Islamic world

The Islamic world is the world-wide community of those who identify with Islam, known as Muslims, and who number approximately one-and-a-half billion people. Many Muslims not only live in, but also have an official status in the following regions:

Related Topics:
Islam - Muslim

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• Southwest Asia: Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and non-Arab countries like Turkey, Iran
• Africa: Arab countries like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and non-Arab like Mali, Nigeria or Somalia.
• the Balkans: countries like Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Eastern Europe: parts of Russia and Ukraine (especially in the Crimea).
• Central Asia: Afghanistan, formerly Soviet states like Uzbekistan
• South Asia: Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives
• Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia

The countries of Southwest Asia, and many in Northern Africa are considered part of the Middle East.

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Also worthy of mention are provinces of Kurdistan, Kosovo and Chechnya, where Muslims are in the majority.

Related Topics:
Kurdistan - Kosovo - Chechnya

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Some definitions would also include the sizable Muslim minorities in:

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• several countries of the European Union, (especially France)
• several regions of the Russian Federation
• northwestern India,
• People's Republic of China
• Singapore and the Philippines,
• U.S.A. and Canada.

Muslims are not all connected ethnically, but like Christians or Buddhists, only by the common heritage of a religion.

Related Topics:
Christian - Buddhist - Religion

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When believers in Islam cooperate as Muslims, they are known as the "ummah", which means "all of the believers". The faith emphasizes unity and defense of fellow Muslims, so it should be common for Muslim nations to cooperate; however, Muslim politics, particularly Arab politics, has tended to divide rather than unite the Muslim world.

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Islamic world: Demographics ►