Question: What percentage of the world population is Muslim?
by Mata HA recent study was just released by the Pew Research Center called Mapping the Global Muslim Population".
Most of us know very little about Muslims, with the exception of the limited (and often alarming) views we get from the media. Let's go a little deeper, learn some facts, and hear from some Muslim women bloggers.
Here are some interesting facts taken from the Pew report:
1. More than 60% of the global Muslim population is in Asia
2. About 20% is in the Middle East and North Africa
3. More than 300 million Muslims, or one-fifth of the world's Muslim population, live in countries where Islam is not the majority religion.
4. India has the third-largest population of Muslims worldwide.
5. China has more Muslims than Syria.
6. Russia is home to more Muslims than Jordan and Libya combined.
7. Of the total Muslim population, 10-13% are Shia Muslims and 87-90% are Sunni Muslims.
8. Most Shias (between 68% and 80%) live in just four countries: Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq.
By the way, the Sunnis and Shia Muslims divided after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 over a difference of opinion about how his successor should be chosen to lead the community -- whether it was by bloodline connected to the Prophet (Shiites) or by a man chosen for his qualities (Sunni). (Each group has its fundamentalist extremists, just as in Christianity and Judaism.)
Sufism arose in the 8th and 9th century as the mystical branch of Islam, known to many Westerners by its chief poet, Rumi. Here is one of his poems:
Love rests on no foundation.
It is an endless ocean,
with no beginning or end.
Imagine,
a suspended ocean,
riding on a cushion of ancient secrets.
All souls have drowned in it,
and now dwell there.
One drop of that ocean is hope,
and the rest is fear.
Now, to answer the question posed in the title of this post -- the study says:
A comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries finds that there are 1.57 billion Muslims of all ages living in the world today, representing 23% of an estimated 2009 world population of 6.8 billion.
One in every four people worldwide is Muslim. (By contrast, Christians are one in every three people.) France and Germany have approximately 6% and 5% of their population identifying as Muslim. Each has about twice as many Muslims as the US. We have less than 1% of our population as Muslim.
The size alone of the Muslim world means that we need to understand it more fully, in order to build bridges, and to build dialog. Yet, the average person in America can tell you very little about Muslim belief.
We all need to be able to learn how to speak with each other, how to find a common language that heals this earth instead of destroying it with fear and hatred.
Here is a basic history found on InfoPlease
Muhammad was born in A.D. 570 at Mecca and belonged to the Quraysh tribe, which was active in the caravan trade. At the age of 25 he joined the trade from Mecca to Syria in the employment of a rich widow, Khadija, whom he later married. Critical of the lax moral standards and polytheistic practices of the inhabitants of Mecca, he began to lead a contemplative life in the desert. In a dramatic religious vision, the angel Gabriel announced to Muhammad that he was to be a prophet. Encouraged by Khadija, he devoted himself to the reform of religion and society. Polytheism was to be abandoned. But leaders of the Quraysh generally rejected his teaching, and Muhammad gained only a small following and suffered persecution. He eventually fled Mecca.
The Hegira (Hijra, meaning “emigration”) of Muhammad from Mecca, where he was not honored, to Medina, where he was well received, occurred in 622 and marks the beginning of the Muslim era. After a number of military conflicts with Mecca, in 630 he marched on Mecca and conquered it. Muhammad died at Medina in 632. His grave there has since been a place of pilgrimage.
Muhammad's followers, called Muslims, revered him as the prophet of Allah (God), the only God. Muslims consider Muhammad to be the last in the line of prophets that included Abraham and Jesus. Islam spread quickly, stretching from Spain in the west to India in the east within a century after the prophet's death. Sources of the Islamic faith are the Qur'an (Koran), regarded as the uncreated, eternal Word of God, and tradition (hadith) regarding sayings and deeds of the prophet.
Let's check in with some bloggers. Many blogs by Muslim women are written in a variety of other languages. Here are a few written in English.
------------------
Muslima has a lot to teach us. This link takes us to her section called "News" but she is also a crafter and her clothing section features many of her hand-knit items that go with her traditional dress.
