Muslim faith to become most popular world religion this century
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The Muslim or Islam religion is in a period of rapid growth. Estimates of the total number of Muslims range from 0.7 to 1.2 billion people worldwide or 21 percent of the earth’s population. It is predicted that Islam will overtake Christianity to become the most prevalent world religion sometime in the mid 21st century.
There are over 700 million Muslims living in Asia with Islam being the dominant faith in countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan. Indonesia has the largest concentration of Muslims with over 120 million.
Some facts about the Islamic faith:
- Muslims believe in one God who they call Allah.
- The Muslim faith originated in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
- The Qur’an (Koran) is the sacred text.
- A mosque is the traditional place of worship.
- A crescent moon and a star are the symbols of Islam.
- Ramadam is the biggest religious observance for Muslims. It is celebrated during the ninth month of the Muslim year and worshippers refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and other excesses from dawn until dusk. Ramadam marks the time when the first verses of the Qur’an were revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
- Each year millions of Muslims travel to Mecca in an annual pilgrimage – the largest annual pilgrimage in the world. Travelling to Mecca is an obligation that must be carried out at least once by every able bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.
Important note - Muslim beliefs differ between sects and individual believers. The facts listed above are believed by the majority of Muslims but not all.
Read more:
For info on the Asian Face of Islam in New Zealand view The Crescent Moon . Resource unit also available soon.
Geography Quiz – Test your geographical knowledge of Asia
Can you locate Bhutan or Laos on a world map? Take this quiz to measure your geographical awareness of the Asian region.
