[Valin]

Every figure I read says 1.3-1.5 billion. Believe what you want.


"I can't help wondering how much smaller that number would be if Islam wasn't being forcibly imposed by threat of violence."

After 1,400 years what leads you to believe the vast majority of Muslims would leave? By this stage of the game Islam is deeply ingrained into the culture of the Islamic world.

[xJones]

The real problem is that Saudi Arabia is bogged down by deep-rooted Islamic extremism in most schools and mosques, which have become breeding grounds for terrorists. We cannot solve the terrorism problem as long as it is endemic to our educational and religious institutions.

The big problem is that all the extremists come from the extremist Saudi Arabian Wahhabi sect of Islma - and they are the most well funded.

[Maceman]

After 1,400 years what leads you to believe the vast majority of Muslims would leave? By this stage of the game Islam is deeply ingrained into the culture of the Islamic world.

Your last statement is true, obviously. But the Islamic world has been very isolated for many centuries, and now that it is confronting the realities of the 21st century and the failure of its own societies, I think that there are many who would ultimately stray if they weren't afraid of being tortured and killed in the most disgusting ways imaginable.

If that were not the case, there would be no reason for resorting to force and violence in order to keep the people on the reservation -- if you'll pardon the mixed metaphor.