 In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. Hello, my dear viewers of Malmoussein TV, I'm your host Ali Jassim and it is a pleasure to be with you on current events. My colleagues and I have decided to dedicate this episode and the next series of episodes of the program, The Expansion of Islam, to spread the teachings of the religion of Islam and to discuss its different dimensions. So stay with us. According to the last research conducted by the Pew Research Center, the religion of Islam not only has the highest growth rate among other religions, but also according to the estimations, this religion will be the only religion which will have a higher growth rate than the growth rate of the people of the world in the next 35 years. It has been estimated that the world's population will have a growth rate of about 35% within the years 2010 to 2050, while the growth rate of the religion of Islam among people is estimated to be around 73% in total. However, it also has been estimated that within this period of time, the growth rate of the religion of Christianity will increase by 35%, the Hindus by 34%, the Jews by 16% and the other religions with lower rates respectively. The results of the research conducted by the Research Center predict that in the year 2050, the Muslims will form about 30% of the world's population, while the Christians will form about 31% of the world's population. This study also reveals that in the year 2100, the religion of Islam which will be forming 35% of the world's population will become the most followed religion in the world. One of the key factors in the growth of the Muslims population in the world is that the fact that they have a higher rate of birth in comparison to other religions, which is partly due to the geographical position and the dominant culture in these areas. Of course, there is another significant reason, and it is the logic and ideology of Islam. Ever since the tragic events of 9-11 that took place in 2001 in the United States and until this very moment, there have been many changes in the world. Many wars were waged, many governments were overthrown, and many terrorist groups were formed, one of which is Daesh or ISIS terrorist group, whose members are committing unspeakable crimes in the name of Islam against the humanity all over the world. There are a number of open-minded people who seek to find out the truth about Islam when such people learn about the true teachings of Islam, they will witness there is a huge difference between the true teachings of Islam and the deviant ideology of the extremists, and thus embrace this religion and become Muslims. In this portion of time, the media channels are always blaming the religion of Islam for the acts of terrorism. Nevertheless, you can always find some open-minded people conducting in-depth researches to find out the truth, and when they do, they would change their course and life forever. However, there are several points we should examine in this series of episodes. The first point which we will discuss in this program is, how will the spread of terrorist groups like ISIS affect Islam's expansion? Will that cause people to research more about this religion so the increased rate of Islam will grow? Or will it make people disregard Islam because of the current savagery of ISIS that is not accepted by any human being in the world? In today's part of the program, we will talk about the growth of the religion of Islam in the world with our dear guest, Sheikh Mohammed Al-Halli. Sheikh Al-Halli is a renowned Islamic preacher and teacher of Islamic studies at a number of universities in the West. Stay tuned, my dear viewers. As-salamu alaikum, dear viewers. Welcome to the first episode of the Expansion of Islam series. In this episode, we will discuss the expansion of Islam in general with our dear guest, Sheikh Mohammed Al-Halli, the prominent international Islamic preacher and Islamic studies teacher at a number of universities in the West. As-salamu alaikum, sheikh. Al-halikum, as-salamu alaikum. Welcome to the show. Thank you very much. It's an honor to be here. As you know, the birth rate in the Muslim residing countries is much higher than the Christian residing countries. It is estimated that the population of the Muslims will significantly increase in the next years. And they would form the greatest population in the world. What would you like to say about that? Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem in the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful. With regards to the Muslim numbers around the world, it is certainly a fact that many international organizations, research companies, such as Pew International Research, as well as others have demonstrated the expansion in terms of numbers. Not only do we find this in Muslim countries, but also in non-Muslim countries, specifically in the West, such as in Europe, as well as in North and South in America. For example, you find that estimates have come forward to suggest that perhaps by 2050, the population of Muslims in the West specifically, or if we were to talk about the Europe as an example, will go at least three or four times more than what it is today. And that is not only due to the increasing birth rate, but also due to the migration