: Jihad Against Tobacco?  Muslims Declare War on Smoking

While cigarette smoking has gone down in America and Europe, in many Arab and Muslim countries it is on the rise, as Western tobacco companies look for new markets to conquer. According to Dr. Himdi Al-Sayyid, the dean of the medical corps in Egypt, over 74,000 children below the age of ten smoke. Until recently smoking has been considered to be allowed in Islam, if frowned upon. However, as the health risks of smoking become clearer, more Islamic scholars are declaring smoking to be forbidden in Islam, even as smoking rates rise. Several campaigns are under way in Muslim countries (and in Muslim communities in the West) to quit smoking, although efforts at education are meeting resistance, not only from smokers, but from Muslim governments who are addicted to the high taxes charged on tobacco.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.