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The Muslim population of the world map by percentage of each country, according to the Pew Forum 2009 report on world Muslim populations.
The term
Muslim world (also known as
Ummah) has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of
Islam, referred to as
Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization. In a modern
geopolitical sense, the term usually refers collectively to Muslim-majority countries, states, districts, or towns. Muslims number between 1.2 and 1.6 billion people, or roughly one-fifth of mankind, and are spread across many different nations and
ethnic groups.
Islam emphasizes unity and defense of fellow Muslims, although many
schools and branches (see
Shi'a–Sunni relations, for example) exist. In the past both
Pan-Islamism and
nationalist currents have influenced the status of the Muslim world.
Current reports from various sources have estimated that 1.2 to 1.57 billion Muslims populate the world, or about 23% of an estimated 2009 world population of 6.8 billion
[1][2] with around 62% in
Asia-
Pacific, 20% in the
Middle East and North Africa, 15% in
Sub-Saharan Africa and around 2% in
Europe &
Americas.
[3][4][5][6][edit] HistoryMain articles:
Muslim history and
Timeline of Muslim history The Islamic World expansion, 622-750 Expansion 622-632
Expansion 632-661
Expansion 661-750
Muslim history involves the history of the Islamic faith as a religion and as a social institution. The history of Islam began in Arabia with the
Islamic prophet Muhammad's first recitations of the
Qur'an in the 7th century. Under the
Rashidun and
Umayyads, the
Caliphate grew rapidly geographically
expansion of Muslim power well beyond the Arabian Peninsula in the form of a vast Muslim Empire with an
area of influence that stretched from northwest India, across Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, southern Italy, and the
Iberian Peninsula, to the
Pyrenees.
During much of the 20th century, the Islamic identity and the dominance of Islam on political issues have arguably increased during the early 21st century. The fast-growing Western interests in Islamic regions, international conflicts and
globalization have changed the influence of Islam on the world in
contemporary history.
[7][edit] Classical cultureMain article:
Islamic Golden AgeThe
Islamic Golden Age, also sometimes known as the
Islamic Renaissance,
[8] is traditionally dated from the 7th to 13th centuries
C.E.,
[9] but has been extended to the 15th and 16th
[10][unreliable source?] centuries by more recent scholarship.
[edit] Arts Interior view of the dome in the
Selimiye Mosque,
Edirne.
Main article:
Islamic artThe term "Islamic art and
architecture" denotes the works of art and architecture produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by culturally Islamic populations.
[11][12][edit] Aniconism and ArabesqueMain articles:
Aniconism in Islam and
ArabesqueNo Islamic visual images or depictions of
God are meant to exist because it is believed that such artistic depictions may lead to
idolatry. Moreover, Muslims believe that God is
incorporeal, making any two- or three- dimensional depictions impossible. Instead, Muslims describe God by the
names and attributes that, according to Islam, he revealed to his creation. All but one
sura of the Qur'an begins with the phrase "
In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful". Images of Mohammed are likewise prohibited. Such
aniconism and
iconoclasm[13] can also be found in
Jewish and some
Christian theology.
Islamic art frequently adopts the use of geometrical floral or vegetal designs in a repetition known as
arabesque. Such designs are highly nonrepresentational, as Islam forbids representational depictions as found in
pre-Islamic pagan religions. Despite this, there is a presence of depictional art in some Muslim societies, notably the
miniature style made famous in
Persia and under the
Ottoman Empire which featured not only paintings of people and animals but also depictions of Qur'anic stories and Islamic traditional narratives. Another reason why Islamic art is usually abstract is to symbolize the transcendence, indivisible and infinite nature of God, an objective achieved by arabesque.
[14] Islamic calligraphy is an omnipresent decoration in Islamic art, and is usually expressed in the form of Qur'anic verses. Two of the main scripts involved are the symbolic
kufic and
naskh scripts, which can be found adorning the walls and domes of
mosques, the sides of
minbars, and so on.
[14]Distinguishing
motifs of Islamic architecture have always been ordered repetition, radiating structures, and rhythmic, metric patterns. In this respect,
fractal geometry has been a key utility, especially for mosques and palaces. Other significant features employed as motifs include columns,
piers and arches, organized and interwoven with alternating sequences of niches and colonnettes.
[15] The role of domes in Islamic architecture has been considerable. Its usage spans centuries, first appearing in 691 with the construction of the
Dome of the Rock mosque, and recurring even up until the 17th century with the
Taj Mahal. And as late as the 19th century, Islamic domes had been incorporated into Western architecture.
[16][edit] CeramicsFurther information:
Alchemy and chemistry in medieval IslamBetween the 8th and 18th centuries, the use of
glazed ceramics was prevalent in Islamic art, usually assuming the form of elaborate
pottery.
