Muslim denominations

Further information: Muslim world

Muslim denominations, As of 2015, over 1.7 billion or about 23.4% of the world population are Muslims. By the percentage of the total population in a region considering themselves Muslim, 24.8% in Asia-Oceania do, 91.2% in the Middle East-North Africa, 29.6% in Sub-Saharan Africa, around 6.0% in Europe, and 0.6% in the Americas.

Political denominations of muslims

Further information: Denominations of Islam and madhhabs

Historically, Islam was divided into three major sects. These religious denominations are well known as Sunni, Khawarij and Shī‘ah. Each sect developed several distinct jurisprudence system reflecting their own understanding of the Islamic law during the course of the History of Islam. For instance, Sunnis are separated into five sub-sects, namely, Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbalites and Ẓāhirī. Shi'a, on the other hand, was first developed Kaysanites and in turn divided into three major sects known as Fivers, Seveners and Twelvers. Qarmatians, Ismailis, Fatimids, Assassins of Alamut and Druses were all emerged from the Seveners. Isma'ilism later split into Nizari Ismaili and Musta’li Ismaili, and then Mustaali was divided into Hafizi and Taiyabi Ismailis. Moreover, Imami-Shi'a later brought into existence Ja'fari jurisprudence. Akhbarism, Alevism, Bektashism, Nusayrism, Shaykhism and Usulism were all developed from Ithna'asharis. Similarly, Khawarij was initially divided into five major branches as Sufris, Azariqa, Najdat, Adjarites and Ibadis. Among these numerous sects, only Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali, Imamiyyah-Ja'fari-Usuli, Nizārī Ismā'īlī, Alevi, Zaydi, Ibadi, Zahiri, Alawite, Druze and Taiyabi communities have survived. In addition, some new schools of thought and movements like Quranist Muslims, Ahmadi Muslims and African American Muslims were later emerged independently.

See also: Amman Message

Political sub-denominations of muslims around the world.

Political schools and fiqh madh'habs in Islam

Further information: Fiqh and Madhhab

Shîʿa-i Muhlîsîn: Sunnis and Zaydis

• Shîʿa-i Ulâ (Ahl al-Sunna)
  • Hanafi
  • Maliki
  • Shafi'i
    • Ẓāhirīs
      • Dawud al-Zahiri
      • Ebû Muhammed İbn Hazm
  • Hanbali
    • Salaf-i Sâlihîn
      • Ibn Taymiyyah
        • Ghulat Salafis
          • Wahhabism
• Zaydiyyah
  • Dukayniyya Shia
  • Khalafiyya Shia
  • Khashabiyya Shia
  • Betr’îyye/Sâlih’îyye
  • Cerîr’îyye/Süleyman’îyye
  • Yemen Zaydis
    • Qâsim’îyye
    • Hadâv’îyye
    • Muhteria
    • Mutarrif’îyye
  • Alavids
    • Nâsir’îyye
    • Qâsim’îyye
  • Ghulat Zaydiyyah
    • Cârûd’îyye
    • Nâim’îyye
    • Ya'kûb’îyye

Khawarij

• Azariqa
• Sufri
• Najdat
• Ajardi
• Ibadiyyah
• Ghulat Khawarij
  • Nakkariyyah
  • Maymûn’îyyah

Ghulat-i Shîʿa

• Saba’îyyah
• Khattâb’îyyah (Abû’l-Hattâb al-Asadî)
  • Bezîg’îyye
  • Hattâb’îyyat-ûl Mutlâka
• Kaysân’îyyah
  • Muhtâr’îyyah/Keysân’îyyet'ûl-Hullas
  • Hâshim’îyye
    • Harb’îyye
    • Muâv’îyye/Cennâh’îyye
      • Hâris’îyye
    • Beyân’îyye
  • Râvend’îyye
    • Rizâm’îyye
      • Bû’ Müslim’îyya
        • Sinbâd’îyya
        • Berkûk’îyye
        • Havâl’îyye
      • Muhammerah
        • Mukannaʿîyya
        • Hûrramdîn’îyya
          • Bâbak’îyya
          • Mazyâr’îyya
          • Kızılbaşlar
        • Kûl’îyye
      • İshâk at-Turk’îyya
    • Riyâh’îyye
  • Kerb’îyye

