Assignment No 1

Topic
Muslims Population in World Countries
Submitted by
Dr Muhammad Miandad
Submitted to
Amna Shafqat 001
Nimra Fatima 004
Dua e Zahra 021
Rabia Kanval 012
Saddiqa 040
Asma Tanveer 044

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Contents
1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 4

1.1 In order to know humanity ........................................................................................... 5

1.2 Building character .......................................................................................................... 6

2 To break down barriers held against Muslims ................................................................... 6

3 To better know other cultures and faiths ............................................................................ 6

4 Spreading Islam ..................................................................................................................... 7

5 To obtain knowledge ............................................................................................................. 7

6 To foster gratitude ................................................................................................................. 8

7 Become close to Muslims living in non-Muslim friendly places ........................................ 8

8 Living as Majorities and Minorities..................................................................................... 8

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1 Introduction
The word Islam means voluntary “Submission” or “Surrender” to the Will of God. It derives from
the root word “salam,” meaning peace. In the Quran, God defines that the only determination for
which He created mankind is to Worship Him. Islam knows that humankind has free choice in
whether to obey or disobey God, but eventually we will be held accountable to God in the next life
for the choices that we make in this life. Islam is a natural way of life that inspires one to give due
attention to their relationship with God and His creation. Islam teaches that it is through the doing
of good deeds and seeking the pleasure of God that souls find true happiness and peace. It is in
this context that the word Islam derives from the root word “salam,” or peace. A complete
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.
While Muslims are found on all five inhabited continents, more than 60% of the global Muslim
population is in Asia and about 20% is in the Middle East and North Africa. However, the Middle
East-North Africa region has the highest percentage of Muslim-majority countries. Indeed, more
than half of the 20 countries and territories in that region have populations that are roughly 95%
Muslim or greater. More than 300 million Muslims, or one-fifth of the world’s Muslim population,
live in countries where Islam is not the majority religion. These minority Muslim populations are
often quite large. India, for example, has the third-largest population of Muslims worldwide. China
has more Muslims than Syria, while Russia is home to more Muslims than Jordan and Libya
combined. Of the total Muslim population, 10-13% are Shia Muslims and 87-90% are Sunni
Muslims. Most Shias (between 68% and 80%) live in just four countries: Iran, Pakistan, India and
Iraq.

Before published approximations of the size of the global Muslim population have ranged widely,
from 1 billion to 1.8 billion. But these commonly quoted estimates often have appeared without
citations to specific sources or clarifications of how the figures were generated. The pew Forum
report is based on the best available data for 232 countries and territories. Pew Forum researchers,
in discussion with nearly 50 demographers and social scientists at universities and research centers
around the world, acquired and analyzed 1,500 sources, including census reports, demographic
studies and general population surveys, to arrive at these figures the largest project of its kind to
date.

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The Pew Forum’s estimate of the Shia population (10-13%) is in keeping with previous
estimations, which generally have been in the range of 10-15%. Some previous estimates,
however, have placed the number of Shias at nearly 20% of the world’s Muslim
population. Readers should bear in mind that the figures given in this report for the Sunni and Shia
populations are less precise than the figures for the overall Muslim population. Data on religious
association have been occasionally collected or, in many countries, not collected at all. Therefore,
the Sunni and Shia numbers reported here are expressed as broad ranges and should be treated as
estimated.
These findings on the world Muslim population lay the foundation for a approaching study by the
Pew Forum, scheduled to be released in 2010, that will estimate growth rates among Muslim
populations worldwide and project Muslim populations into the future. The Pew Forum plans to
launch a similar study of global Christianity in 2010 as well. The Pew Forum also plans to conduct
in-depth public belief surveys on the connection of religion and public life around the world,
starting with a 19-country survey of sub-Saharan Africa scheduled to be released later this year.
These forthcoming studies are part of a larger effort the Global Religious Futures Project, jointly
funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation that aims to increase
people’s understanding of religion around the world.
The reasons people should travel to non-Muslim friendly countries at least once in your life.
1.1 In order to know humanity
The first, the most important reason to travel to non-Muslim friendly countries is to learn about
other people and cultures. This itself is a Quranic order, as Allah says,
“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and
tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is
the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.” (49:13)

As Allah highlights in this verse, there is divine wisdom in the variety of nations and cultures that
constitute humanity. By travelling to strange and foreign lands not only do we learn about our
differences, but also about our resemblances. In doing so we begin to recognise the fact that we
are all part of the same human family.

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1.2 Building character

Travel is not always easy and at times you will feel completely out of your luxury zone, this can
be particularly true when travelling to non-Muslim friendly countries where many things we may
have taken for approved in our own homes will be missing. For example, it might be difficult to
find halal food or prayer spaces may be in short supply and we will have to fight to maintain
aspects of our deen that are easy to fulfil back home. With these struggles however also comes
chances, as Allah says,

“For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease.” (94:5).

