Leaders of Muslim countries often argue that they enjoy a form of 'cultural immunity' to Aids. It is certainly true that in countries where citizens have fewer sex partners, virus transmission rates are likely to be lower. Laws against alcohol or male circumcision, help as well.

But traditional societies have other disadvantages that make them as vulnerable to Aids as less conservative countries. Power imbalances between the genders have helped to spread Aids, by hindering, for example, the wives' ability to persuade their husbands to use a condom.

Prohibitions against extramarital sex that might protect a couple, often apply only to women. Prostitution, drug use, and homosexuality exist in many countries. But because they tend to be criminalised and driven underground, high-risk groups are rarely informed about the disease and this applies to Muslim countries as well

Aids infection rates are indeed low in many Islamic nations, at least health experts think so, as these countries rarely conduct surveillance of high-risk groups that would allow them to track the early stages of an Aids epidemic.

But the World Bank believes that many Islamic countries have key risk factors, including a young population, rising drug use, and high levels of migration. In Algeria, there is evidence that Aids is increasing sharply and spreading into the general population. Middle Eastern countries are particularly vulnerable. Condom promotion is non-existent, and few governments openly address the issue of Aids.

The 'poster child' for a responsive country is Senegal. Its population is 11 million (92% of whom are Muslim) and it has one of the lowest rates of Aids infection in Africa, at 1.4 percent. But Senegal is not a typical Muslim country. Prostitution has been legal there since 1966, and prostitutes receive free condoms and mandatory medical exams.

Muslim clerics encourage open discussion about sex and have led Aids prevention campaigns. The fact that Senegal took Aids seriously from the disease's first appearance in 1986 is as important to the country's success as its religious values.