Islam History of Islam Oneness of God Profession of Faith Prayer • Fasting Pilgrimage • Charity Muhammad Ali • Abu Bakr Companions of Muhammad Household of Muhammad Prophets of Islam Qur'an • Hadith • Sharia Jurisprudence Biographies of Muhammad Sunni • Shi'a • Sufi Art • Architecture Cities • Calendar Science • Philosophy Religious leaders Women in Islam P ...

Including:

Sunni Islam - Demographics Sunni Islam - Sunni schools of law Madhab Sunni Islam - Sunni theological traditions kalam Sunni Islam - Subsects within Sunni Islam Sunni Islam - Sunni view of hadith Sunni Islam - Current trends in Sunni thought and practice Sunni Islam - See Also

Read more here: » Sunni Islam: Encyclopedia - Sunni Islam

See also:

Sunni Islam, Sunni Islam - Demographics, Sunni Islam - Sunni schools of law Madhab, Sunni Islam - Sunni theological traditions kalam, Sunni Islam - Subsects within Sunni Islam, Sunni Islam - Sunni view of hadith, Sunni Islam - Current trends in Sunni thought and practice, Sunni Islam - See Also

Read more here: » Sunni Islam: Encyclopedia II - Sunni Islam - Sunni schools of law Madhab

There are some subdivisions within Sunnism. They fall mainly into two groups, the traditionalist or the reformationist. Hanafi: Barelvi/Traditional (The largest single Sunni body that considers the four madhabs, i.e. Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii and Hanbali, the two kalams, namely ash'ariyyah and maturidiyyah, and the four Sufi tariqas, namely Qadiri, Chishti, Naqshbandi, and Suhrawardi to be correct and valid; anti reformation & Wahabbism; call themselves simply Ahlussunah Wal Jamaah, as they claim to be the bearers of tra ...

See also:

Sunni Islam, Sunni Islam - Demographics, Sunni Islam - Sunni schools of law Madhab, Sunni Islam - Sunni theological traditions kalam, Sunni Islam - Subsects within Sunni Islam, Sunni Islam - Sunni view of hadith, Sunni Islam - Current trends in Sunni thought and practice, Sunni Islam - See Also

Read more here: » Sunni Islam: Encyclopedia II - Sunni Islam - Subsects within Sunni Islam

Islam History of Islam Oneness of God Profession of Faith Prayer • Fasting Pilgrimage • Charity Muhammad Ali • Abu Bakr Companions of Muhammad Household of Muhammad Prophets of Islam Qur'an • Hadith • Sharia Jurisprudence Biographies of Muhammad Sunni • Shi'a • Sufi Art • Architecture Cities • Calendar Science • Philosophy Religious leaders Women in Islam P ...

Including:

Shi'a Islam - Etymology Shi'a Islam - Introduction Shi'a Islam - Demographics of Shi'a Islam Shi'a Islam - Shi'a doctrines
Shi'a Islam - Main Shi'a doctrines Shi'a Islam - Additional doctrines
Shi'a Islam - The Shi'a denominations Shi'a Islam - Status of a Shi'a Imam Shi'a Islam - The role of religious scholars Shi'a Islam - Shi'a and Sunni traditions
Shi'a Islam - Collections of Hadiths from Shi'a sources include Shi'a Islam - Shi'a Hadith
Shi'a Islam - Religious calendar Shi'a Islam - History of the Shi'a
Shi'a Islam - Historical Shi'a-Sunni relations
Shi'a Islam - Major centers of Shi'a scholarship Shi'a Islam - Shi'a texts

Read more here: » Shi'a Islam: Encyclopedia - Shi'a Islam

See Demographics of Islam. Present estimates generally stem from the 1980s before or slightly after the Iran-Iraq War indicate that some 79% of the world's Muslims are Sunni and approximately 19% are Shi'a. One of the lingering problems in estimating the Shi'a population is that unless the Shi'a form a significant minority in a Muslim country, the entire population of it has been listed as Sunni. The reverse, however, has not been held true. This is c ...

