Earth is home to more than 1.9 billion Muslims. He rejoined to serve full-time in Cyprus with the hope of restarting an army career he had dreamed of his whole life. ), World Christian Encyclopedia, summarized here, The List: The Worlds Fastest-Growing Religions, "10 Countries With the Largest Muslim Populations, 2010 and 2050", "India invited as 'Guest of Honour' to OIC meet, Sushma Swaraj to attend", The List: The World's Fastest-Growing Religions, "Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents", "What is each country's second-largest religious group? Body to debate rise of religious hatred after last weeks stunt in Stockholm outside a mosque. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. The most populous Muslim-majority country is Indonesia, home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims, followed by Pakistan (11.0%), Bangladesh (9.2%), Nigeria (5.3%) and Egypt (4.9%). Islam is the most common government-endorsed faith, with 27 countries (including most in the Middle East-North Africa region) officially enshrining Islam as their state religion. And only one country with an official religion Tuvalu provides no significant funding or resources for religious education programs or religious schools. Mecca has no cinemas, despite the government lifting a nationwide ban on movie theatres in 2018. But the measures authorities have put in to control and organize the crowds have imposed a distance. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. But its also a place where around 2 million people live, work, and do everyday activities like laundry, grocery shopping, homework, putting the trash out, and paying the bills. Research on this topic was conducted in tandem with the annual coding process for the Centers study of global restrictions on religion (for details on this process, see the Methodology section of Global Restrictions on Religion Rise Modestly in 2015, Reversing Downward Trend). Allah is viewed as the sole Godcreator, sustainer, and . I went out on patrol with all guys. Another survey question asked Central and Eastern Europeans about their attitudes toward government funding of churches. The scores for the remaining 19 items were added and divided by 1.9 to result in a new overall GRI score between 0 and 10, with 10 indicating the highest level of government restriction on religion. In addition, seven officially Islamic countries (26%) are in the Asia-Pacific region, including Bangladesh, Brunei and Malaysia. As of 2015, fully one-in-five countries around the world (22%) had declared a single state religion, typically enshrined in the constitution or basic law of the country. Most Muslims live in North and Central Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. [313] Furthermore, increased healthcare conditions in Muslim majority countries are currently increasing life expectancy and decreasing child mortality, which, if trends continue this way, will also contribute to the growth of the Muslim population more than any other religious group. In Burma (Myanmar), for example, Buddhism is the unofficial, favored religion, and non-Buddhist religious groups reported difficulty repairing religious buildings and building new facilities.31At the same time, a quarter of countries (25%) with a preferred religion also provide funding or resources for building or maintaining property belonging to other religious groups as well. All four countries with Buddhism as the favored religion Burma (Myanmar), Laos, Mongolia and Sri Lanka are in the Asia-Pacific region. One of these indicators focuses on whether the government favors a specific religion, including whether it gives funds or other benefits to the religion. For example, Russian law designates Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism as the countrys traditional religions, while also recognizing the special contribution of Russian Orthodox Christianity to Russian history. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. Muslim-Majority Countries - Pew Research Center, Field Listing - Religions - CIA World Factbook, Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050 - Pew Research Center, Shahada: One must recite the shahadah, declaring one's faith in God and belief in Muhammad, Salat: One must pray five times per day: at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening, while facing toward the Ka'bah, a mosque in Mecca, Sawm: One must fast from dawn to sunset during Ramadan, Hajj: One must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during a person's lifetime if possible. Among the 40 countries that have a preferred or favored religion but not an official state religion most favor Christianity. Ankara is currently holding up Swedens application for NATO membership on accusations that the Nordic nation harbours people Turkey considers terrorists. Muslims consider the Quran the sacred word of God and view any intentional damage or show of disrespect towards it as deeply offensive. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. These attacks not only cause physical damage but also can have lasting psychological effects on religious communities. The Orthodox Church, Catholic Church and Muslim community also had properties tied up in restitution cases in 2020. [4][5] Most Muslims are either of two denominations: Sunni (8790%, roughly 1.7 billion people)[6] or Shia (1013%, roughly 180230 million people). Most Muslims live in North and Central Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The AP is solely responsible for this content. The blessings and rizq (sustenance) you get from being in Mecca cannot be matched anywhere else in the world, anywhere else in Saudi Arabia, he said, as he charged a desperate woman more than triple the regular journey fare to share his cab with two other passengers. Islam is the world's second largest religion after Christianity. Delays in property restitution cases, or a lack of legal mechanisms to recover confiscated property, were also an issue for religious groups in Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and Ukraine. These countries not only suppress religious expression, they systematically torture and detain people who cross political and social red lines around faith. Jewish cemeteries were also vandalized in Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece and Hungary, among other countries. One example of a preferred religion is Buddhism in Laos, where the constitution does not explicitly name Buddhism as an official state religion, but says: The State respects and protects all lawful activities of Buddhists and of followers of other religions, [and] mobilizes and encourages Buddhist monks and novices as well as the priests of other religions to participate in activities that are beneficial to the country and people.5In practice, the government sponsors Buddhist facilities, promotes Buddhism as an element of the countrys identity, and uses Buddhist ceremonies and rituals in state functions. Muslims are a minority group in most of the European countries. Mali John. The project is jointly funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation. In addition, countries with state-endorsed (or established) faiths tend to more severely regulate religious practice, including placing restrictions or bans on minority religious groups. Swedish police had given Mr Momika a permit for the protest, in accordance with free-speech laws. It also explores the implications of these categories. Private individuals also vandalized a Jewish cemetery in Argentina and defaced property at a synagogue and at Buddhist temples in Canada. In many cases, governments also provide funding or resources for religious property, including for the maintenance, upkeep or repair of religious buildings or land. 10 Worst Countries for Gender Equality in partnership with & Best Countries is a rankings, news and analysis project created to capture how countries are perceived on a global scale. Mecca is Islams most sacred city and a focal point for the faiths followers. These include countries like the United States that may give benefits or privileges to religious groups, but generally do so without systematically favoring a specific group over others.2. In fact, Muslim population growth is expected to slow down in Asia (including the Middle East) and Africa, due to lower birth rates. India is the country with the largest Muslim population outside Muslim-majority countries with more than 200 million adherents.