Islamic Decline

Interesting Take

A book by David Goldman has been published arguing that Islamic civilization is dying.  Here is a brief notice, published in Big Peace.

New Book: Muslim World Is In A ‘Death Spiral’, Or Why Ahmadinejad Is So Panicked

Posted by El Cid Sep 24th 2011 at 11:32

David Goldman writes the terrific Spengler column at the Asia Times,  and he has a new book out that will completely change the view that many of us have of the Muslim world.    In short:  the Muslim world is dying.  The reason?  As he points out in his new book How Civilizations Die (And Why Islam Is Dying Too),  the main reason is demographics.

We have all heard about the demographic decline of Western Europe.  but guess what?  In the Muslim world the birth dirth is even larger.  ”The Muslim world is on the brink of the fastest population decline in recorded history,”  he writes.  In both Turkey and Iran,  leaders are in a panic in an effort to try to get more women to have children.  He quotes President Ahmadinejad:  ”Negative population growth will cause the e3xtinction of our identity and culture.  The fact that we have accept this places us on the wrong path.  To want to consume more rather than having children is an act of genocide.”   But despite the speeches,  the trend continues.

So this is good news, right?  Well,  says Goldman,  not necessarily.   Unlike Western Europe,  ”most Muslim countries have no public pension or health system.  The aged rely on their children to care for them.”  Western Europe might have to skimp to survive their demographic decline,  but for Muslim nations he means absolute ruin and starvation.

“Declining populations do not necessarily portend a peaceful outcome.  On the contrary,  in the short term they may well motivate aggressive behavior,  provoked by a belief that the opportunity to fight may never return.”  I fear he may be correct.  Get the book.