See also:

Shi'a Islam, Shi'a Islam - Etymology, Shi'a Islam - Introduction, Shi'a Islam - Demographics of Shi'a Islam, Shi'a Islam - Shi'a doctrines, Shi'a Islam - Main Shi'a doctrines, Shi'a Islam - Additional doctrines, Shi'a Islam - The Shi'a denominations, Shi'a Islam - Status of a Shi'a Imam, Shi'a Islam - The role of religious scholars, Shi'a Islam - Shi'a and Sunni traditions, Shi'a Islam - Collections of Hadiths from Shi'a sources include, Shi'a Islam - Shi'a Hadith, Shi'a Islam - Religious calendar, Shi'a Islam - History of the Shi'a, Shi'a Islam - Historical Shi'a-Sunni relations, Shi'a Islam - Major centers of Shi'a scholarship, Shi'a Islam - Shi'a texts

Read more here: » Shi'a Islam: Encyclopedia II - Shi'a Islam - Demographics of Shi'a Islam

See Demographics of Islam. Present estimates generally stem from the 1980s before or slightly after the Iran-Iraq War indicate that some 79% of the world's Muslims are Sunni and approximately 19% are Shi'a. One of the lingering problems in estimating the Shi'a population is that unless the Shi'a form a significant minority in a Muslim country, the entire population of it has been listed as Sunni. The reverse, however, has not been held true. This is c ...

See also:

Shi'a Islam, Shi'a Islam - Etymology, Shi'a Islam - Introduction, Shi'a Islam - Demographics of Shi'a Islam, Shi'a Islam - Shi'a doctrines, Shi'a Islam - Main Shi'a doctrines, Shi'a Islam - Additional doctrines, Shi'a Islam - The Shi'a denominations, Shi'a Islam - Status of a Shi'a Imam, Shi'a Islam - The role of religious scholars, Shi'a Islam - Shi'a and Sunni traditions, Shi'a Islam - Collections of Hadiths from Shi'a sources include, Shi'a Islam - Religious calendar, Shi'a Islam - History of the Shi'a, Shi'a Islam - Historical Shi'a-Sunni relations, Shi'a Islam - Major centers of Shi'a scholarship, Shi'a Islam - Shi'a texts

Read more here: » Shi'a Islam: Encyclopedia II - Shi'a Islam - Demographics of Shi'a Islam

The Qur'an as we have it today was written down in approximately 650 A.D., and is accepted by all Muslim denominations. However, there were many matters of belief and daily life that were not directly prescribed in the Qur'an, but simply the practice of the community. Later generations sought out oral traditions regarding the early history of Islam, and the practice of Muhammad and his first followers, and wrote them down so that they might be preserved. These recorded oral traditions are called hadith. Muslim scholars sifted through ...

See also:

Sunni Islam, Sunni Islam - Demographics, Sunni Islam - Sunni schools of law Madhab, Sunni Islam - Sunni theological traditions kalam, Sunni Islam - Subsects within Sunni Islam, Sunni Islam - Sunni view of hadith, Sunni Islam - Current trends in Sunni thought and practice, Sunni Islam - See Also

Read more here: » Sunni Islam: Encyclopedia II - Sunni Islam - Sunni view of hadith

Present calculations indicate that some 90% of the world's Muslims are Sunni and approximately 10% are Shi'a, but the Shi'a are certainly undercounted. Further work is needed before these statistics are defensible. See Historic background of the Sunni-Shi'a split for details on the split between Sunni Islam and Shi'a Islam. ...

See also:

Sunni Islam, Sunni Islam - Demographics, Sunni Islam - Sunni schools of law Madhab, Sunni Islam - Sunni theological traditions kalam, Sunni Islam - Sunni view of hadith, Sunni Islam - Current trends in Sunni thought and practice

Read more here: » Sunni Islam: Encyclopedia II - Sunni Islam - Demographics

There are four Sunni schools of law: Hanafi (based on work of Abu Hanifa) Maliki (founded by Malik) Shafi'i (founded by Shafi'i, a student of Malik) Hanbali (founded by Ahmad bin Hanbal, a student of Shafi'i) A madhab is a particular tradition of interpreting Islamic law, or shari'a. The schools were started by eminent Muslim scholars in the first four centuries of Islam. Most Sunnis believe that there are no living jurists of the stature of the founders of the four madhabs. Contemporary scholars can comment on the traditions, but they cannot start new ones. ...

See also:

Sunni Islam, Sunni Islam - Demographics, Sunni Islam - Sunni schools of law Madhab, Sunni Islam - Sunni theological traditions kalam, Sunni Islam - Sunni view of hadith, Sunni Islam - Current trends in Sunni thought and practice

Read more here: » Sunni Islam: Encyclopedia II - Sunni Islam - Sunni schools of law Madhab

The Qur'an as we have it today was written down in approximately 650 A.D., and is accepted by all Muslim denominations. However, there were many matters of belief and daily life that were not directly prescribed in the Qur'an, but simply the practice of the community. Later generations sought out oral traditions regarding the early history of Islam, and the practice of Muhammad and his first followers, and wrote them down so that they might be preserved. These recorded oral traditions are called hadith. Muslim scholars sifted through ...