Cwzy Muslima is a Pakistani American woman who wishes that the place of women within the Mosque was different. She imagines:
I imagine an event where the men sit in the women's room and the women sit in the men's room. An event where women may go to the mosque and worship in huge halls while men are crowded together into back rooms. An event where women can sit and read Quran or make dhikr in peace while men contend with hyperactive children and screaming babies.
Ginny speaks about an Egyptian cleric's attempt to ban all full veils.
So if you want to argue from an Islamic basis why niqab isn’t necessary, that’s one thing, but to argue for a ban of it, because in today’s climate it just so happens to be a symbol, to some, of “extremism”, is just wrong, again, IMHO. Islamic concepts should be argued from an Islamic point of view, not argued based on the whims and caprices of the “modern” world or what non-Muslims think of our practices and customs. Because where will it end? The day that a scholar from Al-Azhar tells the Muslims that we don’t have to pray if our employer bans prayer in the workplace?
Our worlds may seem eons apart, and in fact in many cases they are. But we will only widen the gap unless both groups, Muslims and non-Muslims, work to understand the passions and hopes of the other.
For those who wish to learn more -- try starting at the Islam and Muslims section of Beliefnet.com .
What Muslim blogs do you read regularly? What blogs can you recommend? And to our Muslima BlogHers - What internet sites would you point people to who wanted to learn more about Islam?
Mata H is a CE for Religion and Spirituality. Her blog is Time's Fool and she'd like to hear some advice about how to best get a Muslim/non-Muslim dialog started.
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Comments
I don't read Muslim blogs -- but....
I have been connected for a decade now to a Sunni Muslim family from Somalia who came over here from a Kenyan Refugee camp. I love the mom (a widow from tribal warfare) like a sister and her 5 kids like they are my own. We are bound together by total love and devotion. They respect my faith (born again Christian though I would never consider myself a fundamentalist or right-winger, I am a flaming liberal who is open minded) and I, theirs. The last time I stayed over at their home with my sons, I went to a mosque for the first time and dressed in the abaya and the headscarf out of respect. I did not have to do so but I did. It was a really profound moment in my life. I prayed with the family (a week before Ramadan) and their faith moved me deeply.
It continues to move me, and though I will never convert... I respect. And my sons will be raised to consider the mom I consider a sister, their 2nd mom, and the kids, their siblings. They already speak a little Somali... "mother" and "sister" and "yes" in Somali. They are bilingual Greek and English so it's funny to know that they will be trilingual, perhaps, in a language that isn't widely used, like Spanish...
I love my family, and that family IS my family. I respect their faith and am always asking questions about Islam when I am with them. This article was really informative to me. One thing I don't understand are the rituals -- I compare some of them to Greek Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism in the way that duas' are prepared and some of the things like the angels on the shoulders marking a person's rights and wrongs... some of these things I don't understand very well, how they came to be.
Half of a Duo, Raising a Duo
http://micrimas.blogspot.com
This sentence is the key
This sentence is the key in what you said -- "and though I will never convert... I respect."
Respect is the medicine we need to heal the world. Thank you so much for sharing your story.
~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool
Thank you....
Mata, thank you.
I think the key to all successful relationships is respect. You are right about respect being the medicine we need to heal the world....
Half of a Duo, Raising a Duo
http://micrimas.blogspot.com
Basic Teachings of Islam
Islam and Muslims
know more : http://islam100.wordpress.com
“Islam” is an Arabic word which means “submission to the will of God”. This word comes from the same root as the Arabic word “salam”, which means “peace”. As such, the religion of Islam teaches that in order to achieve true peace of mind and surety of heart, one must submit to God and live according to His Divinely revealed Law. The most important truth that God revealed to mankind is that there is nothing divine or worthy of being worshipped except for Almighty God, thus all human beings should submit to Him.Who is Muslim
The word “Muslim” means one who submits to the will of God, regardless of their race, nationality or ethnic background. Being a Muslim entails wilful submission and active obedience to God, and living in accordance with His message. Some people mistakenly believe that Islam is just a religion for Arabs, but nothing could be further from the truth. Not only are there converts to Islam in every corner of the world, especially in England and America, but by taking a look at the Muslim World from Bosnia to Nigeria, and from Indonesia to Morocco, one can clearly see that Muslims come from many various races, ethnic groups and nationalities. It is also interesting to note that in actuality, more than 80% of all Muslims are not Arabs – there are more Muslims in Indonesia than in the whole Arab World! So, though even though it is true that most Arabs are Muslims, the large majority of Muslims are not Arabs. However, anyone who submits completely to God and worships Him alone is a Muslim.