Shîʿa-i Batiniyyah (Abd’Allah İbn-i Meymûn)

• Hallâj’îyya
• Hulûl’îyya
• Aleviler (Tasawwufî-Batiniyyah)
• Hulmân’îyye
• Qarmatians
  • Saʿid’îyye
  • Jannâb’îyyah
• Ghulat Batiniyyah
  • Kayyâl’îyya
  • Hâkim’îyya (Druses)
  • Assassins (Alamûts)

Imami Shia: Isma'ilism and Athnā‘ashariyyah

• Imamiyyah-i Seb’îyyah (Isma'ilism)/Isma'ili imamate
  • Al-Ismâʿîliyyat’ûl-Hâlisa (Seveners)
  • Mûsta‘li’yyah
    • Hâfız’îyyah
    • Tâyyîb’îyyah (At-Tayyib Abu'l-Qasim)
      • Dawoodi Bohra
        • Sulaymanis
        • Alavi Bohra
        • Qutbi Bohra
  • Nizārī Ismā'īlī (Nizâr’îyyah)
• Ithnā‘ashariyyah/Twelver Imamate
  • Ja'farism
    • Akhbâr’îyyah
    • Usûl’îyyah
    • Shaykhism
  • Alevism
• Ghulat Imamah
  • Mûgır’îyyah
  • Mansûr’îyyah
  • Azâkıra
  • Albâ’îyeyyah (Ulyâ’îyyah)
  • Zemm’îyyah
  • Ayn’îyyah
  • Mim’îyyah
  • Sîn’îyyah
  • Muhammise
  • Shûray’îyyah
  • Gurâb’îyyah
  • Zübâb’îyyah
  • Nusayrism

New denominations

Ahmadiyya Islam

Main article: Ahmadiyya

The Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam was founded in India in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to be the promised Messiah ("Second Coming of Christ") the Mahdi awaited by the Muslims and a 'subordinate' prophet to Muhammad whose job was to restore the Sharia given to Muhammad by guiding or rallying disenchanted Ummah back to Islam and thwart attacks on Islam by its opponents. The followers are divided into two groups, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam, the former believing that Ghulam Ahmad was a non-law bearing prophet and the latter believing that he was only a religious reformer though a prophet in an allegorical sense. Ahmadis consider themselves Muslims and claim to practice the pristine form of Islam as re-established with the teachings of Ghulam Ahmad.

In many Islamic countries the Ahmadis have been defined as heretics and non-Muslim and subjected to persecution and often systematic oppression.

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Main article: Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Qadian rooftop and Minarat'ul Masih and Masjid Mubarak.

It originated with the life and teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who claimed to have fulfilled the prophecies of the world's reformer during the end times, who was to herald the Eschaton as predicted in the traditions of various world religions and bring about the final triumph of Islam as per Islamic prophecy. He claimed that he was the Mujaddid (divine reformer) of the 14th Islamic century, the promised Messiah and Mahdi awaited by Muslims. The adherents of the Ahmadiyya movement are referred to as Ahmadis or Ahmadi Muslims.

Ahmadis thought emphasizes the belief that Islam is the final dispensation for humanity as revealed to Muhammad and the necessity of restoring to it its true essence and pristine form, which had been lost through the centuries. Thus, Ahmadis view themselves as leading the revival and peaceful propagation of Islam. The Ahmadis were among the earliest Muslim communities to arrive in Britain and other Western countries.

Ahmadiyya adherents believe that God sent Ghulam Ahmad, in the likeness of Jesus, to end religious wars, condemn bloodshed and reinstitute morality, justice and peace. They believe that he divested Islam of fanatical beliefs and practices by championing what is in their view, Islam’s true and essential teachings as practised by Muhammad. The Ahmadiyya Community is the larger community of the two arising from the Ahmadiyya movement and is guided by the Khalifa (Caliph), currently Khalifatul Masih V, who is the spiritual leader of Ahmadis and the successor to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. He is called the Khalifatul Masih(successor of the Messiah). .

Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement

Main article: Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam

The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement also known as the Lahoris, formed as a result of ideological differences within the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, after the demise of Maulana Hakim Noor-ud-Din in 1914, the first Khalifa after its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. The main dispute was based on differing interpretations of a verse ^{[Quran 33:40]} related to the finality of prophethood. Other issues of contention were the Kalima, funeral prayers, and the suitability of the elected Khalifa (2nd successor) Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad (the son of the Founder). The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement is led by a President or Emir.

American denominations

Islamic Center of Greater Toledo, Ohio.

Main article: Islam in the United States

African American denominations

Main article: African American Muslims

Moorish Science

Main article: Moorish Science Temple of America

The Moorish Science Temple of America is an American organization founded in 1913 AD by Prophet Noble Drew Ali, whose name at birth was Timothy Drew. He claimed it was a sect of Islam but he also drew inspiration from Buddhism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Taoism. Its significant divergences from mainstream Islam and strong African-American ethnic character make its classification as an Islamic denomination a matter of debate among Muslims and scholars of religion.

Its primary tenet was the belief that they are the ancient Moabites who inhabited the Northwestern and Southwestern shores of Africa. The organization also believes that their descendents after being conquered in Spain are slaves who were captured and held in slavery from 1779–1865 by their slaveholders.

Although often criticised as lacking scientific merit, adherents of the Moorish Science Temple of America believe that the Negroid Asiatic was the first human inhabitant of the Western Hemisphere. In their religious texts, adherents refer to themselves as "Asiatics", presumably referring to the non-Mongoloid Paleoamericans (see Luzia Woman). These adherents also call themselves "indigenous Moors", "American Moors" or "Moorish Americans" in contradistinction to "African Moors" or "African Americans".

Nation of Islam flag.

Nation of Islam

Main article: Nation of Islam

The Nation of Islam was founded by Wallace Fard Muhammad in Detroit in 1930, with a declared aim of "resurrecting" the spiritual, mental, social and economic condition of the black man and woman of America and the world. The group believes Fard Muhammad was God on earth, a belief viewed as shirk by mainstream Muslims. It does not see Muhammad as the final prophet, but Elijah Muhammad as the "Messenger of Truth" and only allows people of black ethnicity and believes they are the original race on earth.

In 1975, the teachings were abandoned and the group was renamed the American Society of Muslims by Warith Deen Mohammed, the son of Elijah Muhammad. He brought the group into mainstream Sunni Islam, establishing mosques instead of temples and promoting the Five pillars of Islam. Thousands (estimated 2 million) of African Americans joined Imam Muhammad in mainstream Islam. Some members were dissatisfied, including Louis Farrakhan, who revived the group again in 1978 with the same teachings of the previous leaders. It currently has from 30,000 to 70,000 members.

Five Percenter

Main article: Five-Percent Nation

The Five-Percent Nation was founded in 1964 in the United States.

United Nation of Islam

Main article: United Nation of Islam

United Nation of Islam was founded in 1978 by Royall Jenkins, who remained as a member of Nation of Islam until after the death of Elijah Muhammad but later split from the organization in 1978.

File:Latino American Dawah Organization (logo).jpg

Latino American Dawah Organization

Hispanic American denominations

Main article: Hispanic and Latino Muslims

Hispanic Muslims are the Latino Americans who are of the Islamic faith. They are an ethno-linguistic group of citizens of The United States with origins in the countries of Latin America or the Iberian peninsula.

Organizations of Latino Muslims

Main articles: Latino American Dawah Organization and Alianza Islámica

The organizations of Latino Muslims include the Latino American Dawah Organization and Alianza Islámica. The Alianza Islámica is the oldest Latino Muslim organization in the United States. It was founded in 1975 by a group of Puerto Rican Islamic converts. Other Latino Muslim organizations include the La Asociación Latino Musulmana de América (LALMA), Latino Muslims of Chicago, the Latino Muslim Association of the San Fernando Valley (LMASFV), Alameda Islamica: Latino Muslims of the Bay Area, PIEDAD, the Atlanta Latino Muslim Association (ALMA), and IslamInSpanish.

