Why do Muslims have lower cancer rates?
Recently, I wrote about my admiration for Islam, prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alayhi Wasalaam, and Muslims, and my piece, which went viral, raised many questions even as it answered some.
The majority of those who raised queries wanted to know what benefit there was to my assertion that Islam gives directions for almost every aspect of life from birth to death and that that clarity tends to give Muslims stability.
In essence, they wanted to know the benefits of such meticulous guidelines for life, if any.
There are quite a few, but let me focus on just one area: wellbeing.
Muslims tend to have far lower cancer rates than the rest of the population. Assume I am lying, and fact-check me. Western countries dominate the cancer tables at the high end, and Islamic nations, especially Arab states, dominate from the bottom. Globally, about 198 people out of every 100,000 people will get cancer. In Australia, 468 people out of 100,000 will get cancer. In Saudi Arabia, it is 96 people out of 100,000.
What is the reason behind this disparity? There are several. But to summarise, it is down to lifestyle. Perhaps the most critical lifestyle factor is intermittent fasting during Ramadan. Again, please assume I am lying and fact-check me.
It is not that other faiths do not fast. They do. But it is often not as systematic and methodical as the fasts that Muslims observe, except Orthodox Christians, which is perhaps why Orthodox Christian nations, like Ethiopia, have low cancer rates, coupled with the fact that their diet is almost the same as that of Arab Muslims.
Many Christian denominations will fast when their founders or GOs declare a fast. Others fast during Lent. But it is often not as thorough as the Ramadan fast.
Oh, and you may want to fact-check me again about Ethiopia’s low cancer rates.
Another primary reason is the fact that Muslims abstain from alcohol and some foods that are not the healthiest and may be slightly carcinogenic, such as pork.
And with female reproductive health, Muslim women are less likely to develop cervical cancer or HPV. Again, do please fact-chrck me. This is linked to lifestyle choices, as they are also more likely than other females to get married as virgins, report fewer sexual partners than women of other faiths and have a tendency to breastfeed their babies, which is scientifically proven to reduce breast cancer.
However, perhaps the starkest evidence is in male reproductive health.
The risk of developing prostate cancer is 27% for Black males, 12% for White males, and 7% for Asian males in the MENA Region.
Please assume I am lying and fact-check me.
While one out of every eight White males on Earth will have protester cancer, which is the leading form of cancer in men, one out of four Black men will develop prostate cancer. The rate in men of African origin is double that of White men. Asians are the least likely to develop prostate cancer, with a probability of one in thirteen.
What is behind this troubling statistic?
If men and women are to be honest, they will accept that there are very few men able to be sexually faithful to only one woman. And why? It is not because men are dogs or men are scum. The truth is that men are naturally polygamous. And forcing men into monogamy will always lead to crises in society and cause physical and psychological distress to both genders.
That is why if you take the Middle East and North Africa, which are the most polygamous regions of the world, what you find is that they also have the lowest prostate cancer rates for men. Go ahead and fact-check me.
And besides polygamy, Muslims have practices, such as ablution, hand washing, and using water to clean up after defecation rather than toilet paper, which generally contribute to more effective hygiene, contrary to what you might think.
The Quran and Hadiths give very precise guidelines on how to sleep, wake, go to the toilet, interact with the different genders during the day, and even what to think.
Going further, it gives specific instructions on other areas of life, such as what type of persons to marry and conduct expected from husband, wives, their parents and eventually their offspring.
Of course, there should be room for modernity, but when modernity becomes an absurdity, Islam even has specific regulations for that.
Countries that abandon their traditional ways of life and adopt Western lifestyles almost always see a sudden increase in cancer rates. Again, assume I am lying and fact-check me.
This is because Western lifestyles are tied to Christendom, which differs from Christianity. Christendom often involves a loss of restraint and inhibition.
For example, it frowns on polygamy but is tolerant even to the point of encouraging casual sexual relations.
However, you are likelier to have better sexual health in polygamous relationships, where the females mate with only one male, than with multiple monogamous relationships, where you are monogamous with a partner and mate with them outside marriage until that relationship breaks down and you rinse and repeat with another partner.
The truth is that you can learn from any religion on Earth without having to adopt all their beliefs. Having a closed mind is why this world has experienced so many wars.
Stick to and believe in your path to God. But learn about other faiths, and if appropriate and applicable, pick up some of their practices that can help improve the quality of your life.
Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #TableShaker. Ruffler of the Feathers of Obidents. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Hodophile. Hollywood Magazine Humanitarian of the Year, 2019. Business Insider Influencer of the Year 2022. 21st Most Talked About Person in Africa, 2024.