that we see happening from the Middle East, for example, and the establishment of the Muslims in different parts of Europe and in the Americas that are welcoming other Muslims as well to be present in those countries. But there is no doubt that the birth rate in Muslim land is certainly adding to the increasing numbers. But what is really interesting is the fact that if you look at countries in Middle East and in Africa, you find there is increasing violence and disease as well as factors which limit the growth of numbers, yet we're still seeing the expansion and the birth rate going up and the number of Muslims increasing. And that is due to a number of reasons. Perhaps one of them is the recommendations in Islamic teachings about having more children and to be able to bring them up in the right manner as well. The second is because of perhaps the more cultural emphasis upon the females to be present in the house to be looking after the children. So the idea then is that the husband would seek the livelihood and the wife would be a compassionate, loving mother who would bring up the children. Therefore, it encourages more and more births, so to speak. These factors and all more seem to have contributed to the increasing numbers of Muslims in different parts of the world. Thank you so much for that, Sheikh Naam. The next question. In your opinion, what part does the higher birth rate of Muslims play in turning the population of Muslims into the greatest population in the world? I think at the moment, if we look at the statistics that talk about the number of Muslims in the world, some of the recent statistics, such as by the Pew Research, suggest they are 1.6 billion in the world. It's definitely more likely to be higher than that. And it is the second largest following of religion in the world after Christianity. More people are converting? Yes, yes. And of course, in addition to the people who are reverting and accepting the path of Islam, but certainly the growing birth rate is making a positive increase in the numbers. This is because if we look at some countries, non-Muslim countries, personally living in the West, I have seen this practically. That you find, for example, in some Christian predominant families or Hindu and other religions, you have, for example, there isn't as much of an emphasis on increasing numbers and more birth. Perhaps there is a cultural kind of restriction in their mind, whereas it seems that the Muslim family is more inclined to be larger in number. And we see this on a practical level in the United Kingdom and in other parts, where if you were to compare an average size of a Muslim family to that of a non-Muslim family, you'll find the Muslim family is considerably bigger. You would have, for example, more of the children, more of the offsprings and so on, whereas a non-Muslim family perhaps will be satisfied with one or two. And you see in one of the world's largest countries, and that's China, there is a restriction on the birth of the children. For many years, they were only allowed to have one child. Now there's two. Although recently, they have changed. The reason why they've changed is because they've realized there's a huge problem in terms of future development, future reproduction, because there will be an imbalance between males and females. And we have to remember that prophetic narrations, narrations from the glorious family of the Holy Prophet, the Ahlul Bayt, peace and blessings be upon them, encourage child birth and to have more numbers. As an example, the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, in a narration which is often recited in wedding ceremonies, in nikah, to encourage the husband and the wife to think about children, tanakahu tanasalu takthiru. The Prophet of Islam is narrated to have said, get married, bring children, so that your numbers increase. And then he says, fa inni ubahi bikum ul umam yawmal qiyamah, that I will say on the day of judgment that look at the number of Muslims that are present. And no doubt if we study history, we find that in the last 1400 years, there is a, if there was a concerted effort to reduce the number of Muslims as far as birth rate is concerned, we will not be where we are today in terms of the number. Certainly because of the persecution of the Muslims and the oppression that they had encountered, different sects and denominations within the Muslim Ummah, it's like the followers of Ahl al-Bayt have endured much more suffering, much more persecution. However, we see that on the wars, on the famines and diseases and so on. We would have perhaps today have much less than we are witnessing and seeing, but the emphasis throughout the time has passed on through generations. And this was the sunnah, the method of the prophets as well. We have, for example, Prophet Yaqub alayhi salam who is revered and respected not only amongst Muslims, but also non-Muslims as far as Christians and Jews are concerned. You are told, we are told that he, for example, had 11, for example, sons in addition to Yusuf. We have Imam Al-Qadam alayhi salam who had more than 20, we are 23. We have Imam Al-Hasan alayhi salam al-Mujtaba. Examples of the prophets and the Ahl al-Bayt alayhi salam give a role model for people to understand the importance of