap industrial products. Nevertheless, the administrations in Islamic countries implement the population planning programmes dictated to them without even feeling the need to rearrange them. Population planning practices should be analysed in three categories: Voluntary practices, compulsory practices and indirect practices. Voluntary practices are realised through influencing people by using various means of communication. In fact, there is also coercion in this. This is because sometimes emotional exploitation, sometimes social isolation, sometimes humiliation, sometimes threats to the future are used to get people to voluntarily accept population planning practices. Meanwhile, the facilitation of abortion aims to help those who voluntarily want to have fewer children. As for coercion: In fact, we are not aware of any country other than China that has openly resorted to coercion to limit the number of children. However, in many countries this is done unofficially. In some countries sterilisation is resorted to, although it is not very widespread. In fact, the popularisation and even the formalisation of this method has been proposed in some previous population conferences and meetings. However, it was not accepted due to the fear of public reaction. In some countries, however, people are sterilised systematically by means of drugs administered for various purposes. One of the coercive population planning practices is impoverishment. The increasing rate of poverty in some Islamic countries, the continuous decline in the level of income and the concentration of assets in the hands of certain trusts are the result of some purposeful practices. The incompetence of political governments is not the only reason for the impoverishment in Islamic countries. Increasing the cost of education is a practice linked to the impoverishment policy. In our age, when everyone wants their children to study and to gain prestige in society as cultured and educated people, the difficulties in the field of education make people think and worry about the future of their children. Hence, there is a feeling in the society that: "If you have many children and cannot educate and raise them properly, have few children and raise them properly". But unfortunately, due to deliberate practices in raising the cost of education, it becomes difficult to educate even a small number of children and bring them to a certain position. According to UNICEF reports of 1993, thirty million children in Islamic countries were deprived of education due to lack of financial means. These are those deprived of primary education. Those deprived of secondary and higher education are many times more. One of the coercive practices aimed at reducing the rate of population growth is the frequent use of the caesarean section method of delivery. This claim may sound strange to some people, but they will be right when they think that while this method is used only 15 per cent in the world, it has been used 60 per cent in hospitals in Turkey in recent years. When a woman has her first birth by caesarean section, it is often compulsory for her to have her second birth by caesarean section, and the fourth birth of a woman who has given birth by caesarean section three times poses a danger to her health. It can be easily said that one of the purposes of having a caesarean section for very simple reasons and sometimes because it is easier is to reduce the population growth rate. Among the coercive practices, there is also the method of psychological pressure, which we have pointed out above when referring to voluntary practices. One of the indirect practices is the facilitation of sexual relations outside marriage. Because sexual fulfilment is a natural human need. The fulfilment of this need through marriage is a legitimate practice accepted by all humanity. Therefore, no one is ashamed of having a child in this way. However, since extramarital relations are frowned upon, especially in Muslim societies, no one wants to have children in this way. In this respect, the colonial powers who want to reduce the rate of population growth in Islamic countries want to popularise such relationships and ensure that people prefer to meet their sexual needs without marriage. Another indirect practice is the popularisation of homosexuality. Because there are no children from such relationships.   

     Enabling people to fulfil their sexual satisfaction needs in this way will contribute to reducing the population growth rate. Because those who enter into homosexual relationships often do not feel the need to enter into relationships with members of the opposite sex. Even the information about the people of Lot in the Holy Qur'an sheds light on this issue.