Muslim Believe in Jesus (peace be upon him)
We are presenting this not to placate you out of policy or diplomacy. We are only articulating what our Creator had commanded us in the Noble Qur’an (Which is translated as follows);
“Say (O Muslim), “We believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Abraham (Abraham), Isma’il (Ishmael), Ishaque (Isaac), Ya’qub (Jacob), and to Al-Asbat [the twelve sons of Ya’cub (Jacob)], and that which has been given to Musa (Moses) and ‘Iesa (Jesus), and that which has been given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted (in Islam)”. [Chapter 2: verse 136]
As Muslims we have no choice. We had said in many words:
” WE BELIEVE IN ONE CREATOR, WE BELIEVE IN ALL HIS PROPHETS, WE BELIEVE, THAT JESUS (peace be upon him) WAS ONE OF THE MIGHTIEST PROPHETS OF GOD, THAT HE WAS THE MESSIAH AS WELL AS THE WORD OF GOD, THAT HE WAS BORN MIRACULOUSLY- WITHOUT ANY MALE INTERVENTION (which many modern-day Christians do not believe today) , THAT HE GAVE LIFE TO THE DEAD BY GOD’S PERMISSION, AND THAT HE HEALED THOSE BORN BLIND AND THE LEPERS BY GOD’S PERMISSION.”
VIRGIN MARY:
Story of Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) in the Noble Qur’an starts with the conception of his mother, Mary, when the wife of Imran, Mary’s mother, vowed to dedicate her child to the service of God in the temple.
Continuity of the Message of All The Prophets of God Almighty
Islam is not a new religion because “submission to the will of God”, i.e. Islam, has always been the only acceptable religion in the sight of God. For this reason, Islam is the true “natural religion”, and it is the same eternal message revealed through the ages to all of God’s prophets and messengers. Muslims believe that all of God’s prophets, which include Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, brought the same message of Pure Monotheism. For this reason, the Prophet Muhammad was not the founder of a new religion, as many people mistakenly think, but he was the final Prophet of Islam. By revealing His final message to Muhammad, which is an eternal and universal message for all of mankind, God finally fulfilled the covenant that He made with Abraham, who was one of the earliest and greatest prophets.
Sufficient is it to say that the way of Islam is the same as the way of the prophet Abraham, because both the Bible and the Quran portray Abraham as a towering example of someone who submitted himself completely to God and worshipped Him without intermediaries. Once this is realized, it should be clear that Islam has the most continuous and universal message of any religion, because all prophets and messengers were “Muslims”, i.e. those who submitted to God’s will, and they preached “Islam”, i.e. submission to the will of Almighty God.
The Oneness of God
The foundation of the Islamic faith is belief in the Oneness of Almighty God – the God of Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus. Islam teaches that a pure belief in One God is intuitive in human beings and thus fulfils the natural inclination of the soul. As such, Islam’s concept of God is straightforward, unambiguous and easy to understand. Islam teaches that the hearts, minds and souls of human beings are fitting receptacles for clear divine revelation, and that God’s revelations to man are not clouded by self-contradictory mysteries or irrational ideas. As such, Islam teaches that even though God cannot be fully comprehended and grasped by our finite human minds, He also does not expect us to accept absurd or demonstrably false beliefs about Him.