Islamism

Main article: Islamism

Islamism is a term that refers to a set of political ideologies, derived from various fundamentalist views, which hold that Islam is not only a religion but a political system that should govern the legal, economic and social imperatives of the state. Many Islamists do not refer to themselves as such and it is not a single particular movement. Religious views and ideologies of its adherents vary, and they may be Sunni Islamists or Shia Islamists depending upon their beliefs. Islamist groups include groups such as Al-Qaeda, the organizer of the September 11, 2001 attacks and perhaps the most prominent; and the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest and perhaps the oldest. Although violence is often employed by some organizations, most Islamist movements are nonviolent.

Wahhabism

Flag of Saudi Arabia.

The Wahhabi movement was recently revived by the 18th century teacher Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab in the Arabian peninsula, and was instrumental in the rise of the House of Saud to power. The terms "Wahhabi movement" and "Salafism" are often used interchangeably, although the word "Wahhabi" is specific for followers of Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab. The works of scholars like Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn al Qayyim and Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab are used for religious guidance. Critics claim that Muslim Terrorism is the direct offshoot of the fanatical Islamic cult known as Wahabism, which runs Mecca and believes in the destruction of non Islamic cultures and is financed by Saudi Arabia.

Ahl al-Hadith

The Ahl al-Hadith is a movement started in the mid-nineteenth century in Northern India. It refers to the adherent's belief that they are not bound by taqlid (as are Ahl al-Rai, literally "the people of rhetorical theology"), but consider themselves free to seek guidance in matters of religious faith and practices from the authentic hadith which, together with the Qur'an, are in their view the principal worthy guide for Muslim. Followers call themselves Ahl al-Hadith or Salafi. The term Ahl al-Hadith is often used interchangeably with the term Wahhabi, or as a branch of the latter movement, though the movement itself claims to be distinct from Wahhabism.

Political movements

Main article: Political aspects of Islam

File:Muslim Brotherhood Logo.png

al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun flag.

Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun

Main article: Muslim Brotherhood

The Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun, or Muslim Brotherhood, is an organisation that was founded by Egyptian scholar Hassan al-Banna, a graduate of Dar al-Ulum. With its various branches, it is the largest Sunni movement in the Arab world, and an affiliate is often the largest opposition party in many Arab nations. The Muslim Brotherhood is not concerned with theological differences, accepting Muslims of any of the four Sunni schools of thought. It is the world's oldest and largest Islamist group. Its aims are to re-establish the Caliphate and in the mean time push for more Islamisation of society. The Brotherhood's stated goal is to instill the Qur'an and sunnah as the "sole reference point for... ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community... and state".

File:Abul ala maududi.jpg

Abul Ala Maududi, the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami.

Jamaat-e-Islami

Main article: Jamaat-e-Islami

The Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamist political party in the Indian Subcontinent. It was founded in Lahore, British India, by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi in 1941 and is the oldest religious party in Pakistan and India. Today, sister organizations with similar objectives and ideological approaches exist in India (Jamaat-e-Islami Hind), Bangladesh (Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh), Kashmir (Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir),and Sri Lanka, and there are "close brotherly relations" with the Islamist movements and missions "working in different continents and countries", particularly those affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood or Akhwan-al-Muslimeen. The JI envisions an Islamic government in Pakistan and Bangladesh governing by Islamic law. It opposes Westernization—including secularization, capitalism, socialism, or such practices as interest based banking, and favours an Islamic economic order and Caliphate.

Jamaat-al-Muslimeen

The Jamaat ul-Muslimeen is a movement in Sunni Islam revived by the Imam Syed Masood Ahmad in the 1960s. The present leader of this group is Muhammad Ishtiaq.

Revivalists

Main article: Islamic Modernism

Salafi movement

Main article: Salafi Modernism

The teachings of the reformer Abd Al-Wahhab are more often referred to by adherents as Salafi, that is, "following the forefathers of Islam." This branch of Islam is often referred to by others as "Wahhabi," a term that many adherents to this tradition do not use. Members of this form of Islam call themselves Muwahideen ("Unitarians", or "unifiers of Islamic practice"). Salafism is a puritanical and legalistic Islamic movement and is the dominant creed in Saudi Arabia. The Salafi sect is a group who believe themselves the only correct interpreters of the Koran, consider moderate Muslims to be infidels, seek to convert all Muslims to their way of thinking and to insure that its own fundamentalist version of Islam will dominate the world. Traditional Sunni Sufis who oppose the movement classify it as movement of only thirty years old, and as the modern outgrowth of a two-century old heresy spawned by a scholar of the Najd area in the Eastern part of the Arabian peninsula by the name of Muhammad ibn `Abd al- Wahhab.

Most of the violent terrorist groups come from the Salafi movement and their sub groups. In recent years, the Salafi doctrine has often been correlated with the jihad of terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda and those groups in favor of killing innocent civilians.

Others

Gülen movement

Main articles: Gülen movement and Interfaith dialogue

Students of Gülen schools from Senegal in the Fifth Turkish Language Olympiads.

The Hizmet movement, established in the 1970s as an offshoot of the Nur Movement and led by the Turkish Islamic scholar and preacher Fethullah Gülen in Turkey, Central Asia, and in other parts of the world, is active in education, with private schools and universities in over 180 countries as well as with many American charter schools operated by followers. It has initiated forums for interfaith dialogue. The Cemaat movement's structure has been described as a flexible organizational network. Movement schools and businesses organize locally and link themselves into informal networks. Estimates of the number of schools and educational institutions vary widely; it appears there are about 300 Gülen movement schools in Turkey and over 1,000 schools worldwide.

Fethullah Gülen advocates cooperation between followers of different religions as well as between those practicing different forms of Islam such as Alevi and Sunni in Turkey. Gülen-movement participants have founded a number of institutions across the world that claim to promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue activities. Among them the major ones are the Istanbul-based Journalists and Writers Foundation, the Washington, D.C.-based Rumi Forum, and the New Delhi-based Indialogue Foundation. In addition, in 2004 a diverse group of Gülen-movement academics founded the London Centre for Social Studies (LCSS) to generate thinking and debate amongst academics, activists, policy makers, practitioners, media and civil-society organisations both at the national and international level. As a non-profit independent research organisation, LCSS uses social-science research tools to address major social, political and economic issues such as migration, social cohesion, subjectivity, education, gender, human rights in a critical way.

Liberal Muslims

Main articles: Liberal Islam and Ijtihad

Liberal and progressive movements have in common a religious outlook which depends mainly on Ijtihad or re-interpretations of scriptures. Liberal Muslims & thought have lead to the birth of certain small denominations from primarily unaffiliated followers who believe in greater autonomy of the individual in interpretation of scripture, a critical examination of religious texts, gender equality, human rights, LGBT rights and a modern view of culture, tradition, and other ritualistic practices in Islam.

Mahdavia

Main article: Mahdavia

Mahdavia (Arabic: مهدوي mahdawi) or Mahdavism, is a Mahdiist Muslim sect founded by Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri in India in the late 15th century. Jaunpuri declared himself to be Imam Mahdi at the holy city of Mecca, right in front of the Kaaba (between rukn and maqam) in the Hijri year 901 (10th Hijri), and is revered as such by Mahdavia community and Zikri Mahdavis in Balochistan.

Mahdavia was emerged as a consequence of Jaunpuri's declaration of himself to be the Hidden Twelfth Imam of the Ithnā‘ashariyyah madhhab, the prophesied redeemer in Ithnā‘ashariyyah Shia Islam, while on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1496 (AH 901), in a similar fashion to Báb-Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází's declaration of Bábí faith at the Kaaba. The Mahdavi regard Jaunpuri as the Imam Mahdi, the Caliph of Allah and the second most important figure after the Islamic Muhammad. Both the prophet and imam are considered to be masum (معصوم "infallible") Mahdavis follow the doctrine of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat.They strictly adhere to the five pillars of Islam. About five million Mahdavis populated in Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and also in the Pakistani provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.