birth rate. But we have to say, or increase in birth rate here, that I remember in the United Kingdom, I spoke to a brother who was a Somali brother and he said to me, he has nine children. He wasn't that old, he was in his 40s or 50s. And he said to me, I have nine children. So I said, how old is the oldest one? And he said, 1920. But he was also destroyed. I said, what's the problem? And he said, well, you know, this 19-year-old, 18-year-old is not praying and he's not performing his Islamic duties. At the same time as we see the growth in number, there is an emphasis in Islamic teachings as well on the quality of the individuals and the Muslims being raised by the family. So we must not give the wrong impression that it is all about the quantity and let us increase the number of Muslims for the sake of it. Because we have today Muslims, unfortunately, who are abusing the name of Islam and are actually killing others in the name of Islam and have hijacked the beautiful teachings of the Prophet, Yahl al-Bayt, alaykum as-salam, and have perpetrated crimes against humanity. So it is not the simple case that they are Muslims, but rather this Islam, exactly, this Islam has to be the pure Islam of the Holy Prophet, the Islam that the Prophet himself wanted us to practice, according to us in the path of the Ahl al-Bayt, alaykum as-salam, but Islam of morals and values, the Islam of principles, not just the fact that people just want to have as many children as they want to and just leave the children without the correct tarbiyah, the correct upbringing, the correct focus and attention to their duties and their responsibilities. Thank you so much for that, Sheikh. This brings up another point. Does the negative propaganda against Islam and Muslims, which reached its highest levels after 9-11, and the shameful behavior of some terrorist groups that make people less eager to convert or revert to Islam, does the presence of terrorists have an impact on the predicted growth of Muslim population in the world? If so, what is that impact? I think many of us would probably think that's the case. So if we were to look at the terrible depiction of Muslims that is found today, I would argue that perhaps today we are in a much worse position in terms of the image of Islam than after 9-11. 9-11, the atrocities that happen in America, afterwards it has been an increase in the Islamophobia and the negative depiction of Islam and Muslims. Today, with the presence and the criminal actions of groups such as ISIS, Taliban, Al-Qaeda and others in Pakistan like Sepah-e-Sahaba, Lashkar-e-Jahangiri and these terrorist organizations, it has definitely made the image much more negative and gloomy than in 9-11. 9-11, perhaps people began to somehow start asking questions who is this Bin Laden? Where does he come from? Why is he killing non-Muslims? What is happening? All these questions began to be asked. Interestingly, however, statistics today show us that after 9-11, much more Quran copies in America were sold. And people wanted to read, what is this Islam? People wanted to ask and wonder about this new religion. People wanted to establish, is it the religion of hate and terror as these people are espousing and presenting in their actions or is it not as they see the vast majority of Muslims are peaceful, coexistent, law-abiding citizens, especially in the West? And so progressively, as we have seen, more and more criminal terrorist actions taking place around the world. There is this impression that, yes, Islam is on the decline as far as numbers or at least Muslim numbers are on the decline. However, I think what we have noticed, if we take an example from the life of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, specifically Amir al-Mu'mineen Imam Ali, alaihi salam, you find that even when there is increasing negative publicity and propaganda, you see the Prophet of Islam for 13 years was in Mecca between the age of 40 to 53, and he was subjected to the cruelest of punishments and treatments being called a sorcerer, being called a magician, being called somebody who is not real, trying to deceive people. Yet you see today the impact and the power that he had and, of course, later, only 10 years later, let's actually, eight years after he migrated to Medina, the city of Mecca was freed and liberated without a single drop of blood being shed. Amir al-Mu'mineen peace be upon him. How many enemies did he have? Because he was on the path of righteousness and wanted to preach justice and the truth. For example, he would be approached by people like certain companions like Talha and Zubayr, who would be asked, give us more, because we are the companions of the Prophet. Amir al-Mu'mineen, like some politicians today, may have just to keep them quiet, give them more. But he was a man of God who is principled, who had principles. Now, his principle was that there must be justice and, therefore, he said to them, I will give you the same as I will give everyone else. Therefore, they would fight him in the Battle of Jamal and then Mu'awiya in the Battle of Saffin and then Qawaraj in the Battle of Nahrawan. After all this, then over 100 years, Bani Umayyah wanted to tarnish and destroy his reputation by cursing his blessed name from the pulpits and trying