According to the teachings of Islam, Almighty God is absolutely One and His Oneness should never be compromised by associating partners with Him – neither in worship nor in belief. Due to this, Muslims are required to maintain a direct relationship with God, and therefore all intermediaries are absolutely forbidden. From the Islamic standpoint, believing in the Oneness of God means to realize that all prayer and worship should be exclusively for God, and that He alone deserves such titles as “Lord” and “Saviour”. Some religions, even though they believe in “One God”, do not make all of their worship and prayers for Him alone. Also, they also give the title of “Lord” to beings that are not All-Knowing, All-Powerful and Un-Changing – even according to their own scriptures. Suffice it to say that according to Islam, it is not enough that people believe that “God is One”, but they must actualize this belief by proper conduct.
In short, in the Islamic concept of God, which is completely based on Divine Revelation, there is no ambiguity in divinity – God is God and man is man. Since God is the only Creator and continual Sustainer of the Universe, He is transcendent above His creation – the Creator and the creature never mix. Islam teaches that God has a unique nature and that He is free from gender, human weaknesses and beyond anything which human beings can imagine. The Quran teaches that the signs and proofs of God’s wisdom, power and existence are evident in the world around us. As such, God calls on man to ponder over the creation in order to build a better understanding of his Creator. Muslims believe that God is Loving, Compassionate and Merciful, and that He is concerned with the daily affairs of human beings. In this, Islam strikes a unique balance between false religious and philosophical extremes. Some religions and philosophies portray God as just an impersonal “Higher Power” who is uninterested, or unaware, of the life of each individual human. Other religions tend to give God human qualities and teach that He is present in His creation, by being incarnate in someone, something – or even everything. In Islam, however, Almighty God has clarified the truth by letting mankind know that He is “Compassionate”, “Merciful”, “Loving” and the “Answerer of Prayers”. But He as also emphasized strongly that “there is nothing like unto Him”, and that He is high above time, space and His creation. Finally, it should be mentioned that the God that Muslims worship is the same God that Jews and Christians worship – because there is only one God.
A Big Mistake
It is unfortunate that some people mistakenly believe that Muslims worship a different God than Jews and Christians, and that “Allah” is just the “god of the Arabs”. While word Allah is also used by Arabs Cristian . Last words of Jesus waere ” Ilahi Ilahi Lima sabaqtani” It means O my God O My God why left me”. Word Ilah is rood word of Allah. This myth, which has been propagated by the enemies of Islam, is completely false since the word “Allah” is simply the Arabic name for Almighty God. It is the same word for God which is used by Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians. However, it should be clarified that even though Muslims worship the same God as Jews and Christian, their concept of Him differs somewhat from the beliefs of other religions – mainly because it is based completely on Divine Revelation from God. For example, Muslims reject the Christian belief that God is a Trinity, not only because the Quran rejects it, but also because if this was God’s true nature, He would have clearly revealed it to Abraham, Noah, Jesus and all of the other prophets. Islam was religion of Abraham, Jackob, Isaq, Ishmael. (Peace and blessings of God upon all of them). Because Islam literally means path of submission to God Almighty.
Watch Video Introduction to Islam:
Watch Video Islam Denounces Terrorism
Watches Video Mircales of Quran
For More information on Islam please visit
http://www.quranexplorer.com/quran/ Read /Listen God’s Last Book Quran online
http://www.islam-guide.com/ Islamic Guide
www.islamreligion.com The best website on Islamic Dawah in Seven languages
http://www.allahsquran.com All info About Last book of God: The Quran
http://www.muslimvideo.com/live/ 30 Islamic live TV channel & 20 live Radio Station (Listen Qur’an online and speeches on Islam)
hello muqueem
Thank you for sharing your views of Islam.
Let's start from a position of respect and move forward. I wish you had been happy to avoid any discussion of whose faith is "right" and whose is "wrong". ("Nevertheless, Muslims consider the view of Christendom to be a misguided one,"or "Islam has always been the only acceptable religion in the sight of God.") Can we try to limit our initial bridge building to the respectful sharing of our differences without judgment? That might be very helpful.
That having been said, I am thankful that you shared with us many of those links. The anti-terrorism link was really excellent, for example. You obviously have great love and pride in your faith, and much of what you said helps those of us who are non-Muslim understand your views. Thank you for that.
