Islam began in Asia in the 7th century during the lifetime of Muhammad . A number of adherents of Islam have lived in Asia & especially West Asia and South Asia since the beginning of Islamic history . Islam is said to have arrived in Manipur (Northeast India) in 615 AD via Chittagong which is part of present-day Bangladesh 's coast in the age of silk route (both onland and by sea) trades when Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas (b.594-d.674 AD) and others, namely Uwais al-Qarni (594–657), Khunais ibn Hudhaifa , Saeed ibn Zaid , Wahb Abu Kabcha , Jahsh and Jafar ibn Abu Talib preached there.
The Barmakid family was an early supporter of the Abbasid Revolution against the Umayyads and of As-Saffah . This gave Khalid ibn Barmak considerable influence, and his son Yaḥyā ibn Khālid (d. 806) was the vizier of the caliph al-Mahdi (ruled 775–785) and tutor of Hārūn ar-Rashīd (ruled 786–809). Yaḥyā's sons al-Faḍl and Ja'far (767–803) both occupied high offices under Harun.
Many Barmakids were patrons of the sciences, which greatly helped the propagation of Indian science and scholarship from the neighboring Academy of Gundishapur into the Arabic world. They patronized scholars such as Gebir and Jabril ibn Bukhtishu . They are also credited with the establishment of the first paper mill in Baghdad. The power of the Barmakids in those times is reflected in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights ; the vizier Ja'far appears in several stories, as well as a tale that gave rise to the expression “Barmecide feast”.
We know of Yaḥyā ibn Khālid al-Barmakī (d. link CE ) as a patron of physicians and, specifically, of the translation of Hindu medical works into both Arabic and Persian. In all likelihood, however, his activity took place in the orbit of the caliphal court in Iraq, where at the behest of Hārūn ar-Rashīd (786–809), such books were translated into Arabic. Thus Khurāsān and Transoxiana were effectively bypassed in this transfer of learning from India to Islam, even though, undeniably the Barmakī's cultural outlook owed something to their land of origin, northern Afghanistan, and Yaḥyā al-Barmakī's interest in medicine may have derived from no longer identifiable family tradition.[ 1]
Many of the early governors of the Caliphate were Barmakids. Khalid ibn Barmak built Mansura, Sindh and later Baghdad . His son was the governor of what is now Azerbaijan .
Muslim population in Central Asia
Distribution of Sunni , Shia , Quranist , Mahdavia /Ahmadiyya , Ibadi , and Nondenominational Muslim branches in Asia
The Registan and its three madrasahs, Samarkand , Uzbekistan
Country
Total Population
Muslim Percentage
Muslim Population
Kazakhstan
18,744,548
70.2%[ 2]
13,158,672
Kyrgyzstan
6,019,480
86.3%[ 3]
5,194,811
Tajikistan
8,734,951
98.0%[ 4]
8,560,251
Turkmenistan
5,851,466
93.3%
5,459,417
Uzbekistan
32,653,900
96.5%[ 5]
31,511,013
Central Asia
72,004,345
88.7%
63,884,165
Muslim population in East Asia
Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou , the oldest mosque in China
Country
Total Population
Muslim Percentage
Muslim Population
China
1,394,620,000
1.8–3.6%[ 6] [ 7] [ 8]
25,000,000–50,000,000
Hong Kong
7,448,900
4.1%
305,404
Macau
658,900
1.5%
10,000[ 9]
Japan
126,420,000
0.1%[ 10]
126,420
North Korea
25,610,672
0.4%
100,000
South Korea
51,635,256
0.2%
100,000
Mongolia
3,231,200
5.0%
161,560
Taiwan
23,577,488
0.3%
70,732
East Asia
1,633,202,416
3.13%
51,080,436
Muslim population in North Asia
The Nord Kamal Mosque in Norilsk , Russia is the northernmost mosque in the world
Country
Total Population
Muslim Percentage
Muslim Population
Russia
33,765,005
15%[ 11]
5,064,750
North Asia
33,765,005
15%
5,064,750
Muslim population in South Asia
The Badshahi Mosque in Lahore , Pakistan during Eid al-Fitr . It is the largest mosque in South Asia
Country
Total Population
Muslim Percentage
Muslim Population
Afghanistan
31,575,018
99.0%[ 12]
31,259,267
Bangladesh
165,000,000
90.4%
149,100,000
Bhutan
727,145
0.2%[ 13]
<10,000
India
1,338,270,000
14.2%[ 14]
194,600,000
Maldives
378,114
100%[ 15]
378,114
Nepal
29,218,867
4.4%
1,285,630
Pakistan
212,742,631
96.2%[ 16]
204,828,605
Sri Lanka
21,444,000
9.7%
2,080,068
South Asia
1,789,309,144
36.39%
651,090,456
Muslim population in Southeast Asia
File:Istiqlal Mosque Eid ul Fitr Jamaah 4.JPG Eid al-Fitr mass prayer in Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta , Indonesia, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia
Country
Total Population
Muslim Percentage
Muslim Population
Brunei
443,593
82.7%
366,851
Cambodia
16,204,486
1.9%[ 17]
312,540
East Timor
1,291,358
0.3%
4,000
Indonesia
260,580,739
87.2%
227,226,404
Laos
7,126,706
0.01%
8,000
Malaysia
31,381,992
61.3%
19,500,000
Myanmar
55,123,814
4.15%
2,300,000
Philippines
106,000,000
5–11.0%[ 18] [ 19] [ 20]
5,300,000–10,600,000
Singapore
5,888,926
15.0%
883,338
Thailand
68,414,135
5.0%
3,420,706
Vietnam
96,160,163
0.1%[ 21]
65,000
Southeast Asia
641,775,797
41.3%
264,786,839
Muslim population in West Asia
The Kaaba in Mecca , Saudi Arabia with pilgrims performing the Hajj
The Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad , Iran is the second-largest mosque in the world
Country
Total Population
Muslim Percentage
Muslim Population
Armenia
2,975,000
0.03%[ 22]
1,000
Azerbaijan
10,027,874
96.9%[ 23]
9,727,038
Bahrain
1,496,300
81.2%[ 24]
1,214,995
Cyprus
854,800
25.4%
217,119
Georgia
3,723,464
10.7%
