Muslims

Muslims
Jean-Léon Gérôme · Public domain · source
Name	Muslims
Main locations	Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, North America
Scriptures	Qur'an
Founder	Muhammad
Founded date	7th century
Languages	Arabic language, Persian language, Urdu language, Turkish language, Malay language, Swahili language

Muslims are adherents of the religion originating in 7th-century Mecca and centered on the revelation of the Qur'an to Muhammad. They form a global religious community with diverse linguistic, ethnic, and legal traditions linked to major historical centers such as Medina, Baghdad, Cairo, Cordoba, and Istanbul. Adherents participate in ritual, legal, and intellectual structures developed across regions including Persia, Al-Andalus, Ottoman Empire, and the Mughal Empire.

Etymology and Definition

The term derives from the Arabic word meaning "one who submits" associated with submission to God as articulated in the Qur'an and in the teachings of Muhammad. Classical definitions appear in legal and theological works produced in Kufa, Basra, Damascus, and later in Cairo and Istanbul, while modern definitions have been shaped by interactions with European Union law, United Nations documents, and national statutes in countries such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Debates about identity have engaged scholars in centers like Al-Azhar University, Dar al-Ulum, and universities including Oxford University and Aligarh Muslim University.

Demographics and Distribution

Major concentrations occur in Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Egypt, with significant communities in Iran, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, Iraq, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States. Migration, colonization, and conversion linked to events such as the Arab diaspora, the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, and labor movements to Western Europe have produced sizable diasporas in cities like Paris, London, New York City, and Toronto. Census and survey work by organizations including Pew Research Center and national statistical offices in Indonesia and Nigeria map growth trajectories and age distributions across regions.

Beliefs and Practices

Core beliefs center on the oneness of God as articulated in the Shahada and recorded in the Qur'an, complemented by the prophetic mission of Muhammad and texts including the Hadith collections such as those compiled by al-Bukhari and Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj. Ritual practices include the five acts traditionally enumerated—Salah, Sawm, Zakat, Shahada, and Hajj—performed in locales such as the Kaaba in Mecca and the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina. Legal and ethical life draws on jurisprudential schools like the Hanafi school, Maliki school, Shafi'i school, and Hanbali school as well as the Ja'fari jurisprudence among Twelver communities. Scholarship from institutions including Al-Azhar University, Zaytuna College, and Qom shapes exegetical and jurisprudential debates.

History

Early expansion followed the death of Muhammad and involved the Rashidun caliphs operating from Medina and the Umayyad dynasty based in Damascus, later succeeded by the Abbasid Caliphate centered in Baghdad. Medieval intellectual and political developments took place under dynasties such as the Fatimid Caliphate, Ayyubid dynasty, Seljuk Empire, Ottoman Empire, and regional states including the Safavid dynasty and the Mughal Empire. Cultural florescence is visible in institutions like the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, the libraries of Córdoba, and the madrasas of Samarkand. Encounters with European colonialism reshaped political structures across Algeria, India, Egypt, and Indonesia, while 20th-century events including the end of the Ottoman Empire, the creation of nation-states like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and conflicts such as the Arab–Israeli conflict and the Iran–Iraq War have shaped modern trajectories.

Sects and Denominations

Major branches include Sunni communities associated with schools like Hanafi school and Shafi'i school and Shia communities including Twelver Shia Islam and Ismaili groups; other movements include Sufism with orders such as the Qadiriyya and Naqshbandi, reformist currents like the Wahhabi movement and Salafi movement, and modern organizations including the Muslim Brotherhood and political parties across Pakistan and Turkey. Minority movements and community forms appear among groups like the Ahmadiyya and the Druze in specific national contexts such as Pakistan and Lebanon.

Culture and Society

Artistic, intellectual, and social life has produced architecture exemplified by the Alhambra, Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Great Mosque of Córdoba, and the Shah Mosque; literary contributions span poets and writers from Rumi and Ibn Arabi to Al-Maʿarri and Naguib Mahfouz. Scientific and philosophical work occurred in figures like Ibn Sina, Alhazen, Al-Farabi, and Ibn Khaldun and institutions such as the House of Wisdom. Culinary, legal, and family practices vary regionally across settings like Morocco, Indonesia, Iran, and Turkey, with community organizations and charities active through institutions including Zakat Foundation branches and local waqf structures. Festivals such as Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha mark religious calendars tied to pilgrimage cycles centered on Mecca.

Contemporary Issues and Diversity

Contemporary discussions address pluralism, secularism, religious reform, human rights, and political participation in national contexts like France with its laïcité policies, Turkey with debates over Kemalism, Iran with Islamic Revolution legacies, and Pakistan with constitutional frameworks. Global networks and NGOs, academic centers at Harvard University and SOAS University of London, and media outlets in Cairo and Istanbul participate in debates on migration, counterterrorism policies following events like the September 11 attacks, Islamophobia in Europe, and interfaith initiatives involving the Vatican and United Nations dialogues. Diversity across ethnicities, jurisprudential schools, and cultural practices underscores varied responses to globalization, digital media, and youth movements in cities such as Jakarta, Lagos, and Karachi.

Category:Islam