to fabricate a hadith about Imam alaihi salam. Samarab Nijundub, he is one of the narrators of hadith, which, unfortunately, some of our Muslim brothers around the world still accept him, but he is a faser. He is somebody who has gone out of the faith. In many ways, he had been approached by Mu'awiya and he was fabricating the hadith that the verse in the Holy Quran, La Taqrabu Salata wa Antum Sukara do not approach prayers and you are in the state of intoxicants. It was revealed because Ali ibn Abi Talib, God forbid, was in the state of intoxication. Such, my point is, after all this, you look at where Ali ibn Abi Talib, Salam, Allah, is today. He is a beacon. He is a great leader for people to follow his shrine and the shrine of his beloved son, Imam al-Hussain, here in Karbala, and the millions who come. The same for Aba Abdullah, the grandson of the Holy Prophet, Imam al-Hussain, peace and blessings be upon him, Bani Umayyah and Bani al-Abbas, try to distort, try to fabricate, try to spread rumors. They would say he came with the fact that he is the grandson of the Prophet, but he was killed with the sword of his grandfather. But all this did not make any difference. And even today, when we see, yes, there are some people in the West who are gradually trying to understand or have got a misconception or misconstrued idea about Islam. But this has led to more and more people asking about Islam, investigating about Islam. We find the number of reverts. If we investigate and look at the research, the number of reverts has increased in places like the United Kingdom, United States, especially with the females who have discovered the path of Islam to be the path which liberates them from the chains and the shackles and so forth. Therefore, we could argue that, yes, it may outwardly give a negative image and it is not something we are happy with. We're not saying that it should continue, but rather what we are saying is we as believers in the path of the Holy Prophet and the Ahlul Bayt, we say that this negative image that these criminals, these terrorists are giving, it is not something that gives us any happiness, but rather sadness. But at the same time, we must utilize it to invite people towards the path to present them with the true, correct teachings as they are now more open. People at work, people at college, people at university are coming and asking, this Islam, is this Islam of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi or ISIS, or what is this Islam that you're talking about? So we now have a chance. Back in the time, they will not speak about this. They will just don't know. They don't want to know. And even if you go to them, they're not interested. But now it's in the news. Now everybody's talking about it. So the wondering is a sign from Allah SWT that yes, these are difficult times. They are very testing times for Muslims and the followers of the Holy Prophet. However, it is a chance for tabligh, it's a chance for the positive image to be presented to those people who are inquisitive, who are trying to find more and more information about the teachings of their religion. In European, what measures should the Muslims take to change this adversity? I think it is a tremendous responsibility that falls on the shoulders of the Muslims. In this day and age. And I say to my brothers and sisters anywhere and everywhere around the world that today is not like yesterday. And yesterday is not like the day before. Every day the dynamic is changing. Every day the situation is different. Perhaps to the worst as far as propaganda is concerned. So we have unfortunately the crimes and the atrocities happening in the different parts of the world. Starting of course in Iraq and in Syria and in Saudi and Bahrain and Pakistan and other places. Then unfortunately we see it also now spreading to parts of Europe. In Paris the atrocities in Paris recently in Belgium and in America the shootings and what is happening there in California. So more and more Muslims are being asked the question where do you stand as far as the ideology of terrorism and the ideology of violence and hatred is concerned. And it is so important today for Muslims unfortunately when ISIS first came Daesh there was reluctance by the non-Shia Muslims to condemn. I remember in the United Kingdom and I'm traveling in the United States I speak with the scholars of our brothers Al-Sunnah and I say to them why are you not speaking out? They say this is between Sunni and Shia. I don't want to. But then they saw the barbaric animal nature of these individuals. In fact they are worse than animals. They are now in the last maybe year or so having to come out and condemn them because they say they know that these people Daesh are speaking or they are saying we are Sunni. So they must distance themselves away from this ideology. But the responsibility of the Muslims is number one to look at themselves to look at their behavior, to look at their conduct to look at their way they interact with people of other faiths. In all levels, at school, university, at work, neighbors or Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him he says he has trained his Shia, his followers Be good role models for us examples where people will look and say this is how a Muslim should