Islam in Asia

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Islam in Asia began in the 7th century during the lifetime of Muhammad. In 2020, the total number of Muslims in Asia was about 1.3 billion, it is the largest religion in Asia. Asia constitutes in absolute terms the world's largest Muslim population.[1] and about 62% of the world's Muslims live in Asia, with Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Malaysia 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.

## History

[edit]

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.

## Demographics

[edit]

### Central Asia

[edit]

Main article: Islam in Central 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  | 90.6%[4] | 5,194,811
Tajikistan | 8,734,951  | 98.0%[5] | 8,560,251
Turkmenistan | 5,851,466  | 96.1%  | 5,459,417
Uzbekistan | 32,653,900  | 96.5%[6] | 31,511,013
Central Asia | 72,004,345 | 90.6% | 66,884,164

### East Asia

[edit]

Main article: Islam in East Asia

Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou, the oldest mosque in China Country  | Total Population  | Muslim Percentage  | Muslim Population

|
|
|

China | 1,447,620,350  | 1.8%[7][8][9] | 30,000,000
Hong Kong | 7,448,900  | 4.1%  | 305,404
Macau | 658,900  | 1.5%[10] | 10,000
Japan | 126,420,000  | 0.19%[11] | 230,000
North Korea | 25,610,672  | 0.01%[12] | 3,000
South Korea | 51,635,256  | 0.38%[13] | 196,454
Mongolia | 3,231,200  | 5.0%  | 161,560
Taiwan | 23,577,488  | 0.3%  | 70,732
East Asia | 1,633,202,416 | 3.13% | 30,977,150

### South Asia

[edit]

Main article: Islam in South Asia

The Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan during Eid al-Fitr. It is a historical and the second largest mosque in South Asia Country  | Total Population  | Muslim Percentage  | Muslim Population

|
|
|

Afghanistan | 49,552,566  | 99.7%[14] | 49,403,908
Bangladesh | 165,000,000  | 90.4%  | 149,100,000
Bhutan | 727,145  | 0.2%[15] | 7,000
India | 1,338,270,000  | 15.6%[16] | 213,000,000
Maldives | 378,114  | 100%[17] | 378,114
Nepal | 29,218,867  | 4.4%  | 1,285,630
Pakistan | 231,085,590  | 96.50%  | 200,400,000
Sri Lanka | 21,444,000  | 9.7%  | 2,080,068
South Asia | 1,817,333,303 | 32.43% | 620,083,325

### Southeast Asia

[edit]

Main article: Islam in Southeast Asia

The Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia Country  | Total Population  | Muslim Percentage  | Muslim Population

|
|
|

Brunei | 460,345  | 82.7%  | 380,705
Cambodia | 16,204,486  | 2%[18] | 312,540
East Timor | 1,291,358  | 0.3%  | 4,000
Indonesia | 266,500,000  | 86.7%[19] | 231,070,000
Laos | 7,126,706  | 0.1%  | 8,000
Malaysia | 32,730,000  | 63.5%  | 20,623,140
Myanmar | 55,123,814  | 4.15%  | 2,300,000
Philippines | 112,018,293  | 11%[20][21] | 12,322,012
Singapore | 5,888,926  | 15.6%  | 918,672
Thailand | 68,414,135  | 5.0%  | 3,420,706
Vietnam | 96,160,163  | 0.1%[22] | 196,000
Southeast Asia | 679,726,700 | 40.8% | 277,346,378

### West Asia

[edit]

Main article: Religion in the Middle East

Kaaba Inside the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia with pilgrims performing the Hajj, Kaaba is the direction of prayer of Muslims to Allah An-Nabawi Mosque, Medina 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%[26] | 81,052,785
Iraq | 39,339,753  | 98.0%[27] | 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%[28] | 4,605,188
Palestine | 4,816,503  | 93.0%,[29] | 4,479,347
Qatar | 2,561,643  | 77.5%[30] | 1,985,273
Saudi Arabia | 33,413,660  | 100.0%[31] | 33,413,660
Syria | 18,284,407  | 87.0%[32] | 15,907,434
Turkey | 80,810,525  | 99.8%[33] | 80,648,903
United Arab Emirates | 9,582,340  | 80.0%  | 7,665,872
Yemen | 28,915,284  | 99.1%[34] | 28,915,284
West Asia | 352,837,168 | 79.45% | 326,869,151

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Global Religious Landscape" (PDF). Pewforum.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
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. 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. 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. ^ "The number of Muslims in Japan is growing fast". The Economist. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
12. ^ "Table: Muslim Population by Country". Pew Research Center. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
13. ^ ""Many Koreans have big misunderstandings about Islam," says a Muslim convert in South Korea". 31 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
14. ^ "Afghanistan Religion | Afghanistan's Web Site". www.afghanistans.com. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
15. ^ Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project: Bhutan Archived 2018-11-13 at the Wayback Machine. Pew Research Center. 2010.
16. ^ "Muslim Population in India - Muslims in Indian States". www.indiaonlinepages.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
17. ^ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
18. ^ "East Asia/Southeast Asia :: Cambodia — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
19. ^ "Statistik Umat Menurut Agama di Indonesia" (in Indonesian). Kementerian Agama Republik Indonesia. 15 May 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020. "Muslim 231 Million (86.7), Christian 20.45 Million (7.6), Catholic 8.43 million (3.12), Hindu 4.65 million (1.74), Buddhist 2.03 million (0.77), Confucianism 76.630 (0.03), Others/Traditional faiths 126.51 (0.04), Total 266.5 Million"
20. ^ "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 2016.1-30&rft.date=2015-10&rft.issn=0118-1564&rft_id=https://psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/2015%20PSY%20PDF.pdf#56&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Islam+in+Asia" class="Z3988">
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. ^ "Iran Religion Facts & Stats".
27. ^ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
28. ^ "Oman Religion Facts & Stats". www.nationmaster.com. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
29. ^ "Are all Palestinians Muslim?". Institute for Middle East Understanding. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
30. ^ "Qatar | The World Almanac of Islamism". almanac.afpc.org. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
31. ^ "Saudi Arabia". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
32. ^ "Syria Religions - Demographics". www.indexmundi.com. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
33. ^ "Turkey". World Factbook. CIA. 2007. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021.
34. ^ "Yemen - The World Factbook". Central Intelligence Agency, United States. Retrieved 29 November 2024.

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