463,062
Iran
81,871,500
99.4%
81,380,271
Iraq
39,339,753
98.0%[ 25]
38,552,957
Israel
8,930,680
17.7%
1,580,730
Jordan
10,261,300
94.0%
9,645,622
Kuwait
4,226,920
85.0%
3,592,882
Lebanon
6,093,509
54.0%
3,200,000
Oman
4,651,706
99.0%[ 26]
4,605,188
Palestine
4,816,503
93.0%,[ 27]
4,479,347
Qatar
2,561,643
77.5%[ 28]
1,985,273
Saudi Arabia
33,413,660
100.0%[ 29]
33,413,660
Syria
18,284,407
87.0%[ 30]
15,907,434
Turkey
80,810,525
99.8%[ 31]
80,648,903
United Arab Emirates
9,582,340
80.0%
7,665,872
Yemen
28,915,284
100.0%[ 32]
28,915,284
West Asia
352,837,168
93.26%
329,065,133
Current status
Islam is currently the largest religion in Asia (25%) followed by Hinduism .[ 33] The total number of Muslims in Asia in 2010 was about 1.1 billion. Asia is home to the largest Muslim population, with West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia being particularly important regions. 62% of the world's Muslims live in Asia, with Indonesia , Pakistan , India and Bangladesh having the four largest Muslim populations in the world. The spread of Islam outside of the Arabian peninsula and into other parts of the continent can be linked to the extensive trade routes connecting West Asia to China.
References
^ History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume 4, Part 2 By C. E. Bosworth, M.S. Asimov, page 300
^ "The results of the national population census in 2009" . Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan. 12 November 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2010 .
^ MAPPING THE GLOBAL MUSLIM POPULATION Archived 2011-05-19 at the Wayback Machine . A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Muslim Population. Pew Research Center . October 2009
^ "Tajikistan" . U.S. Department of State . Retrieved 14 February 2015 .
^ "The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010–2050" . Pew Research . Retrieved 2 April 2015 .
^ "East Asia/Southeast Asia :: China — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency" . www.cia.gov . Retrieved 14 December 2018 .
^ "China Religion Facts & Stats" . www.nationmaster.com . Retrieved 14 December 2018 .
^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | 2010 Report on International Religious Freedom - China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau)" . Refworld . Retrieved 2018-10-15 .
^ "MACAU DAILY TIMES - Being a Muslim in Macau: Indonesian community holds triple celebration" . 2013-10-16. Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2018-10-15 .
^ Editors. "From 2 Mosques to 200: Growth of Islam in Japan" . Muslim Ink . Retrieved 2018-10-15 .
^ "Book review: Russia's Muslim Heartlands reveals diverse population" , The National , 21 April 2018, retrieved 13 January 2019
^ "Afghanistan Religion | Afghanistan's Web Site" . www.afghanistans.com . Retrieved 2018-10-15 .
^ Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project: Bhutan . Pew Research Center . 2010.
^ "Muslim Population in India - Muslims in Indian States" . www.indiaonlinepages.com . Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017 .
^ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency" . www.cia.gov . Retrieved 2018-10-15 .
^ "Population by Religion" , Pakistan Bureau of Statistics , retrieved 2019-01-09
^ "East Asia/Southeast Asia :: Cambodia — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency" . www.cia.gov . Retrieved 14 December 2018 .
^ "Table 1.10; Household Population by Religious Affiliation and by Sex; 2010" (PDF) . 2015 Philippine Statistical Yearbook . East Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority : 1–30. October 2015. ISSN 0118-1564 . Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016 .
^ Philippines . 2013 Report on International Religious Freedom (Report). United States Department of State. July 28, 2014. SECTION I. RELIGIOUS DEMOGRAPHY. The 2000 survey states that Islam is the largest minority religion, constituting approximately 5 percent of the population. A 2012 estimate by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), however, states that there are 10.7 million Muslims, which is approximately 11 percent of the total population.
^ "Philippines" .
^ "Only Few Know Of The Cham Muslims – Vietnam's Isolated Islamic Community" , Mvslim , 2018-11-18, retrieved 2019-01-09
^ Miller, Tracy, ed. (October 2009), Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Muslim Population (PDF) , Pew Research Center , p. 31, archived from the original (PDF ) on 2009-10-10, retrieved 2009-10-08
^ "Mapping The Global Muslim Population" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011 .
^ "Bahrain Religion Facts & Stats" . www.nationmaster.com . Retrieved 2018-10-15 .
^ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency" . www.cia.gov . Retrieved 2018-10-18 .
^ "Oman Religion Facts & Stats" . www.nationmaster.com . Retrieved 2018-10-15 .
^ "Are all Palestinians Muslim?" . Institute for Middle East Understanding . Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014 .
^ "Qatar | The World Almanac of Islamism" . almanac.afpc.org . Retrieved 2018-10-15 .
^ "Saudi Arabia" . U.S. Department of State . Retrieved 2018-10-15 .
^ "Syria Religions - Demographics" . www.indexmundi.com . Retrieved 2018-10-15 .
^ "Turkey" . World Factbook . CIA . 2007.
^ "Yemen" . WikiShia . Retrieved 2018-10-18 .
^ [1] accessed April 3, 2012. Archived January 18, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
External links