See also:

Sunni Islam, Sunni Islam - Demographics, Sunni Islam - Sunni schools of law Madhab, Sunni Islam - Sunni theological traditions kalam, Sunni Islam - Sunni view of hadith, Sunni Islam - Current trends in Sunni thought and practice

Read more here: » Sunni Islam: Encyclopedia II - Sunni Islam - Sunni view of hadith

The two main denominations of Islam are the Sunni and Shia sects. The difference between them is primarily in terms of how the life of the ummah ("faithful") should be governed, and the role of the imam. The overwhelming majority of Muslims in the world are Sunni. The Shi'a are a majority in Iraq (60%) and in Iran (89%). A more strictly traditional Shia regime maintains power in Iran, although a nominally Sunni minority held political power in Iraq up until the 2003 invasion of Iraq. There are other differences in Muslims practice their ...

See also:

Islamic world, Islamic world - Demographics, Islamic world - History, Islamic world - Important organizations, Islamic world - Main denominations of Islam, Islamic world - Islam in law and ethics, Islamic world - Islam in politics, Islamic world - Conflicts with Israel and the US, Islamic world - Growing polarization, Islamic world - Future

Read more here: » Islamic world: Encyclopedia II - Islamic world - Main denominations of Islam

In some nations, Muslim ethnic groups enjoy considerable autonomy. In some places, Muslims implement a form of Islamic law, called shariah in Arabic. The Islamic law exists in many variations, but the main forms are the five (four Sunni and one Shia) schools of jurisprudence (fiqh): the Hanafi school in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, West Africa, Egypt, the Maliki in North Africa and West Africa, the Shafi'i in Malaysia and Indonesia, the Hanbali in Arabia, and Jaf ...

See also:

Islamic world, Islamic world - Demographics, Islamic world - History, Islamic world - Important organizations, Islamic world - Main denominations of Islam, Islamic world - Islam in law and ethics, Islamic world - Islam in politics, Islamic world - Conflicts with Israel and the US, Islamic world - Growing polarization, Islamic world - Future

Read more here: » Islamic world: Encyclopedia II - Islamic world - Islam in law and ethics

Unlike the rest of Jammu and Kashmir which is mainly Islamic, a plurality of Ladakhis is Tibetan Buddhist (55%), with most of the rest being Shia Muslims (43%).[citation needed] Local Christians and some settled Hindu and Sikh families make up one percent of the population. Most Buddhists follow the tantric form of Buddhism known as Vajrayana Buddhism. The population following Islam are predominantly adhere to Shia form of Islam, principally among the related Balti. The people are generally of mixed Tibetan and Dard descent ...

See also:

Ladakh, Ladakh - History, Ladakh - Geography, Ladakh - Demographics, Ladakh - Economy, Ladakh - Transportation

Read more here: » Ladakh: Encyclopedia II - Ladakh - Demographics

Unlike the rest of Jammu and Kashmir which is mainly Islamic, a plurality of Ladakhis is Tibetan Buddhist (50%), with most of the rest being Shia Muslims (45%). Local Christians and some settled Hindu and Sikh families make up one percent of the population. Most Buddhists follow the tantric form of Buddhism known as Vajrayana Buddhism. The population following Islam are predominantly adhere to Shia form of Islam, principally among the related Balti. The people are generally of mixed Tibetan and Dard descent; the Balti are believed to have mo ...

See also:

Ladakh, Ladakh - History, Ladakh - Geography, Ladakh - Demographics, Ladakh - Economy, Ladakh - Transportation

Read more here: » Ladakh: Encyclopedia II - Ladakh - Demographics

Central Asia - Religions. Islam is the religion most common in the former Soviet Central Asian Republics, Afghanistan, Xinjiang and the peripheral western regions. Most Central Asian Muslims are Sunni, although Shia comprise the great majority in Azerbaijan, and in Afghanistan and Pakistan there are sizable Shia minorities. Tibetan Buddhism is most common in Tibet, Mongolia, and the southern Russian regions of Siberia, where Shamanism is also popular. Increasing Han Chinese migration westward since the establishm ...

