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 Pakistanis belong to the Sunni sect, the major branch of Islam. There are also significant numbers of Shiʿi Muslims.
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.
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.
The majority of Kashmiri Muslims are Sunni Muslims, and Shias account for between 20% and 25% of the Muslim population, who mostly reside in north and central Kashmir. They refer to themselves as "Koshur" in their mother language.
Most Shias (between 68% and 80%) live in four countries: Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq. Iran has 66 million to 70 million Shias, or 37-40% of the world's total Shia population. Iraq, India and Pakistan each are home to at least 16 million Shias.
After the conquest of Golconda by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the 17th century and subsequent establishment of hereditary governorship in Awadh after his death, Lucknow became the nerve center of Indian Shi'ism.
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.
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 ...
Today's Afghanistan can be considered 99% Muslim. There is a rough 3/4 to 1/4 split in favor of Sunni Muslims to Shia. Though recent history has been defined by growing religious intolerance and sectarian conflict, Afghanistan does have marginal adherents of other religions.
Shia Muslims are granted freedom to worship, and maintain their mosques. Shias may also pursue family law cases through a special Shia council. Most Shias are concentrated in the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
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.
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. In 2001, there were an estimated 525,000 Sunni Kuwaiti citizens and 300,000 Shia Kuwaiti citizens.
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.
Sunni Muslims reside throughout the country. There is a huge diversity among the members of the Sunni Arab community in Syria and they cannot be perceived as a unified group.
Shias allege discrimination by the Pakistani government since 1948, claiming that Sunnis are given preference in business, official positions and administration of justice.
Mecca is the only pilgrimage site officially accepted by all Muslims, but Iran and Iraq are home to a number of sites considered holy to the Shia faithful: Hussein was buried at Karbala, for example, and the tomb of Ali is in nearby Najaf.
Both Sunnis and Shiites read the Quran, the sayings of the Prophet. Both believe Prophet Muhammad was the messenger of Allah.
Muslim societies allow for up to four wives, but not without specific rules and regulations.
96% of United Arab Emirates population are muslims, of them are 94% are Sunni Muslims and the remainder 2% are Shia, while the other 4% of the population are of other religions who are concentrated in the Emirates of Dubai and Sharjah.
The constitution designates Islam as the official religion. It guarantees freedom of worship as long as it does not conflict with public policy or morals.
The history of Islam in Iraq goes back almost 1,400 years to the lifetime of Muhammad (died in 632). Iraq's Muslims follow two distinct traditions, Shia Islam (majority) and Sunni Islam (minority).
Although there are many Shīʿa subsects, Twelver Shīʿīsm is by far the largest and most influential, comprising about 85% of all Shīʿa Muslims. Others include the Ismāʿīlīs and Zaydis.
Shia Muslims are a numerical majority in Iraq and Bahrain. 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.
Pakistani Shi'a live throughout the country in urban centres, including Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Multan, Jhang and Sargodha. While Shi'a are not a majority in any of Pakistan's four provinces, they are a majority in the autonomous region of Gilgit-Baltistan.