RUTHFULLY YOURS

Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics has released its latest figures which show a marked decline in the growth of the Muslim population since 2000.

The Muslim percentage of the general population has dropped since 2000 indicating that the non-Muslim population is growing faster than its Muslim population and their population growth has dropped from 3.8 percent in 2000 to 2.5 percent. This growth rate however is still higher than either the Jewish population at 1.7 percent or the Christian population at 1.3 percent.

The average Muslim birth rate fell from 4.7 children per woman in 2000 to 3.5 children per woman now. That is still higher than the Jewish birth rate of 3.0 or the Christian birth rate of 2.0. The Israeli Muslim birth rate is higher than that of neighboring countries, Syria 3.0, Egypt 2.9, Turkey 2.0, Lebanon, 1.9, likely due to the superior economic situation in Israel for Muslims. A similar phenomenon occurs within the Muslim diaspora in the West.

The highest Muslim birth rate in Israel (5.5) is in its dangerous Southern Triangle of Arab villages and the lowest is in Tel Aviv (2.9).

29 percent of employed Muslim men work in construction, which is another reminder that attempts at interfering with the construction of Israeli towns and villages is economically devastating to its Muslim population. 39 percent of employed Muslim women work in education, which accounts for the weak economic position of Muslim women and their high birth rate.

62 percent of Israeli Muslims consider themselves religious, 22 not so religious and only 8 percent consider themselves irreligious.