See also:

Central Asia, Central Asia - Definitions, Central Asia - Geography, Central Asia - Climate, Central Asia - History, Central Asia - Geostrategy, Central Asia - Oil politics, Central Asia - War on Terror, Central Asia - Culture, Central Asia - Religions, Central Asia - Arts, Central Asia - Demographics, Central Asia - Languages

Read more here: » Central Asia: Encyclopedia II - Central Asia - Culture

With a population of 140,000 Kargil is the only Muslim majority district in the Ladakh subdivision, consisting about 88% of the district population (most of these following Shia Islam). Most of the district's Muslims are found in Kargil, Drass, Wakha and the lower Suru valley. The remainder 11% are followers of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, mostly found in Zanskar with small populations in the upper Suru valley (Rangdum) and around Shergol. Another 1 ...

See also:

Kargil District, Kargil District - Geography, Kargil District - Demographics, Kargil District - History, Kargil District - Kargil War

Read more here: » Kargil District: Encyclopedia II - Kargil District - Demographics

With a population of 140,000 Kargil is the only Muslim majority district in the Ladakh subdivision, consisting about 88% of the district population, of which 73% follow Shia Islam. Most of the district's Muslims are found in Kargil town, Drass, Wakha and the lower Suru valley. The remainder 11% are followers of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, mostly found in Zanskar with small populations in the upper Suru valley (Rangdum) and around Shergol and Mulbekh. Another 1 ...

See also:

Kargil District, Kargil District - Geography, Kargil District - Demographics, Kargil District - History, Kargil District - Kargil War

Read more here: » Kargil District: Encyclopedia II - Kargil District - Demographics

The tide of political Islam that swept the Middle East in the 1970s culminating in the Iranian Revolution in 1979 was to have profound implications for Bahrain's social and political development. There were a number of factors that had caused Bahrain to be more liberal than its neighbours, but all of these were challenged by the zeitgeist of religious fundamentalism. Bahrain's pluralist traditions were to a large extent a result of the complex confessional and demographic make up of the state, which required Shias, Sunnis, Persianized ...

See also:

History of Bahrain, History of Bahrain - The Dilmun Era, History of Bahrain - The arrival of Islam, History of Bahrain - Portuguese invasions and Persian influence, History of Bahrain - The Al Khalifa and the British Treaties, History of Bahrain - Independence and the constitutional experiment, History of Bahrain - The Iranian Revolution and social and political change, History of Bahrain - King Hamad and his reforms

Read more here: » History of Bahrain: Encyclopedia II - History of Bahrain - The Iranian Revolution and social and political change

Kurdish people - Islam. The majority of the Kurds are Sunni Muslims, belonging to the Shafi and Hanafi Schools of Islam. There is also a significant minority of Kurds that are Shia Muslims, and they primarily live in the Kermanshah and Ilam provinces of Iran and Central Iraq ("Al-Fayliah" Kurds). Another religious minority among the Kurds are the Alevi Shia Muslims, who are mainly found in Turkey. The remaining Kurds are either Christians, Kurdish Jews or Yezidis. ...

See also:

Kurdish people, Kurdish people - Historic roots of the Kurdish people, Kurdish people - Demographics, Kurdish people - Religion, Kurdish people - Islam, Kurdish people - Yazidism, Kurdish people - Judaism, Kurdish people - Language, Kurdish people - Kurds in Iraq, Kurdish people - Anfal genocidal campaign, Kurdish people - Kurds in Turkey, Kurdish people - Kurdish internally displaced people IDP in Turkey, Kurdish people - Leyla Zana, Kurdish people - PKK insurgency, Kurdish people - Kurds in Iran, Kurdish people - Kurds in Syria, Kurdish people - Kurds in Armenia, Kurdish people - Culture, Kurdish people - Renowned Kurdish individuals, Kurdish people - Kurdish governments, Kurdish people - Kurdish organisations, Kurdish people - Militant organizations

Read more here: » Kurdish people: Encyclopedia II - Kurdish people - Religion

Main article: Demographics of Yemen Unlike other people of the Arabian Peninsula who have historically been nomads or semi-nomads, Yemenis are almost entirely sedentary and live in small villages and towns scattered throughout the highlands and coastal regions. Yemenis are divided into two principal Islamic religious groups: the Shia Zaidi and Ismaili sects, found in the north and northwest, and the Shafa'i school of Sunni Muslims, found in the south and southeast. Yemenis are mainly of Semitic origin. Arabic is the offi ...

See also:

Yemen, Yemen - History, Yemen - Politics, Yemen - Governorates, Yemen - Geography, Yemen - Economy, Yemen - Foreign relations, Yemen - Demographics, Yemen - Languages, Yemen - Culture, Yemen - Holidays, Yemen - Miscellaneous topics

Read more here: » Yemen: Encyclopedia II - Yemen - Demographics