Islam in Asia

Islam in Asia began in the 7th century during the lifetime of Muhammad. In 2010, the total number of Muslims in Asia was about 1.1 billion. About 62% of the world's Muslims live in Asia, with Indonesia, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh having the largest Muslim populations in the world. Asia is home to the largest Muslim population, with West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia being particularly important regions. A number of adherents of Islam have lived in Asia especially in West Asia and South Asia since the beginning of Islamic history. According to Pew in 2009 Islam was the largest religion in Asia (25%) followed by Hinduism.[1]

Islam by country
Islam portal

History

The spread of Islam outside of the Arabian peninsula and into other parts of the continent can be linked to the extensive trade routes connecting West Asia to China.

The Barmakid family was an early supporter of the Abbasid Revolution against the Umayyads and of As-Saffah. This gave Khalid ibn Barmak considerable influence, and his son Yaḥyā ibn Khālid (d. 806) was the vizier of the caliph al-Mahdi (ruled 775–785) and tutor of Hārūn ar-Rashīd (ruled 786–809). Yaḥyā's sons al-Faḍl and Ja'far (767–803) both occupied high offices under Harun. Many Barmakids were patrons of the sciences, which greatly helped the propagation of Indian science and scholarship from the neighboring Academy of Gundishapur into the Arabic world. They patronized scholars such as Gebir and Jabril ibn Bukhtishu. They are also credited with the establishment of the first paper mill in Baghdad. The power of the Barmakids in those times is reflected in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights; the vizier Ja'far appears in several stories, as well as a tale that gave rise to the expression “Barmecide feast”.

We know of Yaḥyā ibn Khālid al-Barmakī (d. 805 CE) as a patron of physicians and, specifically, of the translation of Hindu medical works into both Arabic and Persian. In all likelihood, however, his activity took place in the orbit of the caliphal court in Iraq, where at the behest of Hārūn ar-Rashīd (786–809), such books were translated into Arabic. Thus Khurāsān and Transoxiana were effectively bypassed in this transfer of learning from India to Islam, even though, undeniably the Barmakī's cultural outlook owed something to their land of origin, northern Afghanistan, and Yaḥyā al-Barmakī's interest in medicine may have derived from no longer identifiable family tradition.[2]

Many of the early governors of the Caliphate were Barmakids. Khalid ibn Barmak built Mansura, Sindh and later Baghdad. His son was the governor of what is now Azerbaijan.

Regionally

Islam in Central Asia
Main article: Islam in Central Asia
Distribution of Sunni, Shia, Quranist, Mahdavia/Ahmadiyya, Ibadi, and Nondenominational Muslim branches in Asia
The Registan and its three madrasahs, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Country Total Population Muslim Percentage Muslim Population
 Kazakhstan 18,744,548 70.2%[3] 13,158,672
 Kyrgyzstan 6,019,480 86.3%[4] 5,194,811
 Tajikistan 8,734,951 98.0%[5] 8,560,251
 Turkmenistan 5,851,466 93.3% 5,459,417
 Uzbekistan 32,653,900 96.5%[6] 31,511,013
Central Asia 72,004,345 88.7% 63,884,165

Islam in East Asia
Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou, the oldest mosque in China
Country Total Population Muslim Percentage Muslim Population
 China 1,394,620,000 1.8–3.6%[7][8][9] 25,000,000–50,000,000
 Hong Kong 7,448,900 4.1% 305,404
 Macau 658,900 1.5% 10,000[10]
 Japan 126,420,000 0.1%[11] 126,420
 North Korea 25,610,672 0.4% 100,000
 South Korea 51,635,256 0.2% 100,000
 Mongolia 3,231,200 5.0% 161,560
 Taiwan 23,577,488 0.3% 70,732
East Asia 1,633,202,416 3.13% 51,080,436

Islam in North Asia
The Nord Kamal Mosque in Norilsk, Russia is the northernmost mosque in the world
Country Total Population Muslim Percentage Muslim Population
 Russia 33,765,005 15%[12] 5,064,750
North Asia 33,765,005 15% 5,064,750

Islam in South Asia
Main article: Islam in South Asia
The Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan during Eid al-Fitr. It is the largest mosque in South Asia
Country Total Population Muslim Percentage Muslim Population
 Afghanistan 31,575,018 99.0%[13] 31,259,267
 Bangladesh 165,000,000 90.4% 149,100,000
 Bhutan 727,145 0.2%[14] <10,000
 India 1,338,270,000 14.2%[15] 194,600,000
 Maldives 378,114 100%[16] 378,114
   Nepal 29,218,867 4.4% 1,285,630
 Pakistan 212,742,631 96.2%[17] 204,828,605
 Sri Lanka 21,444,000 9.7% 2,080,068
South Asia 1,789,309,144 36.39% 651,090,456

Islam in Southeast Asia
Main article: Islam in Southeast Asia
Eid al-Fitr mass prayer in Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia
Country Total Population Muslim Percentage Muslim Population
 Brunei 443,593 82.7% 366,851
 Cambodia 16,204,486 1.9%[18] 312,540
 East Timor 1,291,358 0.3% 4,000
 Indonesia 260,580,739 87.2% 227,226,404
 Laos 7,126,706 0.01% 8,000
 Malaysia 31,381,992 61.3% 19,500,000
 Myanmar 55,123,814 4.15% 2,300,000
 Philippines 106,000,000 5–11.0%[19][20][21] 5,300,000–10,600,000
 Singapore 5,888,926 15.0% 883,338
 Thailand 68,414,135 5.0% 3,420,706
 Vietnam 96,160,163 0.1%[22] 65,000
Southeast Asia 641,775,797 41.3% 264,786,839

Islam in West Asia
The Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia with pilgrims performing the Hajj
The Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran is the second-largest mosque in the world
Country Total Population Muslim Percentage Muslim Population
 Armenia 2,975,000 0.03%[23] 1,000
 Azerbaijan 10,027,874 96.9%[24] 9,727,038
 Bahrain 1,496,300 81.2%[25] 1,214,995
 Cyprus 854,800 25.4% 217,119
 Georgia 3,723,464 10.7% 463,062
 Iran 81,871,500 99.4% 81,380,271
 Iraq 39,339,753 98.0%[26] 38,552,957
 Israel 8,930,680 17.7% 1,580,730
 Jordan 10,261,300 94.0% 9,645,622
 Kuwait 4,226,920 85.0% 3,592,882
 Lebanon 6,093,509 54.0% 3,200,000
 Oman 4,651,706 99.0%[27] 4,605,188
 Palestine 4,816,503 93.0%,[28] 4,479,347
 Qatar 2,561,643 77.5%[29] 1,985,273
 Saudi Arabia 33,413,660 100.0%[30] 33,413,660
 Syria 18,284,407 87.0%[31] 15,907,434
 Turkey 80,810,525 99.8%[32] 80,648,903
 United Arab Emirates 9,582,340 80.0% 7,665,872
 Yemen 28,915,284 100.0%[33] 28,915,284
West Asia 352,837,168 93.26% 329,065,133

References
  1. accessed April 3, 2012. Archived January 18, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  2. History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume 4, Part 2 By C. E. Bosworth, M.S. Asimov, page 300
  3. "The results of the national population census in 2009". Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan. 12 November 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  4. MAPPING THE GLOBAL MUSLIM POPULATION Archived 2011-05-19 at the Wayback Machine. A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Muslim Population. Pew Research Center. October 2009
  5. "Tajikistan". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  6. "The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010–2050". Pew Research. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  7. "East Asia/Southeast Asia :: China — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  8. "China Religion Facts & Stats". www.nationmaster.com. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  9. Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | 2010 Report on International Religious Freedom - China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau)". Refworld. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  10. "MACAU DAILY TIMES - Being a Muslim in Macau: Indonesian community holds triple celebration". 2013-10-16. Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  11. Editors. "From 2 Mosques to 200: Growth of Islam in Japan". Muslim Ink. Retrieved 2018-10-15.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  12. "Book review: Russia's Muslim Heartlands reveals diverse population", The National, 21 April 2018, retrieved 13 January 2019
  13. "Afghanistan Religion | Afghanistan's Web Site". www.afghanistans.com. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  14. Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project: Bhutan. Pew Research Center. 2010.
  15. "Muslim Population in India - Muslims in Indian States". www.indiaonlinepages.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  16. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  17. "Population by Religion", Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, retrieved 2019-01-09
  18. "East Asia/Southeast Asia :: Cambodia — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  19. "Table 1.10; Household Population by Religious Affiliation and by Sex; 2010" (PDF). 2015 Philippine Statistical Yearbook. East Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority: 1–30. October 2015. ISSN 0118-1564. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  20. Philippines. 2013 Report on International Religious Freedom (Report). United States Department of State. July 28, 2014. SECTION I. RELIGIOUS DEMOGRAPHY. The 2000 survey states that Islam is the largest minority religion, constituting approximately 5 percent of the population. A 2012 estimate by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), however, states that there are 10.7 million Muslims, which is approximately 11 percent of the total population.
  21. "Philippines".
  22. "Only Few Know Of The Cham Muslims – Vietnam's Isolated Islamic Community", Mvslim, 2018-11-18, retrieved 2019-01-09
  23. Miller, Tracy, ed. (October 2009), Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Muslim Population (PDF), Pew Research Center, p. 31, archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-10, retrieved 2009-10-08
  24. "Mapping The Global Muslim Population" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  25. "Bahrain Religion Facts & Stats". www.nationmaster.com. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  26. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  27. "Oman Religion Facts & Stats". www.nationmaster.com. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  28. "Are all Palestinians Muslim?". Institute for Middle East Understanding. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  29. "Qatar | The World Almanac of Islamism". almanac.afpc.org. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  30. "Saudi Arabia". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  31. "Syria Religions - Demographics". www.indexmundi.com. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  32. "Turkey". World Factbook. CIA. 2007.
  33. "Yemen". WikiShia. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.