be so that people will say peace be upon the son of Muhammad Al Baqir who has been able to train his Shia, his followers. Today, the responsibility upon the Muslim Ummah is to recognize the dangerous ideology and the cancerous lesion that exists within the Muslim Ummah and that is Taqfir. It is not good enough to come and say I am against Da'ash, I am against ISIS I am against this Taqfiri ideology it is also to look at the books that they are teaching in Madrasa to look at the speakers they are bringing in Jum'a Khutbah and in the West to look at what hatred in the YouTube and other things they are presenting against other schools of thought towards violence which leads towards killing of the Shia and the others as well and to purify that kind of to distance themselves from that kind of terminology that kind of speech, that kind of methodology The other responsibility exists is today more and more people are hungry to find out about Islam and its productions such as media productions publication, we need media like correct movies there was a movie called Innocence of Muslims which caused outrage a few years ago because it was blasphemous against the prophet Muhammad SAW 14 minutes it was put on YouTube but it caused people to become very angry and they went everywhere in the world and they were killed and so on but why we are just reactionary why do we not advance and think beforehand why do we not go and say you know what let's produce a very good movie about the prophet of Islam number one, number two why don't we have good publications, good websites Alhamdulillah there are some good websites but there needs to be more concerted effort our presence in social media in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram these air mediums should be a good presence and we should not allow the extremist to enter and to take part, we should sideline the extremists and say not in our name they do not speak on our behalf, the Muslims today have a huge huge responsibility to correct what is being happening today and this is a test from the Almighty Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala we should not think oh but why I don't like this this is why it is happening, no we should seize the opportunity this is a chance for Tabligh for the Dawat exactly to really work hard to present the correct image of the Holy Prophet peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny and to send a very strong message of rejection of the extremists and that we are not violent individuals but rather peaceful loving individuals last question which is interesting do you think of the Muslims population formed more than half of the world's population will it change the world? I think today if we look at what is the dynamics in the world we see that the reality with reflection shows that the power is not with necessarily the majority of the numbers but rather some minority which have developed systems and have utilized different means to be more influential the Jewish population in the world is not even close to the Muslim population but they have a tremendous impact you look at the media you look at for example Hollywood the movie productions and so on you look at international politics some prominent politicians you look at the United States the lobby that exists there you look at all that is happening around the world and you come to the conclusion that it is not about for example half of the population it's about whether we are ready to step up and take an active role our social responsibilities our political responsibilities our role in the West for example and in other parts of the world to really be influential to be people who will be heard not just to keep demanding but when the Muslims are powerful then the people will listen when the Muslims have many organizations many agencies many lobbies the world is all about lobbies today who can influence governments who can influence media who has penetrated through systems that is what we need we need intellectuals, education at university levels we need people who are experienced and expertise in all levels in economy, in the fields for example of health in media, in all these areas in different parts of the world we are not seeing the advancement of education in the Muslim world they are not worried as much about the high standards of education to promote high standards of education but rather they are worried more about violence and killing this person and you know look at for example what's happening in Emirates and Dubai in the building of very tall structures that's what they, you know it's all skyscrapers it's all superficial whereas it's not focused on the real development of the Muslim mind and the Muslim mentality that's not what we're saying and unfortunately until we see that regardless of the numbers that we have we will not be as influential as some others Thank you so much Sheikh Thank you very much Thank you Dear viewers this concludes our first episode of the Islamic expansion series stay tuned for the upcoming episode which we will discuss the expansion of Shia Islam We thank you dear viewers once again for watching and we thank our dear guest Mohammad Halif for joining us today Until next time As-salamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh