Islam in Asia began in the 7th century during the lifetime of Muhammad. In 2020, the total number of Muslims in Asia was about 1.3 billion, it is the largest religion in Asia. Asia constitute in absolute terms the world's largest Muslim population.[1] and about 62% of the world's Muslims live in Asia, with Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh having the largest Muslim populations in the world. Asia is home to the largest Muslim population, with West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia being particularly important regions. A number of adherents of Islam have lived in Asia especially in West Asia and South Asia since the beginning of Islamic history.

History

The spread of Islam outside of the Arabian peninsula and into other parts of the continent can be linked to the extensive trade routes connecting West Asia to China.

The Barmakid family was an early supporter of the Abbasid Revolution against the Umayyads and of As-Saffah. This gave Khalid ibn Barmak considerable influence, and his son Yaḥyā ibn Khālid (d. 806) was the vizier of the caliph al-Mahdi (ruled 775–785) and tutor of Hārūn ar-Rashīd (ruled 786–809). Yaḥyā's sons al-Faḍl and Ja'far (767–803) both occupied high offices under Harun. Many Barmakids were patrons of the sciences, which greatly helped the propagation of Indian science and scholarship from the neighboring Academy of Gundishapur into the Arabic world. They patronized scholars such as Gebir and Jabril ibn Bukhtishu. They are also credited with the establishment of the first paper mill in Baghdad. The power of the Barmakids in those times is reflected in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights; the vizier Ja'far appears in several stories, as well as a tale that gave rise to the expression “Barmecide feast”.

We know of Yaḥyā ibn Khālid al-Barmakī (d. 805 CE) as a patron of physicians and, specifically, of the translation of Hindu medical works into both Arabic and Persian. In all likelihood, however, his activity took place in the orbit of the caliphal court in Iraq, where at the behest of Hārūn ar-Rashīd (786–809), such books were translated into Arabic. Thus Khurāsān and Transoxiana were effectively bypassed in this transfer of learning from India to Islam, even though, undeniably the Barmakī's cultural outlook owed something to their land of origin, northern Afghanistan, and Yaḥyā al-Barmakī's interest in medicine may have derived from no longer identifiable family tradition.[2]

Many of the early governors of the Caliphate were Barmakids. Khalid ibn Barmak built Mansura, Sindh and later Baghdad. His son was the governor of what is now Azerbaijan.

Demographics

Central Asia

The Registan and its three madrasahs, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Country Total Population Muslim Percentage Muslim Population
 Kazakhstan 18,744,548 70.2%[3] 13,158,672
 Kyrgyzstan 6,019,480 90.6%[4] 5,194,811
 Tajikistan 8,734,951 98.0%[5] 8,560,251
 Turkmenistan 5,851,466 96.1% 5,459,417
 Uzbekistan 32,653,900 96.5%[6] 31,511,013
Central Asia 72,004,345 90.6% 66,884,164

East Asia

Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou, the oldest mosque in China
Country Total Population Muslim Percentage Muslim Population
 China 1,447,620,350 1.8%[7][8][9] 30,000,000
 Hong Kong 7,448,900 4.1% 305,404
 Macau 658,900 1.5%[10] 10,000
 Japan 126,420,000 0.19%[11] 230,000
 North Korea 25,610,672 0.01%[12] 3,000
 South Korea 51,635,256 0.38%[13] 196,454
 Mongolia 3,231,200 5.0% 161,560
 Taiwan 23,577,488 0.3% 70,732
East Asia 1,633,202,416 3.13% 30,977,150

South Asia

The Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan during Eid al-Fitr. It is a historical and the second largest mosque in South Asia
Country Total Population Muslim Percentage Muslim Population
 Afghanistan 31,575,018 99.7%[14] 31,260,000
 Bangladesh 165,000,000 90.4% 149,100,000
 Bhutan 727,145 0.2%[15] 7,000
 India 1,338,270,000 15.6%[16] 213,000,000
 Maldives 378,114 100%[17] 378,114
   Nepal 29,218,867 4.4% 1,285,630
 Pakistan 231,085,590 96.50% 200,400,000
 Sri Lanka 21,444,000 9.7% 2,080,068
South Asia 1,799,355,755 32.43% 601,939,417

Southeast Asia

Country Total Population Muslim Percentage Muslim Population
 Brunei 460,345 82.7% 380,705
 Cambodia 16,204,486 2%[18] 312,540
 East Timor 1,291,358 0.3% 4,000
 Indonesia 266,500,000 86.7%[19] 231,070,000
 Laos 7,126,706 0.1% 8,000
 Malaysia 32,730,000 63.5% 20,623,140
 Myanmar 55,123,814 4.15% 2,300,000
 Philippines 112,018,293 11%[20][21] 12,322,012
 Singapore 5,888,926 15.6% 918,672
 Thailand 68,414,135 5.0% 3,420,706
 Vietnam 96,160,163 0.1%[22] 196,000
Southeast Asia 679,726,700 40.8% 277,346,378

