Salâmun 'alayk!
It may be tempting for some people to depict Muslims as trying to have
as many babies as they can, a view that I think is racist (because it
fits a stereotype but is not based on any facts), but look at this
objectively. The world birthrate average is about 2%. In Muslim
countries, it's about 2.7%. How is this tiny differency any indication
that the *problem* with the Muslim population growth rate is a product
of religious teachings to have lots of children? In fact, the biggest
driver of population growth rates is the distance to prosperity. The
lower the per-capita income in any society, the higher the birth rate
will be, because one's children are actually more an economic asset in
low-income societies. This is particularly visible in agricultural
societies, which have generally low per capita GDP and high birth
rates. Sons especially are desired, because they will be very
productive. Even in industrializing societies, raising boys to work in
factories holds much of the same kind of value to families.
When a society's prosperity grows, there is a natural lag between the
norm of having relatively large families and the counterpressure to
reduce family size. Family size is reduced in wealthier economies
because children cease to be an asset at some point, and start to
become a cost to the family. Decreasing infant mortality rates
likewise remove old pressures to have larger numbers of children, as
the motivation for sheer replacement decreases.
The correlation between per capita GDP and birthrate is a whopping r =
-.55. That means that 31% of the variance in birthrates from country
to country is the direct result of per capita income. Correcting for
per capita GDP, the residual correlation between "Islâmic country" and
birthrate is only r = 0.19. That means that only 3% of variance, after
accounting for per capita GDP, is a product of "being a Muslim
country." That tiny residual is, in turn, easily explained by the
natural lag that occurs between prosperity growth (i.e., growth in per
capita GDP) and declining birthrates.
Therefore, in fact, there is no threat that Muslim countries will take
over the world by having lots of babies. As culture catches up to
prosperity, just as it did in the United States and other
industrialized countries, the birth rate will drop. In fact, it will
always drop to a sustainable level. The sociology takes care of
itself. You don't need any special technology aside from free-market
incentives.
Peace - Muhâfidh
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