Islam

Percentage of Muslims by country

Islam is an Abrahamic and monotheistic religion based on the teachings of Muhammad and the writings contained in the Quran. It is the major religion of up to 49 countries in the northern part of the African continent, West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, with the majority of Muslims located in Asia. It shares many features with Judaism and Christianity such as the prophets Abraham and Moses. There are about 1.9 billion Muslims in the world, making it the world's second largest religion after Christianity.

History

Prophet Muhammad

Muhammad (whom Muslims address alongside the words "Peace be upon him") was a well-known community figure and merchant who received a revelation from Allah (God). Allah (pronounced All-LAH, not AL-luh) told the Prophet to encourage the people of Makkah (a Bedouin trade-city located in what is now Saudi Arabia) to follow God's commandments and dedicate themselves towards Islam, the submission to one, inseparable God.

Pre-Islamic Makkah boasted a collection of idols, numbering 360+, that served significant financial and political purposes. The idols attracted numerous tourists and pilgrims, with visitors engaging in trade, dissemination of literature, and financial payment to its idols (carved, molded sculptures representing various roles of polytheistic divinity) for the promise of divine protection and financial stability.

The Prophet's teachings attracted widespread attention from Makkah's inhabitants, many of whom joined his religious movement and left the existing cultural and religious establishments that dominated Makkah. This threatened the political legitimacy of the city's ruling power structures, causing the elite of Makkah to launch a smear campaign against the Prophet and his followers, decrying the Prophet as "bewitched." Violence by a number of Makkah's non-Muslim populace against Muslims were frequent.

The violence and discrimination that befell the Muslims of Makkah forced them to flee the city in search of religious and political asylum. This pilgrimage was called the Hijrah. They established a town called Medina and worked towards the economic, diplomatic, and military development of the Islamic movement into a cohesive political force capable of effectively defending its practitioners.

After a series of engagements with Makkan troops, known as the tribe of Quraysh, the Muslims emerged victorious, returning to Makkah to destroy the idols that rested in the Kaaba, which Muslims believe was previously established by the Prophet Ibrahim (whom which Muslims also say "Peace be upon him") as a house of worship towards Allah.

In the years after, Islam's influence grew stronger, with the state of the Islamic "Ummah" (meaning people in Arabic) taking control of nearly the entire Arabian peninsula by the time of the Prophet's death, setting a foundational precedent for the rise of the influential Islamic Empire and Dar al-Islam (Islamic cultural and political world).

Impact of Islam's Expansion on a Political Basis

The advent of Islam represented a significant shift in the cultural superstructure of class society, many principles of which were socially-progressive for the time. Examples include expanded protections for marginalized cultural groups, state-sponsored religious pluralism, and tightened regulations on the exploitation and treatment of the enslaved. The practice of these principles, however, varied according to the cultural, political, and economic contexts of Islam's diverse practicing demographic.

Rashidun Caliphate

Muhammad's first two successors, Abu Bakr and Umar, directed their armies against the Persian and Byzantine empires, who had already been weakened by massive wars. Islam quickly spread, with Muslims conquering Damascus (Syria), Ctesiphon (Iraq), Cairo, and Alexandria (Egypt) by 642. Their use of camels allowed them to easily travel across deserts and ambush larger armies. Muslim rulers tolerated previous religions such as Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, although many of their followers converted. Muslim rule usually increased quality of life as taxes were lowered and landlords fled. The second, third, and fourth caliphs (Umar, Uthman, and Ali) were all murdered, and Mu'awiya took power in 661 following a civil war and founded the Umayyad Caliphate.

Umayyad Caliphate

The Umayyads took power in 661 and held power for a century while developing strong literature, art, and agriculture. They conquered Kabul in what is now Afghanistan in 664. Their armies quickly crossed North Africa and invaded the Iberian Peninsula, which they fully controlled by 711.

Abbasid Caliphate

In 750, Abu al-Abbas led a revolution against the Umayyads and established the Abbasid Caliphate.

Divisions

Sunni and Shia

The Sunni-Shia divide stems from a 7th-century dispute over leadership succession following the death of Prophet Muhammad in 632 CE. Shia Muslims assert that leadership rightfully belonged to Ali ibn Abi Talib (Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law) and his descendants, whom they revere as divinely appointed and infallible Imams. Central to Shia practice is the annual commemoration of the martyrdom of Ali’s son Husayn ibn Ali at the Battle of Karbala (680 CE).

Sunni Muslims acknowledge Ali as the fourth and final Rashidun (‘Rightly Guided’) caliph but accept the legitimacy of earlier caliphs, including Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman. While Sunnis recognize Mu’awiya I (founder of the Umayyad Caliphate) as a historical ruler, they do not endorse him religiously, viewing conflicts such as the First Fitna (656–661 CE) between Ali and Mu’awiya as political rather than theological disputes. Modern Shias maintain devotion to the Imams as core to their identity, whereas Sunnis regard Ali as a respected early leader and Mu’awiya neutrally within the broader context of Islamic history.

Wahhabism

Wahhabism is a reactionary form of Islam created by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab in the 18th century in central Arabia. It seeks to return to the conditions of the seventh century and is supported by the Saudi monarchy.