The country has not conducted an official census of its population since 1932. However, Statistics Lebanon, an independent polling and research firm, estimates that 69.3 percent of the citizen population is Muslim (31.2 percent Sunni, 32 percent Shia, and 6.1 percent Alawites and Ismailis combined).
The Lebanese Shia Muslims are around 27%–29% of the total population. Twelvers are the predominant Shia group, followed by Alawites and Ismailis. The Speaker of Parliament is always a Shi'a Muslim, as it is the only high post that Shi'as are eligible for.
Twelver Shīʿas constitute the majority of the population in Iran (90%), Azerbaijan (85%), Bahrain (70%), Iraq (65%), and Lebanon (65% of Muslims).
According to latest global estimations, 61% of Lebanon's population identify as Muslim while 33.7% identify as Christian. The Muslim population is somewhat evenly split between followers of Sunni (30.6%) and Shi'a (30.5%) denominations, with smaller numbers of those belonging to Alawite and Ismaili sects.
Lebanese Shia Muslims are concentrated in south Beirut and its southern suburbs, northern and western area of the Beqaa Valley, as well as Southern Lebanon.
Most experts and media sources estimate approximately 90 percent of the population is Sunni Muslim and 10 percent is Christian. Scholars and NGOs estimate Shia Muslims comprise approximately 1 percent of the population. There are also small numbers of Dawoodi Bohra Muslims and Ahmadi Muslims.
Lebanon. Lebanon's legal system is based on a combination of Civil Law, Sharia and Ottoman laws. There are eighteen official religions in Lebanon, each with its own family law and religious courts. For the application of personal status laws, there are three separate sections: Sunni, Shia and non-Muslim.
The Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam was a process of forced conversion that took place roughly over the 16th through 18th centuries and turned Iran (Persia), which previously had a Sunni majority population, into the spiritual bastion of Shia Islam.
Religion in Yemen consists primarily of two principal Islamic religious groups: 65% of the Muslim population is Sunni Muslim and around 35% is Zaydi Shia, according to the UNHCR. Shias are primarily Zaydi and there are also significant minorities of Twelver and Isma'ili Shias.
Every part of Lebanon's national drink, arak, is infused with tradition — from distilling the aniseed-tinged liquor to the ritual of mixing it at the table, when the transparent liquid suddenly turns milky white as water is added. Arak is a staple of big Sunday meals.
Iran has 66 million to 70 million Shias, or 37-40% of the world's total Shia population.
Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims share the same faith and abide by the same five pillars of Islam (Professor 7 Oct. 2003). There are no rules forcing a woman to adopt her husband's particular branch of Islam (ibid.).
The annual rates of growth for the world's Sunni and Shia populations were identical from 1990 to 2000. But the rate of growth of the Shia population is expected to be slightly lower than the rate of growth for Sunnis over the next 20 years.
According to Pew, 99% of Muslims in Morocco are Sunni predominantly of the Sunni Maliki madhab, or school of thought, whilst the remaining 1% adhere to other sects such as Shia, Quranism, ibadism etc.
More than 99 percent of the population is Sunni Muslim, and less than 0.1 percent of the population is Shia Muslim.
Between 85 and 90 percent of the approximately 21 million Saudi citizens are Sunni Muslims. Shia Muslims constitute 10 to 12 percent of the citizen population and an estimated 25 to 30 percent of the Eastern Province's population.
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. Smaller minority Muslim populations in Pakistan include Quranists, nondenominational Muslims.
Islam is the main religion of the citizens of Kuwait and the majority of Kuwaiti citizens are Muslim; it is estimated that 70%–75% are Sunni and 25%–30% are Shias.
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 Saudi government does not conduct a census on religion or ethnicity, but some sources estimate the Shiite population in Saudi Arabia to make up around 10–15% of the approximately 23 million natives of Saudi Arabia.
Islam is the official state religion of Afghanistan, with approximately 99.7% of the Afghan population being Muslim. Roughly 90% practice Sunni Islam, while around 10% are Shias. Most Shias belong to the Twelver branch and only a smaller number follow Ismailism.
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.
Alcohol in the Persian Gulf, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. Although there are many Muslims in Lebanon, alcoholic drinks are widely available. Local beers, Lebanese wine, and imported whiskey and vodka can be purchased in stores, hotels, bars and restaurants.
From the 7th century ce onward, Christians fleeing Syrian persecution settled in northern Lebanon and founded the Maronite Church. Arab tribal peoples settled in southern Lebanon, and by the 11th century religious refugees from Egypt had founded the Druze faith.
Sharia law exists in the UAE and is used in specific circumstances, such as in the payment of blood money (diyath). Individual emirates have also suspended some Sharia punishments such as flogging and stoning, replacing them with jail terms and most Sharia system is only enforced on the citizens.