Iraqi Arabs are a mix between Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims. The Arab Sunni Muslims live mainly in the area of the so-called Sunni Triangle, but there are other communities in other parts of the country, whereas the Arab Shia Muslims live mainly in Southeast Iraq.
Sunni Muslims are approximately 40 percent of the population, of which Arabs constitute 24 percent, Kurds 15 percent, and Turkomans the remaining 1 percent. Shia, although predominantly located in the south and east, are the majority in Baghdad and have communities in most parts of the country.
Today, Shia Muslims make up the majority of the Iraqi population. Iraq is the location of the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, pilgrimage sites for millions of Shia Muslims. Najaf is the site of Ali's tomb, and Karbala is the site of the tomb of Muhammad's grandson, third Shia imam Husayn ibn Ali.
The Sunni Triangle is a densely populated region of Iraq to the north and west of Baghdad inhabited mostly by Sunni Muslim Arabs. The roughly triangular area's points are usually said to lie near Baghdad (the southeast point), Ramadi (the southwest point) and Tikrit (the north point).
Iraq is predominantly a Muslim country, in which the two major sects of Islam are represented more equally than in any other state. About three-fifths of the population is Shiʿi, and about two-fifths is Sunni.
Of those Turks who follow Islam, roughly 80% belong to the Sunni branch (mostly following the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence). Meanwhile, at least 20% follow a form of Shi'a Islam – mostly the Alevi faith.
The society has shunned the idea of a Shia marrying a Sunni (and vice versa) not because of the religious difference, but because of “what will we tell the society?” The matter has become less of a religious debate, but more of a societal symbol, which then leads to two individuals being punished for choosing each ...
Islam in Lebanon has a long and continuous history. According to an estimate by the CIA, it is followed by 63% of the country's total population. Sunnis make up 31.9%, Twelver Shia make up 31.2%, next to smaller percentages of other Shia branches, such as Alawites and Ismailis.
Islam is practiced by 90% of Egyptians. Most Egyptian Muslims are Sunni and follow the Maliki school of jurisprudence, though all legal schools are represented. Shi'a Muslims make up a small minority.
Sunnis account for the majority of Qatar's Muslim population at upwards of 90%. Most Sunnis adhere to the Salafi interpretation of Islam. The country's state mosque is Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque, which was named in honor of the Salafi Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab of the Najd.
Bin Laden was raised as a devout Sunni Muslim. From 1968 to 1976, he attended the elite Al-Thager Model School. He studied economics and business administration at King Abdulaziz University. Some reports suggest he earned a degree in civil engineering in 1979, or a degree in public administration in 1981.
According to CIA World Factbook, 87% of Syrians are Muslim, the majority being Sunni Muslims (74%). A further 13% are Shi'a Muslims, following the Alawite (11%), Ismaili (1%) or Twelver Imami (0.5%) sects.
Majority of the Kuwaiti Muslims are Sunnis and the rest are Shia'a. Adherents of other religions are given the complete freedom to practice their own rituals provided that provided that no prejudice may occur against Islam.
The country with the single largest population of Muslims is Indonesia in Southeast Asia, which on its own hosts 13% of the world's Muslims.
The country is majority Sunni Muslim (estimated to be 85-95% of the population), with the next largest religious group being Coptic Orthodox Christians (with estimates ranging from 5-15%).
According to official statistics 85-90% of Saudi Arabian citizens are Sunni Muslims, 10-12% are Shia. More than 30% of the population is made up of foreign workers who are predominantly but not entirely Muslim. The two holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina, are in Saudi Arabia.
An estimated 5–10% of citizens in Saudi Arabia are Shia Muslims, most of whom are adherents to Twelver Shia Islam. Twelvers are predominantly represented by the Baharna community living in the Eastern Province, with the largest concentrations in Qatif, and half the population in al-Hasa.
Shias comprise a majority in Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Bahrain, and a plurality in Lebanon, while Sunnis make up the majority of more than forty countries from Morocco to Indonesia.
Large numbers of Shia Arab Muslims live in some Arab countries including Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, and Qatar. Shia Muslims are a numerical majority in Iraq and Bahrain.
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a majority Muslim country with 96% of the population following Sunni Islam while a small minority follow Shiite branches. There are also about 20,000 to 32,000 Druze living mostly in the north of Jordan, even though most Druze no longer consider themselves Muslim.
More than nine-in-ten (94%) Lebanese Shia support the organization, while an overwhelming majority (84%) of Sunnis in that country express unfavorable views. Muslims cannot rate Hezbollah, but views are on balance positive among those who do offer an opinion of the group in Nigeria and Indonesia.
While Shia represent the majority of the population in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain and Azerbaijan and a plurality in Lebanon, Sunnis are the majority in more than 40 other countries, from Morocco to Indonesia. Despite their differences, Sunni and Shia have lived alongside each other in relative peace for most of history.
In Shia jurisprudence, by consensus, it is obligatory for women to cover their hair, and the entire body except her hands and face, while in the presence of people of the opposite sex other than close family members.
In a 1965 article published in the journal Man: A Record of Anthropological Science, author John Carswell documented that Sunni and Shia Muslims in Lebanon would get tattoos of the swords of Abu Bakr and Ali, respectively, to distinguish themselves from one another.
Traditional Sunni and Shia Islamic marital jurisprudence allows Muslim men to be married to multiple women (a practice known as polygyny).