[17] Tin-opacified glazing was one of the earliest new technologies developed by the Islamic potters. The first Islamic opaque glazes can be found as blue-painted ware in
Basra, dating to around the 8th century. Another significant contribution was the development of
stone-paste ceramics, originating from 9th century Iraq.
[18] Other centers for innovative ceramic pottery in the Old world included
Fustat (from 975 to 1075),
Damascus (from 1100 to around 1600) and
Tabriz (from 1470 to 1550).
[19][edit] Architecture Roman and Byzantine marble columns in the prayer hall of the
Great Mosque of Kairouan, in
Kairouan,
Tunisia.
Main article:
Islamic architecturePerhaps the most important expression of Islamic art is architecture, particularly that of the mosque.
[20] Through it the effect of varying cultures within Islamic civilization can be illustrated. The North African and Iberian Islamic architecture, for example, has
Roman-
Byzantine elements, as seen in the
Great Mosque of Kairouan which contains marble columns from Roman and Byzantine buildings,
[21] in the
Alhambra palace at
Granada, or in the
Great Mosque of Cordoba. Persian-style mosques are characterized by their tapered brick pillars, large
arcades, and arches supported each by several pillars. In South Asia, elements of
Hindu architecture were employed, but were later superseded by Persian designs. The most numerous and largest of mosques exist in
Turkey, which obtained influence from Byzantine, Persian and Syrian designs, although Turkish architects managed to implement their own style of
cupola domes.
[20][edit] LiteratureMain articles:
Islamic literature,
Arabic literature,
Arabic epic literature,
Persian literature, and
Turkish literatureFurther information:
Islamic poetry and
Arabic poetry "
Ali Baba" by
Maxfield Parrish.
The best known work of
fiction from the Islamic world is
One Thousand and One Nights or (
Arabian Nights), which is a compilation of
folk tales. The original concept is derived from a pre-Islamic Persian prototype that probably relied partly on Indian elements.
[22] It reached its final form by the 14th century; the number and type of tales have varied from one manuscript to another.
[23] All Arabian
fantasy tales tend to be called
Arabian Nights stories when translated into
English, regardless of whether they appear in
The Book of One Thousand and One Nights or not.
[23] This work has been very influential in the West since it was translated in the 18th century, first by
Antoine Galland.
[24] Many imitations were written, especially in France.
[25] Various characters from this epic have themselves become
cultural icons in
Western culture, such as
Aladdin,
Sinbad the Sailor and
Ali Baba.
A famous example of
Arabic poetry and
Persian poetry on
romance (love) is
Layla and Majnun, dating back to the Umayyad era in the 7th century. It is a
tragic story of undying
love much like the later
Romeo and Juliet, which was itself said to have been inspired by a
Latin version of
Layla and Majnun to an extent.
[26] Ferdowsi's
Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran, is a mythical and heroic retelling of
Persian history.
Amir Arsalan was also a popular mythical Persian story, which has influenced some modern works of fantasy fiction, such as
The Heroic Legend of Arslan.
Ibn Tufail (Abubacer) and
Ibn al-Nafis were pioneers of the
philosophical novel. Ibn Tufail wrote the first Arabic
novel Hayy ibn Yaqdhan (
Philosophus Autodidactus) as a response to
Ghazali's
The Incoherence of the Philosophers, and then Ibn al-Nafis also wrote a novel
Theologus Autodidactus as a response to Ibn Tufail's
Philosophus Autodidactus. Both of these narratives had
protagonists (Hayy in
Philosophus Autodidactus and Kamil in
Theologus Autodidactus) who were
autodidactic feral children living in seclusion on a
desert island, both being the earliest examples of a desert island story. However, while Hayy lives alone with animals on the desert island for the rest of the story in
Philosophus Autodidactus, the story of Kamil extends beyond the desert island setting in
Theologus Autodidactus, developing into the earliest known
coming of age plot and eventually becoming the first example of a
science fiction novel.
[27][28][unreliable source?]Theologus Autodidactus, written by the
Arabian polymath Ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288), is the first example of a science fiction novel. It deals with various science fiction elements such as
spontaneous generation,
futurology, the
end of the world and doomsday,
resurrection, and the
afterlife. Rather than giving supernatural or mythological explanations for these events, Ibn al-Nafis attempted to explain these plot elements using the
scientific knowledge of
biology,
astronomy,
cosmology and
geology known in his time. His main purpose behind this science fiction work was to explain Islamic religious teachings in terms of science and
philosophy through the use of fiction.
[29][unreliable source?] A manuscript written during the
Abbasid Era.
A Latin translation of Ibn Tufail's work,
Philosophus Autodidactus, first appeared in 1671, prepared by
Edward Pococke the Younger, followed by an English translation by
Simon Ockley in 1708, as well as
German and
Dutch translations. These translations later inspired
Daniel Defoe to write
Robinson Crusoe, regarded as the
first novel in English.