~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool
I'm a Christian married to a
I'm a Christian married to a Muslim and living in my husband's country. My husband's entire family is Muslim. I'm included in all festivities, family dos, and so on, which includes the extended family and their communities. And I've had a crash course in Islam after moving here.
My observations? Muslims are imperfect people doing their best to get on with the business of living their lives. Some do it well, others not so much. Many are kind, decent, caring people who do their best to make their marriages work and raise their children well. Others, not so much. Many try to live their religion the best way they know how while not trampling on the freedoms of others. Others, not so much. Many of them disagree on what, exactly, Islam means in all of its fine details and how it should be interpreted, but the ones I know very firmly believe that Islam is not about harming other people in any way.
In other words, they're just like everyone else. :)
I've been warned - by ignorant cussed people - that my husband will try to kill me. In reality, my husband treats me better than I've ever been treated by anyone in my entire life. He's the most kind, sensitive, caring, considerate person I've known in my entire life. He loves me unconditionally, something which I never thought possible, and he treats me like his love means something. His parents are also very kind, considerate people. Imperfect, just like the rest of us, but kind, which is more than I can say for some whom I'm related to by blood.
I also will never convert, but I have absolutely no problem with respecting the Muslims I know based on the kind of people they are and how they interpret and live Islam.
I blog about my life in general, which includes Muslim (and Buddhist and Hindu) stuff.
Laurie in Sri Lanka
Chilli & Chocolate | A Canadian in King Parakramabahu's Court | LMAshton on Twitter
hi Laurie!
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. And you are right -- imperfections know no boundary -- we all have them..and there are wonderful and not so wonderful people in any group. Best wishes to you and your husband -- and good luck with those geckos!! (I read your blog).
Cheers,
Mata
~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool
Always the geckos, eh? Also
Always the geckos, eh? Also always the cows. This is an interesting place to live, that's for sure. :D
Laurie in Sri Lanka
Chilli & Chocolate | A Canadian in King Parakramabahu's Court | LMAshton on Twitter
Living in a Muslim Country
I live in Turkey with my fiancé. Turkey is mostly Muslim, though there are other religions here. The minority religions are treated with respect and tolerance. As an agnostic I have been welcomed into his family. I always feel included in all family events, including religious ones. There has never been a moment I have been made to feel an outsider because I grew up Christian(ish) in the US.
Where I see Islam being practiced behaviorally, it is in the kindness and generosity in which people treat each other. (Politics and Islam in Turkey is a separate matter all together.) In contrast to the US I also see completely open hospitality and tolerance. Here people are so excited to share their culture with newcomers to the country. Turkish people not only accept my butchery of their language and the awkward baby-talk and body language communication, they are thrilled by it. There is no thought that since I am in their country I should “speak their language.” The broken Turkish that is painful to even my own ears, earns hugs and calls of “Yenge” (Sister-in-law.) I have never once felt unsafe in the country because I have been adopted. “Gelin” means bride, and I have been claimed, by Turkey. I am introduced by my fiancé’s mother as her “Gelin.” When I explain that I am engaged to a Turkish man, and am now living in Turkey, I am claimed…”Oh, you are our gelin!” Or “Yenge, for you I will give a low price!” It is serious business. Because in that second I am claimed, I am one of their own, regardless that I am not Turkish, or Muslim. It frustrates me that the media portrays Islam as so fundamental and potentially dangerous. It is a religion, and like any other is interpreted by people and interpretations vary. Fundamentalism can be found in any religion; however, in the Western world the fundamentalist religions are not as visible because they fit in more with the dominant culture.
I blog about food, travel and my life in Turkey as an Expat.
Hello Jules!
Thanks so much for your story. Turkey sounds so welcoming, so warm. I am delighted that the experience so far from your original home is so positive for you! Great engagement pictures and food pictures....I love the concept of "Gelin" that you mention above. Can you tell us more about that?
~~ Contributing Editor, Mata H. also blogs right along at Time's Fool