follow up: the poit is that 'the world of Islam' is not going to 'vote' or act in a unified manner....each country has its own interpretation, such as Tunisia, which doesnt allow marriage to more that 1 woman,

the fact is that as with any religion or even political party not every one is going to 'vote' the party line-even if there was a Islam wide rerendum on anything-as with any huge political block, you are going to have serious differences of opinion-so i just dont see a reason to be 'alarmed' as if they are taking over the world

i have nothing against anyone's beleifs, but i think people are over reacting; because it's not as if Islam is a monolithic block;

one of the verses in the Quran clearly states that the Quaran was delivered in the Arabic language; therefore consider 2 things:

1 arabic language speaking countries need interpretations, and there are several schools that totally disagree with each other
2 the vast majority of Islam's population doesnt even speak the language-how accurate could their true undertanding be?

jabberwolff :

Not that I derive any satisfaction in it but feel compelled to mention as a counterpoint to your ignorant comment. It is as follows:

The poorest country in the Western World is a Christian country. It is Haiti.

One of the poorest countries in Asia is a Catholic country. It is the Philippines.

Most of Latin America is Christian and poverty stricken, despite plenty of natural resources. Why do you think Mexicans come to the U.S?

Prejudice is the product of ignorance.

The interactive map show that India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh have a combined Muslim population over 450 million. Add that to India's population of 1 billion, it indicates that had not India been partitioned, Muslims would have been such a large minority that they might not have suffered real discrimination. They might have been the key voting block.

Just speculating. Not saying partition was a mistake. But what could have been...?

Perhaps we could consider our similarities rather than these comments of fear and so on?

Respect. Love your neighbors? Help people in need?

Kindness?

Jabberwolf, did you know that Muslims invented Algebra and many other mathematical concepts? Those numbers you use every day aren't called "Arabic numbers" for nothing. Arabs and Muslims aren't interchangeable most of the time, but in this case, it happens to be true. I hope you get some education and quit making crass, ignorant generalizations about a group of people.

Pew study is bugus -

There are at least 3 times more muslims in the USA than the study wants to admit. New York area alone has the number of Muslims that Pew study is claiming for all of United States.

Its obvious, vested groups/think tanks do not want Muslims to take their proper place in Politics/culture of this country.

The Netherlands is a small country, but so interesting that it's a shame it was omitted from the map: 6% of the population professes Islam (the same proportion as in France).

I find the map interesting and informative - neither "cool" nor "alarming." Will you use such terms for the forthcoming maps of Christians or Jews? I doubt it. Hindus or Buddhists - perhaps - I will be curious to see. You seem to assume that your readers share your perspective of Muslims as somehow alien, but not all of us do. (And no, I am not myself Muslim.)

@anendu06: The point was that India has one of the world's largest (third largest, as you point out) concentrations of Muslims even though it is not a majority-Muslim country.

"....take a look at the cool (or alarming, depending on your perspective)"...

This simple sentence shows that you have neither the education or maturity to comment on this subject. All you have done is validate the idiocy of those who are stupid enough chant slogans, and blame an entire demographic for the actions of a few.

Wow, this is pretty cool. 1 in 4 in the world population is Muslim. I am very proud and happy to be a part of that demographic. As far as your comment regarding whether it is cool or "alarming", i think your ingnorance and prejudice are indeed showing. There is absolutely nothing "alarming". Islam is a faith of 1.5 billion strong and growing...1.5 billion people that adhere to Islam's message of peace, social justice and equality. As far as Jaberwolf's comment, I find it funny that you say that considering one of the fastest growing demographics of people converting (reverting) into Islam in the United States is highly educated white women. (Bachelor's degree or above)...look up the demographics for yourself. Why would educated women flock to a religion of ignorance? What you say does not make sense. Islam actually encourages education and the pursuit of knowledge. Please educate yourself prior to spewing ignorance.

I hope Pew does the same for Christianity, and they'll find a dying religion while Islam is growing.

In reference to the article: "take a look at the cool (or alarming, depending on your perspective) interactive graphic..." What kind of journalism is that?

If you interchanged the word "Muslim populations" with "Jewish populations" or "African-American populations" - would that really be appropriate? (i.e. "If you are interested in the concentrations of African-American populations worldwide, take a look at the cool (or alarming, depending on your perspective) interactive graphic")

What kind of statement does the Washington Post make when it allows its columnists to write such seemingly innocuous phrases? That phrasing condones alarmist and racist sentiments and is completely uncalled for in the context of reporting facts.

Jabberwolf,

Whats the capital of Kenya?

You got 10 seconds mate, prove you arent a muslim!~

You have Pointed that-
"India has one of the world's largest concentrations of Muslims. "

well if you look at the graph its shows the highest number of Muslims are in Indonesia than Pakistan and after that India's number comes..!!!

Mr. jabberwolff when half of the Americans are creationist and believe in 6000 year old earth, than its ridiculous to talk about backwardness of other populations.

Look where education and poverty are the worst. People who cannot read a map and know common geography will believe in islam. Those that can read a simple map will highly question islam and not.