News
Muslims dispute census figures
Posted Friday, September 3 2010 at 18:55
Muslim leaders have asked the government to cancel the 2009 census results.
In a statement read by the Jamia Mosque religious convenor, Mr Billow Kerrow on Friday, the leaders said the results were ‘doctored.’
“It was also meant to serve interests of forces intent on diminishing the influence of Muslims in the country,” read the statement.
They said they learnt with shock the announcement by National Planning minister Wycliffe Oparanya that the population of Muslims in the country is 4.3 million, representing only 11.1 percent of the population of Kenya.
This was against earlier figures which showed they were well beyond the 30 percent mark.
“If North Eastern has 2.1 million Muslims and the greatest percentage of Muslims is found at the Coast, how true is it that our population is only 4.3 million?” asked Mw Kerrow.
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Submitted by MaddoziPosted September 10, 2010 05:22 PM
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Submitted by wakhongola
While I am pondering Billow Kerow's protestations, I highly doubt Kenyans are so overwhelmingly Protestant (an archaic label, and anyway some denominations are so catholic!) As given by Oparanya. It might be essential that Muslims conduct their own census, to determine their numbers, especially in this fasting month of ramadhan, when they are easily identifiable.
Posted September 04, 2010 06:45 AM -
Submitted by Mumwe
Making religion a basis for national representation and resource distribution would lead to more marginalisation of Muslims - so better stick to representation on secular basis. While at it, better accept that we are a secular state that only honours freedom of worship and citizenship of individual and community basis - not religion.
Posted September 04, 2010 04:36 AM -
Submitted by jaffarmoha26
surely? always complaining. We live as if there is always a negative scheme targeting Muslims!
Posted September 03, 2010 11:29 PM
RSS
A case of biting too much...the muslims population is around 10% in KEnya. Its easy to see that the Coastal Muslims are few (mostly digos- who mainly identify themselves as digos and not muslims) and the swahili whos numbers are very few ( mombasa Lamu). Somalis want to be many- and counted as muslims and also as somalis.