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Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraham (or Allah) as it was revealed to Muhammad, the last Islamic prophet. Alongside the Quran, Muslims also believe in previous revelations, such as the Tawrat (Torah), the Zabur (Psalms), and the Injeel (Gospel). These earlier revelations are associated with Judaism and Christianity, which are regarded by Muslims as earlier versions of Islam. The majority of Muslims also follow the teachings and practices attributed to Muhammad ( sunnah) as recorded in traditional accounts (hadith).
With an estimated population of almost 2 billion followers, Muslims comprise around 26% of the world's total population. In descending order, the percentage of people who identify as Muslims on each continental landmass stands at: 45% of Africa, 25% of Asia and Oceania collectively, 6% of Europe, and 1% of the Americas. Additionally, in subdivided geographical regions, the figure stands at: 91% of the Middle East–North Africa, 90% of Central Asia, 65% of the Caucasus, 42% of Southeast Asia, 32% of South Asia, and 42% of sub-Saharan Africa.
While there are several Islamic schools and branches, as well as non-denominational Muslims, the two largest denominations are Sunni Islam (87–90% of all Muslims)*
and Shia Islam (10–13% of all Muslims). By sheer numbers, South Asia accounts for the largest portion (31%) of the global Muslim population. (2025). 9780415448512, Routledge. ISBN 9780415448512 By country, Indonesia is the largest in the Muslim world, holding around 12% of all Muslims worldwide; with Pakistan having the second largest number of Muslims in the world after Indonesia. Outside of the Muslim-majority countries, India and China are home to the largest (11%) and second-largest (2%) Muslim populations, respectively. Due to high Muslim population growth, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. Muslims have experienced persecution of varying severity, especially in China, India, some parts of Africa, and Southeast Asia.
The ordinary word in English is "Muslim". For most of the 20th century, the preferred spelling in English was "Moslem", but this has now fallen into disuse. That spelling and its pronunciation was opposed by many Muslims in English-speaking countries because it resembled the Arabic word aẓ-ẓālim (الظَّالِم), meaning "the oppressor".Baker, Paul, Costas Gabrielatos, and Tony McEnery. "Muslim or Moslem? Differences between newspapers: Vanishing Moslems", Discourse Analysis and Media Attitudes: The Representation of Islam in the British Press, Cambridge University Press, 2013, pages 76-78. In the United States, the Associated Press instructed news outlets to switch to the spelling "Muslim" in 1991, making it the most common spelling thereafter. "Term 'Moslem' becomes 'Muslim', San Angelo Standard-Times, 1 January 1991, page 11A, via Newspapers.com. See also Newspapers.com search results for the word "Moslem", which show a sharp decline immediately after the AP's decision.Chen, Yii-Ann Christine. "Why Do People Say Muslim Now Instead of Moslem?", History News Network, 8 July 2002, Web. Retrieved 18 May 2024. The last major newspaper in the United Kingdom to use the spelling "Moslem" was the Daily Mail, which switched to "Muslim" in 2004.
The word Mosalman or Mussulman or Musulman (, alternatively musalmān) is a common equivalent for Muslim used in Central Asia and South Asia. In English it was sometimes spelled Mussulman and has become Archaism in usage; however, cognates of this word remain the standard term for "Muslim" in various other European languages. Until at least the mid-1960s, many English-language writers used the term or Mahometans.See for instance the second edition of A Dictionary of Modern English Usage by H. W. Fowler, revised by Ernest Gowers (Oxford, 1965). Although such terms were not necessarily intended to be pejorative, Muslims argue that the terms are offensive because they allegedly imply that Muslims worship Muhammad rather than God. Other obsolete terms include Muslimite and Muslimist. In medieval Europe, Muslims were commonly called Saracens.
The Muslim philologist Ibn al-Anbari said:
In several places in the Quran, the word muslim conveys a universal meaning, beyond the description of the followers of Muhammad, for example:Seyyed Hossein Nasr (2015), The Study Quran, HarperCollins, footnote p. 146
Quranic studies scholar Mohsen Goudarzi has argued that in the Quran the word dīn means "worship", the islām means "monotheism" and the muslim means "monotheist".
Until the 8th century, the term muslim was more inclusive, including anyone who was considered to be submitting to God (e.g. Christians and Jews), and the term mu'min was instead used to refer to believers in Islam as a distinct religion.
In Sunni Islam, the shahada has two parts: la ilaha illa'llah (there is no god but Allah), and Muhammadun rasul Allah (Muhammad is the messenger of God),Lindsay, p. 140–141 which are sometimes referred to as the first shahada and the second shahada.Cornell, p. 9 The first statement of the shahada is also known as the tahlil.
In Shia Islam, the shahada also has a third part, a phrase concerning Ali, the first Shia Imam and the fourth Rashidun of Sunni Islam: وعليٌّ وليُّ الله (), which translates to "Ali is the wali of God". The Later Mughals by William Irvine p. 130
In Quranism, the shahada is the testimony that there is no god but Allah ( la ilaha illa'llah).
The religious practices of Muslims are enumerated in the Five Pillars of Islam: the declaration of faith ( shahadah), daily prayers ( salat), almsgiving ( zakat), fasting during the month of Ramadan ( sawm), and the pilgrimage to Mecca ( hajj) at least once in a lifetime.
When asked about one's beliefs, it is recommended to say the Inshallah, for example, " in-sha'allah I am Muslim a believer" (so God will, I am Muslim), since only God knows the future of a person. Among Asharites, it is also seen as a sign of humility and the individual's longing to improve, because the creature has no assurance of their own state (of belief) until the end of life.Watt, W. Montgomery. "A Commentary on the Creed of Islam: al-Taftazani on the Creed of al-Nasafi. Translated, with introduction and notes, by Earl Edgar Elder, pp. xxxii+ 187. New York: Columbia University Press (London: Geoffrey Cumberlege). 1950. 30s." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 83.1-2 (1951): 129-129.
