Muslims


Muslims (Arabic: المسلمون, al-Muslimūn, transl. "Submitters [to God]")[25] are people who adhere to Islam, an Abrahamic religion. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraham (or Allah) as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet.[26] The majority of Muslims also follow the teachings and practices of Muhammad (sunnah) as recorded in traditional accounts (hadith).[27]

As of 2020, with a population of approximately two billion people, Muslims comprise more than 25% of the world's total population.[28] In descending order, the percentage of people who identify as Muslims on each continental landmass stands at: 45% of Africa, 25% of Asia and Oceania (collectively),[29] 6% of Europe,[30] and 1% of the Americas.[31][32][33][34] Additionally, in subdivided geographical regions, the figure stands at: 91% of the Middle East–North Africa,[35][36][37] 90% of Central Asia,[38][39][40] 65% of the Caucasus,[41][42][43][44][45][46] 42% of Southeast Asia,[47][48][48] 32% of South Asia,[49][50] and 42% of sub-Saharan Africa.[51][52]

While there are several Islamic schools and branches, the two largest denominations are Sunni Islam (75–90% of all Muslims)[53] and Shia Islam (10–20% of all Muslims).[15][16][17] By sheer numbers, South Asia accounts for the largest portion (31%) of the global Muslim population, primarily across three countries: Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.[54][55] By country, Indonesia is the largest in the Muslim world, holding around 12% of all Muslims worldwide;[56][57] outside of the Muslim-majority countries, India and China are home to the largest (11%) and second-largest (2%) Muslim populations, respectively.[58][59][60] Due to high Muslim population growth, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world.[61][62][63]

The word muslim (Arabic: مسلم, IPA: [ˈmʊslɪm]; English: /ˈmʌzlɪm/, /ˈmʊzlɪm/, /ˈmʊslɪm/ or moslem /ˈmɒzləm/, /ˈmɒsləm/[64]) is the active participle of the same verb of which islām is a verbal noun, based on the triliteral S-L-M "to be whole, intact".[65][66] A female adherent is a muslima (Arabic: مسلمة) (also transliterated as "Muslimah"[67] ). The plural form in Arabic is muslimūn (مسلمون) or muslimīn (مسلمين), and its feminine equivalent is muslimāt (مسلمات).

The ordinary word in English is "Muslim". In the 20th century the preferred spelling in English was "Moslem", but this has now fallen into disuse.[68][better source needed] The word Mosalman (Persian: مسلمان, alternatively Mussalman) is a common equivalent for Muslim used in Central and South Asia. In English it was sometimes spelled Mussulman and has become archaic in usage. Until at least the mid-1960s, many English-language writers used the term Mohammedans or Mahometans.[69] Although such terms were not necessarily intended to be pejorative, Muslims argue that the terms are offensive because they allegedly imply that Muslims worship Muhammad rather than God.[70] Other obsolete terms include Muslimite[71] and Muslimist.[72] In Medieval Europe, Muslims were commonly called Saracens.

A Muslim is a person who has dedicated his worship exclusively to God...Islam means making one's religion and faith God's alone.[73]


World Muslim population by percentage (2010 data from Pew Research Center)
A map of Muslim populations by absolute number