[30][31][32][33] Philosophus Autodidactus also inspired
Robert Boyle to write his own philosophical novel set on an island,
The Aspiring Naturalist.
[34] The story also anticipated
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's
Emile: or, On Education in some ways, and is also similar to
Mowgli's story in
Rudyard Kipling's
The Jungle Book as well as
Tarzan's story, in that a baby is abandoned but taken care of and fed by a mother
wolf.
[35][unreliable source?]Dante Alighieri's
Divine Comedy, considered the greatest epic of
Italian literature, derived many features of and episodes about the hereafter directly or indirectly from Arabic works on
Islamic eschatology: the
Hadith and the
Kitab al-Miraj (translated into Latin in 1264 or shortly before
[36] as
Liber Scale Machometi, "The Book of Muhammad's Ladder") concerning
Muhammad's ascension to Heaven, and the spiritual writings of
Ibn Arabi. The
Moors also had a noticeable influence on the works of
George Peele and
William Shakespeare. Some of their works featured Moorish characters, such as Peele's
The Battle of Alcazar and Shakespeare's
The Merchant of Venice,
Titus Andronicus and
Othello, which featured a Moorish
Othello as its title character. These works are said to have been inspired by several Moorish delegations from
Morocco to
Elizabethan England at the beginning of the 17th century.
[37][edit] PhilosophyMain articles:
Islamic philosophy and
Contemporary Islamic philosophyFurther information:
Logic in Islamic philosophy,
Kalam,
Avicennism,
Averroism,
Illuminationism, and
Transcendent theosophy In
Al-Andalus,
Ibn Rushd founder of the
Averroism school of philosophy, was influential in the rise of
secular thought in
Western Europe.
One of the common definitions for "Islamic philosophy" is "the style of philosophy produced within the framework of Islamic culture."
[38] Islamic philosophy, in this definition is neither necessarily concerned with religious issues, nor is exclusively produced by Muslims.
[38] The
Persian scholar
Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (980-1037) had more than 450 books attributed to him. His writings were concerned with many subjects, most notably philosophy and medicine. His medical textbook
The Canon of Medicine was used as the standard text in European universities for centuries. His works on
Aristotle was a key step in the transmission of learning from
Ancient Greece to the Islamic world and the West. He often corrected the philosopher, encouraging a lively debate in the spirit of
ijtihad. He also wrote
The Book of Healing, an influential scientific and philosophical encyclopedia. His thinking and that of his follower
Ibn Rushd (Averroes) was incorporated into
Christian philosophy during the
Middle Ages, notably by
Thomas Aquinas.
[citation needed]One of the most influential Muslim philosophers in the West was Averroes (Ibn Rushd), founder of the
Averroism school of philosophy, whose works and commentaries had an impact on the rise of
secular thought in
Western Europe.
[39] He also developed the concept of "
existence precedes essence".
[40] Avicenna also founded his own
Avicennism school of philosophy, which was influential in both Islamic and Christian lands. He was also a critic of
Aristotelian logic and founder of
Avicennian logic, and he developed the concepts of
empiricism and
tabula rasa, and distinguished between
essence and
existence.
[citation needed]Another influential philosopher who had a significant influence on
modern philosophy was Ibn Tufail. His
philosophical novel,
Hayy ibn Yaqdha, translated into Latin as
Philosophus Autodidactus in 1671, developed the themes of empiricism, tabula rasa,
nature versus nurture,
[41] condition of possibility,
materialism,
[42] and
Molyneux's Problem.
[43] European scholars and writers influenced by this novel include
John Locke,
[44] Gottfried Leibniz,
[33] Melchisédech Thévenot,
John Wallis,
Christiaan Huygens,
[45] George Keith,
Robert Barclay, the
Quakers,
[46] and
Samuel Hartlib.
[34]Islamic philosophers continued making advances in philosophy through to the 17th century, when
Mulla Sadra founded his school of
Transcendent theosophy and developed the concept of
existentialism.
[47]Other influential Muslim philosophers include
al-Jahiz, a pioneer in
evolutionary thought;
Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen), a pioneer of
phenomenology and the
philosophy of science and a critic of
Aristotelian natural philosophy and Aristotle's concept of
place (topos);
Abu Rayhan Biruni, a critic of Aristotelian natural philosophy; Ibn Tufail and Ibn al-Nafis, pioneers of the philosophical novel;
Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi, founder of
Illuminationist philosophy;
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, a critic of Aristotelian logic and a pioneer of
inductive logic; and
Ibn Khaldun, a pioneer in the
philosophy of history[48] and
social philosophy.
[citation needed][edit]