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In the contemporary world, the two most prolific religions, Islam and Christianity, dominate, with over half of the world’s population. The religion of Christianity has 2.3-2.5 billion adherents, while the religion of Islam has 1.9 billion adherents. The religion of Christianity historically grew because of its conversion of others in their faith. Meanwhile, the religion of Islam grew not only because of conversion but because of the high fertility rates among the Muslim all around the world.
In 1900, Muslims constituted 13 per cent of the world’s population; in 2025, the population of Muslims grew 24 per cent of the world’s population. Since 1900, Muslims have converted very few people into Islam, there was no Islamic conquest of new lands like in the medieval times, so their population share in the world has increased because of their high fertility rates. Some sections of the global Muslim community are reluctant to the family planning and still following the norm of giving birth to more children till God’s will.
In the Islamic holy scriptures, there is no explicit mention, prohibition, or command on family planning. But, the majority of Muslim clergy opposed the idea of fewer children. This has led to the exponential growth of Muslims from 13 per cent to 24 per cent in the world’s population in just 12 decades.
“Algerian President Houari Boumediene (1965-1978)” viewed family planning as imperialist ideas of the West, and he condemned the views of fewer births. He believes that one day the Muslims, because of their high birth rates with dominate this world and subdue non-Muslims. In 1974, during a United Nations Address, Houari Boumediene said, “One day, millions of men will leave the Southern Hemisphere to go to the Northern Hemisphere… And they will conquer it with their sons. The wombs of our women will give us victory.”
Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi President (1979-2003): During the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War, “The Human Resource Mandate,” he deliberately encouraged the high birth rates. Opposed birth control; he banned the use of contraceptives and prohibited family planning services to increase the fertility rates; he even rewarded the mothers who were giving birth to 10 or more kids.
General Zia-Ul Haq (1977-1988): During his reign, Pakistan transitioned into an Islamic radical state. His government heavily relied on the support of extremists; hence, to appease them, he froze the family planning services and contraceptives in Pakistan. He even banned all the advertisements and programs on media channels that were advocating family planning.
Muammar Gaddafi, the President of Libya (1969-2011), vehemently condemned the family planning and population control measures. He states that “contraception and family planning are a degradation of humanity”. During his reign, he encouraged the families to have more kids as many as they could to increase the country’s population. He viewed the large families as necessary for the survival of Arab nationalism.
Indonesian President Sukarno (Kusno Sosrodihardjo) (1945-1967). He strictly banned and condemned the family planning programs as he believed that Indonesia’s large population is its geopolitical strength. He believes that people in Indonesia should “reproduce like rabbits” and having 10 to 14 kids is a normal thing. In a response to Ayub Khan, the Pakistani President, he famously said, “Yes, your country is poor… In my country, the more the better.”
Abul A’la Maududi (1903-1972) was a very strong opponent of family planning and birth control measures. He believes that the population is ordained by Allah. According to him, families should limit births to avoid poverty. He believes that contraception is materialism and a conspiracy of the West. He famously said, “Birth control is a rebellion against the laws of nature and against the scheme of Allah.”
— Birth Control (Urdu: Mas’ala-i-Tahdid-i-Nasl), translated in Birth Control: A Social, Political, Economic, Moral and Religious Enquiry (Islamic Publications).
Yusuf al-Qaradawi (1926-2022): He was the great opponent of state-sponsored family planning in the Arab world. Even though in some circumstances, he temporarily allowed contraception and birth control. He famously said, “Islam rejects any law that compels people to limit the number of their children.” — The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam.
He also wrote, “Children are a blessing from Allah and should not be prevented out of fear of poverty.”
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1900-1989): He believes that population growth is necessary and discourages birth controls because they were contrary to the revolutionary Islamic goals of Shia Iran. He declared during the early years after the Iranian Revolution, “This country can sustain many times its present population.”
Abdel Aziz ibn Baz (1912-1993): He was the former Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, the supreme Islamic authority in Saudi. He opposed birth control to avoid poverty. He wrote, “It is not permissible to restrict childbirth out of fear of poverty because Allah is the Provider.”— Majmu’ Fatawa Ibn Baz.
He accepted contraception only in limited medical situations.
Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen (1929-2001): He opposed the limitation of family size. He believes temporary spacing of births is different from the limitation of family size. He argued, “It is not permissible to adopt birth limitation as a general policy.”
Ali Khamenei (1939-2026): He was the Iranian supreme leader recently killed by American-Israeli air strikes. He reversed Iran’s previous family-planning policies. His remarks were the cornerstone of higher fertility rates in Iran. Khamenei stated, “The policy of birth control was correct for a period, but continuation of this policy was a mistake.”
He also said, “Our country has the capacity for a population of 150 million.”
Ahmed Deedat (1918-2005): He repeatedly criticized population control machinery and campaigns based on fewer births. He believes that family planning is a conspiracy of the West to weaken the Muslim community. In lectures, he stated, “The enemies of Islam want Muslims to reduce their numbers.”
Zakir Naik: Zakir Naik, even though he advocated temporary contraception, forbade permanent family planning. He believes that to control births by sterilization without any health issues is impermissible as per Islam. He has stated, “Family planning for fear of poverty is prohibited in Islam.”
He argues that permanent sterilisation without medical necessity is generally impermissible.
In the Indian scenario, Muslims have increased their population more than any other community in India because of high fertility rates, not because of religious conversions. In the 1881 Census of British India (Including Pakistan and Bangladesh), Muslims represented only 20 per cent of the subcontinent population, but by 1947, this had increased to 25 per cent, and today, Muslims in the Indian subcontinent are no less 32% of the subcontinent population. In contemporary India in 1950 Muslims constituted 9.8% of the population but they increased to 15 per cent of the population. Many studies have shown that the fertility rate among Muslims has come down over the years. But, the gap between fertility rates of Non-Muslims and Muslims is still huge as per Fertility Data.
Considering above opinions of Muslims leaders and religious figures, they oppose family planning as a strategy to increase the Muslim population and grow as much they can dominate the other parts of world. Muammar Gaddafi famously quoted “”We have 50 million Muslims in Europe. There are signs that Allah will grant Islam victory in Europe—without swords, without guns, without conquest. The 50 million Muslims of Europe will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades.”