West Asia

Kaaba Inside the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia with pilgrims performing the Hajj, Kaaba is the direction of prayer of Muslims to Allah
An-Nabawi Mosque, Medina
Country Total Population Muslim Percentage Muslim Population
 Armenia 2,975,000 0.03%[23] 1,000
 Azerbaijan 10,027,874 96.9%[24] 9,727,038
 Bahrain 1,496,300 81.2%[25] 1,214,995
 Cyprus 854,800 25.4% 217,119
 Georgia 3,723,464 10.7% 463,062
 Iran 81,871,500 99%[26] 81,052,785
 Iraq 39,339,753 98.0%[27] 38,552,957
 Israel 8,930,680 17.7% 1,580,730
 Jordan 10,261,300 94.0% 9,645,622
 Kuwait 4,226,920 85.0% 3,592,882
 Lebanon 6,093,509 54.0% 3,200,000
 Oman 4,651,706 99.0%[28] 4,605,188
 Palestine 4,816,503 93.0%,[29] 4,479,347
 Qatar 2,561,643 77.5%[30] 1,985,273
 Saudi Arabia 33,413,660 100.0%[31] 33,413,660
 Syria 18,284,407 87.0%[32] 15,907,434
 Turkey 80,810,525 99.8%[33] 80,648,903
 United Arab Emirates 9,582,340 80.0% 7,665,872
 Yemen 28,915,284 99.5%[34] 28,915,284
West Asia 352,837,168 79.45% 326,869,151

References

  1. ↑ "The Global Religious Landscape" (PDF). Pewforum.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  2. ↑ History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume 4, Part 2 By C. E. Bosworth, M.S. Asimov, page 300
  3. ↑ "The results of the national population census in 2009". Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan. 12 November 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  4. ↑ MAPPING THE GLOBAL MUSLIM POPULATION Archived 2011-05-19 at the Wayback Machine. A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Muslim Population. Pew Research Center. October 2009
  5. ↑ "Tajikistan". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  6. ↑ "The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010–2050". Pew Research. 2 April 2015. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "East Asia/Southeast Asia :: China — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  8. ↑ "China Religion Facts & Stats". www.nationmaster.com. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  9. ↑ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | 2010 Report on International Religious Freedom - China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau)". Refworld. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  10. ↑ "MACAU DAILY TIMES - Being a Muslim in Macau: Indonesian community holds triple celebration". 2013-10-16. Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  11. ↑ "The number of Muslims in Japan is growing fast". The Economist. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  12. ↑ "Table: Muslim Population by Country". Pew Research Center. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  13. ↑ ""Many Koreans have big misunderstandings about Islam," says a Muslim convert in South Korea". 31 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  14. ↑ "Afghanistan Religion | Afghanistan's Web Site". www.afghanistans.com. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  15. ↑ Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project: Bhutan. Pew Research Center. 2010.
  16. ↑ "Muslim Population in India - Muslims in Indian States". www.indiaonlinepages.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  17. ↑ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  18. ↑ "East Asia/Southeast Asia :: Cambodia — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  19. ↑ "Statistik Umat Menurut Agama di Indonesia" (in Indonesian). Kementerian Agama Republik Indonesia. 15 May 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020. Muslim 231 Million (86.7), Christian 20.45 Million (7.6), Catholic 8.43 million (3.12), Hindu 4.65 million (1.74), Buddhist 2.03 million (0.77), Confucianism 76.630 (0.03), Others/Traditional faiths 126.51 (0.04), Total 266.5 Million
  20. ↑ "Table 1.10; Household Population by Religious Affiliation and by Sex; 2010" (PDF). 2015 Philippine Statistical Yearbook. East Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority: 1–30. October 2015. ISSN 0118-1564. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  21. ↑ "Philippines".
  22. ↑ "Only Few Know Of The Cham Muslims – Vietnam's Isolated Islamic Community", Mvslim, 2018-11-18, retrieved 2019-01-09
  23. ↑ Miller, Tracy, ed. (October 2009), Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population (PDF), Pew Research Center, p. 31, archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-10, retrieved 2009-10-08
  24. ↑ "Mapping The Global Muslim Population" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  25. ↑ "Bahrain Religion Facts & Stats". www.nationmaster.com. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  26. ↑ "Iran Religion Facts & Stats".
  27. ↑ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  28. ↑ "Oman Religion Facts & Stats". www.nationmaster.com. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  29. ↑ "Are all Palestinians Muslim?". Institute for Middle East Understanding. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  30. ↑ "Qatar | The World Almanac of Islamism". almanac.afpc.org. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  31. ↑ "Saudi Arabia". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  32. ↑ "Syria Religions - Demographics". www.indexmundi.com. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  33. ↑ "Turkey". World Factbook. CIA. 2007. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Yemen". WikiShia. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
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