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Fatwa CenterClearing a misconception about the number of people embracing Islam
Question
Salam. My question is: if Islam is supposed to be the natural religion (fitrah) and the religion is easy, then why are more people not drawn to the religion, and why do others turn away after accepting if that is the case? Thank you.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, what you mentioned is not true at all and the reality proves otherwise. The religion of Islam is the most widespread religion in the world according to the testimony of the non-Muslims. This proliferation is not because of the charm of media, or the deception of desires and money, or the strength of influence and the force of the weapons, or the superiority of social systems and the impact of blind imitation. This is only due to the fact that Islam is the true religion that is supported by Allaah, so the religion of Islam holds its power in itself and not by its followers.
You and everyone who is concerned with the affairs of Islam should know that the Vatican has acknowledged that Islam is the first and most widespread religion in the world, and that it surpassed Christianity (Roman Catholic) by more than three million believers across the globe. According to the report of the Vatican, the number of the Muslims in the world exceeded 1,322,000000 people in the world, and thus, the proportion of Muslims is 19% of the world's population, compared to 17.5% Christians (Roman Catholic). The Vatican noted the unprecedented overwhelming zeal of the Westerners: Christians and Jews and other faiths, to embrace Islam in recent years, despite the misrepresentation campaigns against it that are led by anti-Muslim bodies and despite the large amounts of money that are spent on missionary campaigns preaching Christianity.
This is the estimate of the Vatican, but, in reality, the figures are higher than this. The statistics issued in 2008 by the Gallup American Institute of Public Opinion confirmed that the attempts to distort the image of Islam and the Muslims, and build a bad image of everything that is Islamic has failed, and that Islam is still spreading in Europe, America and throughout the world.
Moreover, there are expectations of a professor of Social Geography at the University of Oxford that the number of Muslims will double by the year 2015, while the number of non-Muslims will decrease by 3 to 5%; this urged Mr. Monsignor Vittorio Formenti, in 2008, to say: "The number of Muslims has overtaken the number of Roman Catholics in the world. Islam has surpassed Roman Catholicism as the world's largest religion. For the first time in history; we are no longer at the top."
A report published by CNN entitled: "The rapid growth of Islam in the Western world" acknowledges that the numbers of those who convert to Islam every year in the Western world are very large, and it is continuously increasing. It is worth mentioning that most of the Americans who convert to Islam turn to be preachers of Islam after they commit themselves to its teachings in an unimaginable manner. Furthermore, most researchers confirm that more than twenty thousand Americans convert to Islam every year, and this is after the incidents of September 11. Contrary to what is expected that the number of new Muslims will decrease, the result is unlike the calculations. The statistics have shown - as American experts say - that the highest percentage to convert to Islam in America was after the incidents of September 11 in a manner that has never been seen before in the country. The reason for this is the great demand for buying Islamic books after these incidents, thus opening room for people to get to know Islam from its sources, and this is what urged them to correct their idea about Islam and embrace it easily.
Moreover, the number of Muslims according to Islamic statistics has exceeded two billion in 2012. This is a clear indication that Islam is a religion of tolerance and Fitrah (natural predisposition upon which Allaah created mankind) and it is the resort of sincere hearts in searching for the truth.
As regards some people who apostate from Islam after having embraced it, then this is rare; it is almost restricted to some cases of special nature in terms of desires, misconceptions and social conditions. In any case, what should be taken into account is what happens very often, but rare incidents cannot be taken into account. It is enough for us to turn the question and ask: Why do the Westerners convert to Islam despite the bad situation of the Muslims, and despite the fierce media attack, and despite the different cultural heritage that is sometimes hostile to Islam?
For more benefit please refer to Fataawa: 81979, 86091, 88906, 173389 and 9263.
Allaah Knows best.
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