Zikri Mahdavis

Zikri Mahdavis, or Zikris, are an offshoot of the Mahdavi movement found mostly in the Balochistan region of western Pakistan. Zikri derives from the Arabic word dhikr, meaning "remembrance, devotion, invocation". The Zikri is claimed to be based around the teachings of Muhammad Jaunpuri. In religious practice, the Zikris differ greatly from mainstream Muslims and the Mahdavis. A main misconception that Zikris perform prayers called dhikr five times a day is a major one, in which sacred verses are recited, as compared to the orthodox practice of salat. Most Zikris live in Balochistan, but a large number also live in Karachi, the Sindh interior, Oman and Iran.

Non-denominational Islam

Main article: Non-denominational Islam

Muwahhidun symbols.

Non-denominational Muslims are Muslims who do not adhere to any specific sect of Islam. Such Muslims may visit any mosque regardless of its sectarian affiliation. Their beliefs may overlap with those of multiple Muslims.

Tolu-e-Islam

Main article: Tolu-e-Islam

Tolu-e-Islam ("Resurgence of Islam") is a non-denominational Muslim organization based in Pakistan, with members throughout the world. The movement was initiated by Ghulam Ahmed Pervez.

Quranism

Main article: Quranism

Quranism (Arabic: قرآنيون Quraniyoon) is an Islamic branch that holds the Qur'an to be the only canonical text in Islam. Quranists reject the religious authority of Hadith and often Sunnah, libraries compiled by later scholars who catalogued narratives of what the Muhammad is reported to have said and done. This is in contrast to orthodox Muslims, Shias and Sunnis, who consider hadith essential for the Islamic faith.

Ahle Qur'an

Main article: Ahle Qur'an

"Ahle Qur'an" is an organisation formed by Abdullah Chakralawi, rely entirely on the chapters and verses of the Qur'an.

Submitters

Main article: United Submitters International

The United Submitters International (USI) is a branch of Quranism, founded by Rashad Khalifa. Submitters considers themselves to be adhering to "true Islam", but prefer not to use the terms "Muslim" or "Islam", instead using the English equivalents: "Submitter" or "Submission". Submitters consider Khalifa to be a Messenger of God. Specific beliefs of the USI include: the dedication of all worship practices to God alone, upholding the Qur'an alone with the exception of two rejected Qur'an verses, and rejecting the Islamic traditions of hadith and sunnah attributed to Muhammad. The main group attends "Masjid Tucson" in Arizona, USA.

Population of the denominations

In the modern era, Sunnis constitute more than 85% of the overall Muslim population while the Shi'as are slightly more than 12%.

Today, many of the Shia sects are extinct. The major surviving Imamah-Muslim Sects are Usulism (with nearly more than 10%), Nizari Ismailism (with nearly more than 1%) and Alevism (with slightly more than 0.5% but less than 1%). The other existing groups include Zaydi Shi'a of Yemen whose population is nearly more than 0.5% of the world's Muslim population, Musta’li Ismaili (with nearly 0.1% whose Taiyabi adherents reside in Gujarat state in India and Karachi city in Pakistan. There are also significant diaspora populations in Europe, North America, the Far East and East Africa), and Ibadis from the Kharijites whose population has diminished to a level below 0.15%. On the other hand, new Muslim sects like African American Muslims, Ahmadi Muslims (with nearly around 1%), non-denominational Muslims, Quranist Muslims and Wahhabis (with nearly around 1-2% of the world's total Muslim population) were later independently developed.

World Muslim population by percentage (Pew Research Center, 2014).

According to the Pew Research Center in 2010, there were 50 Muslim-majority countries. Around 62% of the world's Muslims live in South and Southeast Asia, with over 1 billion adherents. The largest Muslim population in a country is in Indonesia, a nation home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims, followed by Pakistan (11.0%), India (10.9%), and Bangladesh (9.2%). About 20% of Muslims live in Arab countries. In the Middle East, the non-Arab countries of Turkey and Iran are the largest Muslim-majority countries; in Africa, Egypt and Nigeria have the most populous Muslim communities. The study found more Muslims in the United Kingdom than in Lebanon and more in China than in Syria.

Further information: Islamic denominations and History of Islam

External links

• Online Fatwa Site - Questions and Answers
• The Four Sunni Schools of Thought
• Online Islamic Learning
• Sufism - Islamic Science of Spirituality