[19]. The world's most and least religiously diverse countries may not . Of the 45 European countries analyzed, 34 (or 76%) recorded at least one incident of property damage or confiscation. [24][25] Around 62% of the world's Muslims live in the Asia-Pacific region (from Turkey to Indonesia), with over one billion adherents. The statedoes not have a concordat with any other religious group. Iraq said the incident was "a reflection of a hateful aggressive spirit that has nothing to do with freedom of expression.". The army said it apologises for the anti-Islamic bias, both conscious and unconscious within the unit and for a culturally insensitive attitude on the part of the chain of command. Through the concordat, the GOC has rights not afforded to other religious groups, including legal immunity for the GOC patriarch and exemption from military service for GOC clergy. In the Middle East and North Africa, properties were targeted in 12 of 20 countries (60%). . (AP Photo/Amr Nabil), A general view shows the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, June 25, 2023. In India, more than 200 people reportedly attacked a house church in the state of Haryana and beat the pastor for allegedly converting Hindus to Christianity. He says: Oh Daddy, I want to be a soldier like you, but now I discourage him, even from playing soldier and all that. For a cinema, residents go to the coastal city of Jeddah, about 70 kilometers (35 miles) away. Officials from numerous countries, including many in the Middle East, have also reacted to the incident, calling on Stockholm to step up measures against religious hate. There are currently approximately 50 Muslim-majority countries in the world, though the precise number differs slightly depending upon the source. the Sunni-Shia divide within Islam.) In other words, countries with an official or preferred religion are more likely to enact bans on some religious groups than countries without an official or preferred religion regardless of how large a country is, how democratic it is or how widespread social hostilities involving religion are within its borders. The incident has also sparked anger in other Muslim-majority nations including Turkey - a Nato member which has a say over whether Sweden also gains membership. The city has little of the glitz of Gulf cities like Dubai or Doha, or even Riyadh. Neutral Muslim Majority Countries In a neutral Muslim-majority country, the population is overwhelmingly Muslim without Islam being the state religion. Five countries in sub-Saharan Africa and three in the Asia-Pacific region have Christianity as the favored religion. These countries include China, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam and several former Soviet republics places where government officials seek to control worship practices, public expressions of religion and political activity by religious groups. See United Nations Population Division. By contrast, Russia recognizes multiple traditional religions, but favors Orthodox Christianity more than the others (see here for more information). Much more frequently, however, states with official religions do not make the religion mandatory, but do give it more benefits than other religions, and those states typically regulate other religious groups in the country. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam [1] or to societies in which Islam is practiced. Imams must be approved by the Committee on Religious Affairs, and the content of their sermons is controlled. One malls food court had a sign proclaiming that the U.S. fast-food chicken chain Popeyes was opening soon. It said Bayo was an excellent soldier and he had received an undisclosed sum in compensation. Secular Muslim Majority Countries China, for example, does not have an official state religion, nor does it have a preferred religion. He is now driving taxis. Most of the 31 are . All rights reserved. Monaco, for example, designates Roman Catholicism as the state religion in its constitution: The Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion is the religion of the State.23Catholic religious instruction is available in schools, but requires parental consent. Answer (1 of 2): Islam, being a religion, means that its interpretation is very diverse. This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Within their borders, these countries treat different religions (e.g., Christianity, Islam) more or less equally, and their governments generally have a neutral relationship with religion. Traffic, the population, and prices balloon during the peak Ramadan and Hajj seasons. Multiple other cases of mobs attacking Christians or churches, fueled by false accusations of forced conversions, occurred in 2020, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Nine countries in Europe (20%) have an official state religion as of 2015. A few days before Hajjs official start Monday, Bangladeshi taxi driver Jahid Rojin sighed as his car crawled away from the Grand Mosque complex and headed to the citys Aziziyah neighborhood. For these reasons, to answer the question is difficult. Typically, the government describes these religions as traditional or part of the countrys historic culture. The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. For the past eight years, Pew Research Center has published annual reports analyzing the extent to which governments and societies around the world impinge on religious beliefs and practices. [16][17][18] Islam is the dominant religion in the Maldives, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In many European countries, religious groups were asking for governments to return their properties in restitution cases, and some of these cases dated back to the Holocaust or communist rule.For example, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Jewish community was pursuing the return of a building in Sarajevo that had been turned into a government ministry. People are so excited that I live here. Thirteen countries (30% of countries with an official religion) declare Christianity, in general, or a particular Christian denomination to be their official state religion. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main Among the 43 countries with a state religion, 27 (63%) name Sunni Islam, Shia Islam or just Islam in general as their official faith. Emma Norton, his solicitor from the Centre for Military Justice, who acted with support from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said she believed Bayo would not have brought a discrimination claim had the army engaged constructively when he first complained in autumn 2017. Both Abdul-Halim and Abdu said they used to do Hajj easily, with little to no advance planning. [23], According to the Pew Research Center in 2010, there were 50 Muslim-majority countries.