Islam in Malaysia is represented by the Shafi'i version of Sunni theology and the practice of any other form of the religion (such as Shia Islam) is heavily restricted by the government.
The Malaysian government has strict policies against other Islamic sects, including a complete ban on Shia Islam, allegedly to "avoid violence between the two faiths that has sometimes broken out in other parts of the world by promoting only the Sunni faith".
Today, nearly two-thirds of Malaysia's population (61.3%) identify as Muslim. Most are Sunni and follow the Shafi'i school of thought and law. The influence of Islam in Malaysian is evident in various aspects of society and culture.
The vast majority of Muslims in Philippines follow Sunni Islam of Shafi and Ash'ari school of jurisprudence and Theology, with small Shia and Ahmadiyya minorities.
Predominantly, Singaporean Muslims are Sunni Muslims adhering to either the Shafi'i or Hanafi schools of thought. The majority of the Muslim population, about 80%, are ethnic Malays, while 13% are of Indian descent.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar is a Muslim nation, with laws, customs and practices rooted in Islam. The country is neither as liberal as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates nor as conservative as parts of Saudi Arabia. Most of its citizens are Sunni Muslim.
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.
Although more than half of Bahrain's population consists of Shia Muslims (estimated at over 75 percent), the Sunni royal family, Al Khalifa, governs the country.
The vast majority of China's Muslims are Sunni Muslims, although a small minority are Shia.
The Sunni community is recognised by the Albanian state and it administers most of the mosques while also viewed as the main representative of Muslims in the country.
The official code of Islam in Malaysia is Sunni, and the practice of any other form of Islam is heavily restricted.
(1) All imported food and goods marketed in Malaysia shall not be described as halal unless the imported food and goods comply with the requirements or certified as halal by the foreign halal certification body recognized by JAKIM.
Islam is a minority faith in Thailand, with statistics suggesting 4.9 percent of the population are Muslim. Figures as high as 5 percent of Thailand's population have also been mentioned. Most Thai Muslims are Sunni Muslims, although Thailand has a diverse population that includes immigrants from around the world.
The government has restricted the names that Shiites can use for their children in an attempt to discourage them from showing their identity. Saudi textbooks are hostile to Shiism, often characterizing the faith as a form of heresy worse than any other religion.
Approximately 35% of the population in Yemen and half of the Muslims in Lebanon are Shia Muslims. There is also a very large population of Shia Muslims living in the Persian Gulf countries especially in Saudi Arabia. The majority of the population of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia are Shia Muslims.
Shia Muslims are a minority in Singapore. Twelver Shias have been in Singapore since before the First World War. In the 1970s Rajabali Jumabhoy and his wife Fatima Premjee bought a shophouse in Lim Ah Woo Road where Muharram majaalis were addressed by Maulana Mazahir (an Urdu-language preacher from Lucknow in India).
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.
Twelver Shīʿas constitute the majority of the population in Iran (90%), Azerbaijan (85%), Bahrain (70%), Iraq (65%), and Lebanon (65% of Muslims).
About 97% of Pakistanis are Muslims. Pakistan has the second largest number of Muslims in the world after Indonesia. The majority are Sunni (85-90%) while Shias make up between 10% and 15%. However, the Hanbali school is gaining popularity recently due to Wahhabi influence from the Middle East.
Most Muslims in Turkey are Sunni Muslims forming about 90%, and Shia-Aleviler (Alevis, Ja'faris and Alawites) denominations in total form up to 10% of the Muslim population.
The population of Shias in Africa is composed of several communities: Persecuted Shia adherents in northern Nigeria, particularly the African Shia Islamic Movement called Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) headed by Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky in Zaria, Kaduna State.
Approximately 11 percent of the population are citizens, of whom more than 85 percent are Sunni Muslims, according to media reports. The vast majority of the remainder are Shia Muslims, who are concentrated in the Emirates of Dubai and Sharjah.
Muslims in Africa mostly adhere to the Sunni Islam, with sizable Ibadi adherents. In addition, Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam, has a very big presence.
The Sunni Muslims make up the vast majority in the country. The Alawites are the minority group (10% of the country's population), followed by Shia Ismailis. Christians are the main non-Muslim group in the country, they comprise 10% of the population .
Islam is the dominant religion in Libya. Other than the vast majority of Sunni Muslims, there are also small Christian communities, composed exclusively of immigrants.