The Qur'an describes many prophets and messengers within Judaism and Christianity, and their respective followers, as Muslim. Some of those that were mentioned are: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Jacob, Moses, and Jesus and his apostles are all considered to be Muslims in the Qur'an. The Qur'an states that these men were Muslims because they submitted to God, preached His message and upheld His values, which included praying, charity, fasting and pilgrimage. Thus, in Surah 3:52 of the Qur'an, Jesus' disciples tell him, "We believe in God; and you be our witness that we are Muslims ( wa-shahad be anna muslimūn)." In Islamic belief, before the Qur'an, God had given the Tawrat (Torah) to the prophets and messengers among the Israelites, the Zabur (Psalms) to David and the Injil (Gospel) to Jesus, who are all considered important Muslim prophets.
Over 87–90% of Muslims are Sunni. The second largest sect, Shia, make up 10–13%, whereas other movements such as the Ahmadiyya, Quranism, Ibadism, collectively count for 1% per cent. While the majority of the population in the Middle East identify as either Sunni or Shia, a significant number of Muslims identify as non-denominational.
With about 1.8 billion followers (2015), almost a quarter of world population, Islam is the second-largest and the fastest-growing religion in the world, primarily due to the young age and high fertility rate of Muslims, with Muslims having a rate of 3.1 compared to the world average of 2.5. According to the same study, religious switching has no impact on Muslim population, since the number of people who embrace Islam and those who leave Islam are roughly equal. According to a 2020 Pew study, about 1% of adults raised Muslim leave the faith, while a similar share convert to Islam, resulting in low levels of religious switching both into and out of Islam.
As of 2010, 49 countries in the world had Muslim majorities, in which Muslims comprised more than 50% of the population. In 2010, 74.1% of the world's Muslim population lived in countries where Muslims are in the majority, while 25.9% of the world's Muslim population lived in countries where Muslims are in the minority. A Pew Center study in 2010 found that 3% of the world's Muslim population lives in non-Muslim-majority developed countries. India's Muslim population is the world's largest Muslim-minority population in the world (11% of the world's Muslim population). Followed by Ethiopia (28 million), China (22 million), Russia (16 million) and Tanzania (13 million). Sizable minorities are also found in the Americas (5.2 million or 0.6%), Australia (714,000 or 1.9%) and parts of Europe (44 million or 6%). According to a 2020 Pew study, 79% of the world’s Muslim population live in Muslim-majority countries, while 21% reside in countries where Muslims are a minority.
A Pew Center study in 2016 found that Muslims have the highest number of adherents under the age of 15 (34% of the total Muslim population) of any major religion, while only 7% are aged 60+ (the smallest percentage of any major religion). According to the same study, Muslims have the highest (3.1) of any major religious group. The study also found that Muslims (tied with Hindus) have the lowest average levels of education with an average of 5.6 years of schooling, though both groups have made the largest gains in educational attainment in recent decades among major religions. About 36% of all Muslims have no formal schooling, and Muslims have the lowest average levels of higher education of any major religious group, with only 8% having Academic degree and post-graduate degrees.
Qualifier
To become a Muslim and to convert to Islam, it is essential to utter the Shahada in front of Muslim witnesses,Galonnier, Juliette. "Moving In or Moving Toward? Reconceptualizing Conversion to Islam as a Liminal Process1." Moving in and out of Islam. University of Texas Press, 2018. 44-66.
one of the Five Pillars of Islam, a declaration of faith and trust that professes that there is tawhid God (Allah) and that Muhammad is God's messenger. It is a set statement normally recited in Arabic: ašhadu ʾan-lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāhu wa ʾašhadu ʾanna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh (أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمداً رسول الله) "I testify that there is no god worthy except Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."
In Islamic theology
The majority of theological traditions of Islam accept that works do not determine if someone is a Muslim or not. God alone would know about the belief of a person. Fellow Muslims can only accept the personal declaration of faith. Only the Kharijites developed an understanding of Muslim identity based mainly on the adherence to liturgical and legal norms.Johansen, Baber. Contingency in a sacred law: legal and ethical norms in the Muslim fiqh. Vol. 7. Brill, 1999.
Demographics
According to Pew estimates, as of 2020, Muslims made up about 25.6% of the global population, or roughly 2 billion people. The growth is mainly due to Muslims having a younger average age and higher birth rates—two key drivers of natural population increase. The most populous Muslim-majority country is Indonesia, home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims, followed by Pakistan (11.0%), Bangladesh (9.2%), Nigeria (5.3%) and Egypt (4.9%). About 20% of the world's Muslims live in the Middle East and North Africa. Non-majority India contains 10.9% of the world's Muslims. and Arab Muslims form the largest ethnic group among Muslims in the world,Margaret Kleffner Nydell Understanding Arabs: A Guide For Modern Times, Intercultural Press, 2005, , page xxiii, 14 followed by Bengali Muslims, and Punjabi Muslims..
Culture
Muslim culture or Islamic culture are terms used to describe the cultural practices common to Muslims and historically Islamic people. The early forms of Muslim culture, from the Rashidun Caliphate to early Umayyad period, were predominantly Arab, Byzantine, Persians and . With the rapid expansion of the Arab Caliphate, Muslim culture has influenced and assimilated much from the , Pakistanis (Punjabi Muslims, Pashtuns, Baloch people Kashmiri Muslims, Sindhis), Hindustani, Bengalis, , Egyptian culture, Persian culture, Turkic people, Caucasus, Malay people, Somali people, Berber people, and Moro people cultures.
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