OMEGA, Vol. 58(1) 77-85, 2008-2009 ISLAM AND SUICIDE: A SHORT PERSONAL COMMUNICATION MOHSEN REZAEIAN, PH.D. Rafsanjan Medical School, Iran ABSTRACT Islamic countries display lower suicide rates compared to the other countries of the world. Since most studies dealing with the relationships between Islam and suicide have focused on the extent of the problem and not the underlying mechanisms, the focus of this brief communication is to provide a rather more in-depth discussion regarding the mechanism of this relation. It also covers issues which may have an adverse effect on suicide within Islamic countries and consequently tries to sketch a path ahead in the area of suicide research within the Islamic countries. INTRODUCTION It has been well-documented that religious countries have lower suicide rates compared with secular ones (Stack, 1983). The association between kinds of religion or intensity of belief and rates of suicide are so evident that it would be possible to approximately categorize countries by their religious affiliation in descending order of their suicide rates as follows (WHO, 2002): 1. Countries where religious practices are prohibited or strongly discouraged (as was the case in the former communist countries of Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union). 2. Countries where Buddhism, Hinduism or other Asian religions predominate. 3. Countries where many people are Protestant. 4. Countries that are predominantly Roman Catholic. 5. Countries that are largely Muslim. 77 Ó 2008, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc. doi: 10.2190/OM.58.1.e http://baywood.com