Globe Talk

Adherence to Islamic tenets seems to reduce the risk of HIV transmission and Africa has been one of the best examples.


The number of Muslims in a country is negatively co-related to the incidents of HIV/AIDS infection in people. This appears to be the finding of a scientific paper recently published by the open-access journal, PLoS ONE.


The paper, titled ‘Size Matters: The Number of Prostitutes and the Global HIV/AIDS Pandemic,’ is authored by John R. Talbott of Africans Against Aids, Inc. based in New York.


The study looked at the number of HIV/AIDS patients in different countries and compared that to the number of prostitutes in that country. Study revealed that the rate of the HIV/AIDS infection in prostitutes is usually higher than the general population’s and found this to be a good indicator for predicting the rate of future HIV/AIDS infections.


The study also found that as the population share of Muslims increases in a country the number of prostitutes decreases. This, the author attributes, is the major factor for the impact of the presence of Muslims in negatively affecting the rate of HIV/AIDS infection. However, the paper does not go into detail as to why the increase in the Muslim population leads to a relative decrease in the number of prostitutes.


Interesting, this study did not look at other factors that may contribute to the negative HIV infection rate, such as male circumcision. However, a study published in 2004 by Peter Gray of Harvard University, published in the journal Social Science & Medicine suggested that the Muslim custom of circumcision could be one of the factors that have something to do with less HIV/AIDS infection rate among them. The study was conducted in 38 sub-Saharan African countries and looked at social behaviors and religious tenets of Islam that may positively or negatively affect HIV infections.


Polygamy and relatively easy divorces can potentially increase the number of lifetime sexual partners per person, this is a risk factor for acquiring HIV. Prohibitions against sex outside of marriage and against homosexual relations, as well as male circumcisions were identified as practices that help Muslims in having a reduced risk of exposure to HIV.


Consumption of alcohol was identified as being a factor in increasing risky sexual behavior in Gray’s study. Therefore, by not drinking, Muslims are further increasing their chance of being HIV-free. Also, the Islamic attention to ritual washing and personal hygiene was credited with lessening the risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) including AIDS.


When HIV prevalence was compared with the percentage of Muslims within a country, it showed a negative correlation supporting the hypothesis that HIV prevalence is relatively lower among Muslims. Looking at all the data and controlling for other factors that can affect the HIV rate; Gray concluded that “adherence to Islamic tenets seems to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.”


Gray’s study looked carefully at each Islamic tenet that can affect the rate of HIV infection and came to the conclusion that practicing Islamic tenets will lead to lesser incidence of HIV infection. The paper by Talbott on the other hand makes a sweeping statement that “The Muslim faith had no direct significant correlation with HIV levels, but it is significant in predicting the number of commercial sex workers in a country.” He provides no evidence for his statement except to show that ratio of commercial sex workers is indeed less when there is a larger population of Muslims. In fact the positive affect of Islamic teachings curbs the number of prostitutes, thereby removing a major source of HIV infection.


A person can get infected by HIV through blood transfusion, using dirty needles or using unhygienic medical facilities. Still, in the overwhelming number of cases it is risky sexual behavior or drug abuse that leads to HIV infection. Effective HIV control is possible only when people are encouraged to avoid these types of behaviors and changing their life style. This is what Islam requires of its followers.


(The writer is editor of the news website www.TwoCircles.net kaaashif@gmail.com)\

Recently, in an effort how to counter the issue of Islamophobia, the Islamic Center of Southern California, Los Angeles hosted a lively discussion with prominent media figures, Nicholas Goldberg (Op-Ed & Current editor, Los Angeles Times), Edina Lekovic (Communications Director, Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)), Rob Eshman (Editor-in-chief, Jewish Journal) and Phil Shuman, an Emmy award winner (KTTV Fox 11). The panel was moderated by Salam Al-Marayati, Executive Director of MPAC.


Salam Al-Marayati expressed his frustration in regards to the media coverage of Muslims. A recent example was the Pew poll that showed Muslim-Americans are diverse, largely integrated, happy with their lives, sharing core values with other Americans, and embracing the American dream but the major media outlets reported a skewed statistic: Poll: 1 In 4 Younger U.S. Muslims Support Suicide Bombings. Salam elucidated the fact that the statistics coming from a poll can be projected in any number of ways. He also said that he does not question the Pew poll and out of 1050 Muslims living in the United states who were used in the survey, 1 per cent said that suicide bombings against civilian targets are often justified to defend Islam; an additional 7 per cent said suicide bombings are sometimes justified in these circumstances, which is relatively a small number when compared to the total 4 million U.S. Muslim population.


Nicholas Goldberg said that Americans are largely divided with the ideas lately; e.g. either support the Iraq war or oppose the Iraq war.


Rob Shuman said that the only way to overcome such negative portrayal is by having Muslims mix with their fellow non-Muslim American citizens. He personally felt that in his capacity as an editor of a Jewish Journal, he had a great opportunity to work closely with the Muslims all these years otherwise he wouldn’t think it is a possibility. He also indicated that most of the Jewish journals have started reporting accurate stories of Islam and Muslims than ever before, especially after 9/11 because Jewish community needs deeper understanding and education of Muslim community.


Responding to Rob’s question, which according to Pew poll about 28 per cent American Muslims do not believe that Arabs were responsible for 9/11 attacks, Edina Lekovic said that the poll results presented last summer by the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University also found about 36 per cent Americans believed in a 9/11 conspiracy of some fashion.


MPAC featured “Truth over fear”, a ten minute documentary that delves into various Islamophobic issues such as experience of Muslim children in schools, negative portrayal of Muslims in Hollywood movies and TV series, and how a Muslim congressman was harshly questioned in a TV interview etc.


Dr. Maher Hathout, Sr. Advisor, MPAC presented three items in his wish list to the panelists. The first is to give mainstream Muslims equal space or air time in the media along with the others - including the ones who believe in God, the ones who do not believe in God or the ones who bash the religion. Secondly, he wanted media to be credible in reporting; when a person clearly says that she is no longer a Muslim, the media reports that the person as a Muslim speaking about Islam, which does not make sense. Finally, he wanted media to be mindful of using one’s religious affiliation especially when a person commits an act of crime; if a non-Muslim is involved in killing of innocents and he claims that God motivated him to do that, no religion is brought in but when a Muslim engages in a similar act, then his religion is found all over the place.