Any fights we go through will, with tolerance, finally be followed by ease. Furthermore, it is often
through our struggles that we grow as entities. The reality of this is that not only are we growing
as entities through these struggles, but we are also growing closer to Allah through them. As Allah
states,

“And those who strive in Our cause, we will surely guide them to Our paths.” (29:69).

2 To break down barriers held against Muslims

A reason Muslims should travel to Non-Muslim-friendly lands is to break down stereotypes that
other cultures have about Islam. By travelling to distant lands, Muslims may encounter people who
have perceptions about Islam having never engaged with a Muslim in their lives. Through our
interactions with non-Muslims we can offer people a different picture of Islam other than the one
many are exposed to through the mainstream media. By engaging with real human beings, non-
Muslims will unavoidably begin to see Muslims as humans, rather than headlines.

3 To better know other cultures and faiths

An equally important reason, related to the point above, for Muslims to travel to non-Muslim
countries is to break down fences and prejudgments we ourselves may have surrounding other
cultures, peoples and faith. As Muslims, we have to be thoughtful and understand that like other
people’s views towards Islam, we may have our own prejudices and misapprehensions surrounding
foreign cultures and religions. Thus, travelling to countries with large Christian populations for

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example, can dispel some of the prejudgments we ourselves may hold towards people of other
faiths and we may in fact come to find that our similarities outweigh our differences. As the Quran
says,

“and you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, “We are
Christians.” That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not
arrogant.” (5:82)

4 Diffusion of Islam

A further inspiration for traveling to non-Muslim countries is the potential to engage in Da’wah
with people who may have never heard the message of Islam. As Allah commands us in the Qur’an,

“Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in
a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and
He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided.” (16:125)

Simply through your presence in non-Muslim lands can you be an personification of the truth many
people in this world are still yet to hear and are looking to find.

5 To obtain knowledge

A reason for travelling to Non-Muslim-friendly countries is to seek knowledge. This is reliable

with a popular Muslim saying,

“to seek knowledge even if it be in China”.

During the early period of Islam, China was a centre known for subjects such as medicine,
literature and technology. Thus, travelling in search of knowledge here does not refer to in search
of religious knowledge, but rather to benefit from the knowledge of other cultures, which may be
in a variability of fields. A further principle here is one that highlights the status of seeking
knowledge in this deen. China here is referenced due to its distance, foreignness and apparent
strangeness to the early Muslim community. The value of seeking knowledge means Muslims
should be ready to travel anywhere in order to seek it, including Non-Muslim-friendly lands.

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6 To foster gratitude

A significance of travelling to non-Muslim lands is that you’d come to rise what you have. In Non-
Muslim-friendly countries you have to struggle to fulfil basic aspects of your faith. For example,
finding a place to eat halal food or to pray becomes a real struggle. An importance of this is that we
come to rise the things we may take for granted living in Muslim or Muslim-friendly countries.
By showing appreciation, we also gain Allah’s favour, as he states in Surah Ibrahim

“If you are grateful, I will surely give you more and more” (14:7).

7 Become close to Muslims living in non-Muslim friendly places

As a Muslim who lives in a non-Muslim country, I can testify the extra closeness one feels to other
Muslims in such a context. While the major cities in the UK are full of Muslims, such as London
and Birmingham, the more remote parts of the UK, such as Cornwall where I live, have very few
Muslims within them. The state I live in has one mosque which is a 2-hour drive away and there
are no Muslims living in the town I live in apart from me and my wife. What this has taught me is
the closeness you feel to other Muslims when you are living apart from them. When a Muslim
comes to visit our town, you can feel the close and instant linking you have on account of your
shared faith. This is a blessing from Allah and one you only come to realize when you find yourself
travelling in a land where there are not many of your fellow Muslims around.

8 Living as Majorities and Minorities

While 80% of the world’s Muslims live in countries where Muslims are in the majority, significant
numbers about one-fifth of the world’s Muslim population live as religious minorities in their
home countries. Of the roughly 317 million Muslims living as minorities, about 240 million about
three-quarters live in five countries: India (161 million), Ethiopia (28 million), China (22 million),
Russia (16 million) and Tanzania (13 million). Two of the 10 countries with the largest number of
Muslims living as minorities are in Europe: Russia (16 million) and Germany (4 million).These
minority populations are often quite large. For example, India, a Hindu-majority country, has the
third-largest population of Muslims worldwide. The Muslim population of Ethiopia is about as
large as that of Afghanistan. China has more Muslims than Syria; Russia is home to more Muslims
than Jordan and Libya joint and Germany has more Muslims than Lebanon.

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Reference

www.pewforum.org/muslims projectionstables

www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-largest-muslim-populations.html

www.halaltrip.com/other/blog/muslim-friendly-destinations

www..wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslims