9781422279724

A Global Religion Islam is the second-biggest religion in the world, after Christianity. The Prophet Muhammad was an Arab, and the religion originated in the Arabian Peninsula. However, most Muslims today are not Arabs. Muslims live on all five inhabited continents, although most Muslims are found in Asia, Africa, and the region known as the Middle East. These were lands where Islam spread in the first few cen- turies after Muhammad’s death. Sometimes the Islamic reli-

gion was brought to new lands by conquering armies. Other times, it was introduced peace- fully by traders and missionar- ies. This is how Islam arrived in east Africa and in the lands along the Indian Ocean. Today, south Asian countries are home to the largest populations of Muslims. In Indonesia, more

Educational Video

To hear the Muslim call to prayer, scan here.

than 205 million Indonesians are Muslims, while Pakistan is home to nearly 180 million Muslims. India has about 172 million Muslims, although this represents just about 14 per- cent of the country’s total population. (Most Indians are Hindus.) Bangladesh is home to about 145 million Muslims. The continent of Africa is home to nearly one-third of the total Muslim population. The largest Muslim popula- tion in Africa is found in Nigeria, in western Africa, where

What Do Muslims Believe?

13