While Oman's government doesn't publish religious statistics, estimates suggest around 5% of the population is Shia Muslim, with the majority being Ibadis (45%) and Sunnis (45%) within the 95% Muslim population, making Ibadism the largest group.
The U.S. government estimates the population to be 95 percent Muslim: 45 percent Sunni, 45 percent Ibadhi, and 5 percent Shia. Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians combined comprise the remaining 5 percent; almost all are foreign workers. Academic sources state most non-Muslims are foreign workers from South Asia.
Shia Muslims form a majority of the population in Iran, Iraq, and Azerbaijan, as well as about half of the citizen population of Bahrain. Significant Shia communities are also found in Lebanon, Kuwait, Turkey, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent.
The Saudi government does not conduct a census on religion or ethnicity, but some sources estimate the Shia population in Saudi Arabia to make up around 10-15% of the approximately 20 million natives of Saudi Arabia.
While most Omanis practise a moderately conservative form of Islam, there is almost no tolerance for family members who convert to Christianity due to a strong clan mentality. All religious organisations must be registered with the authorities.
Terrorism in Oman
Terrorist attacks in Oman cannot be ruled out. Attacks could be indiscriminate including in places visited by foreigners. Terrorists have threatened to carry out attacks in the Gulf region, including on: Residential compounds.
Lebanon. Lebanon holds the largest proportion of Christians in the Arab world proportionally and falls behind only Egypt in absolute numbers.
Palestinians are predominantly Sunni Muslims, with Sunni Islam being the faith of the vast majority (around 85-90%) of the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, though there are also significant Palestinian Christian communities and very small Shia groups. The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which governs Gaza, is a Sunni organization, but Shia groups like Hezbollah and Iran offer strong support for the Palestinian cause.
While the exact numbers are subject to debate, the Shia comprise around 10% of the world's Muslims, and Sunnis 90%. Sunnis are a majority in most Muslim communities around the world.
"Al Salam" literally means "The Peace"; the number "313" is the number men who accompanied the Islamic Prophet Muhammad during the Battle of Badr and is said by Shias to be the number of people that will accompany the 12th Shia Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, when he returns to the world during the end of times.
Sect identity is more common among other religious groups in India. For example, the predominant sect among Indian Muslims is Sunni Islam (55%), while 6% of Indian Muslims identify as Shia.
Sunni and Shi'i are the two largest branches of Islam, with the overwhelming majority of Iranians practicing Shi'i Islam. About 90 percent of Iranians practice Shi'ism, the official religion of Iran.
These mostly lived in Muscat and a few hundred in Ibri. This Jewish population decreased during the early 1950s when mass emigration of Jews leaving the Arabian Peninsula occurred. Today the community no longer exists and most of the Jews who lived in Oman now live in Israel.
Most Muslims in Turkey are Sunni Muslims forming about 85–90%, and Shia-Aleviler (Alevis, Alawites, and Ja'faris) denominations in total form up to 10% of the Muslim population.
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.
The majority of Muslims in Egypt are Sunni, with many affiliated with various Sufi orders. The Ahmadiyya community is estimated at around 50,000 individuals. Estimates of Egypt's Shia population, including Twelvers and Ismailis, range from 800,000 to as many as two to three million individuals.
Hezbollah is a Shia Islamist Lebanese political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. Its armed strength was assessed to be equivalent to that of a medium-sized army in 2016.
The Muslim population is overwhelmingly Sunni. An estimated one to three million Muslims are Shia.
Khan was born on 6 August 1989 in Bhopal, India. Khan is a Sunni Muslim. She has a sister, Ayra Khan.
Religious figures
Personal life. Kaif has a close relationship with her family, and the lack of a father figure in her life has given her a sense of responsibility towards them. While Kaif's mother is Christian and her father is Muslim, Kaif says she was allowed to practise a faith of her choice and is a "firm believer in God".
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have some of the lowest crime rates in the region, with strict laws, efficient law enforcement, and modern infrastructure contributing to overall safety. Numbeo's Crime Index ranks both nations among the safest in the world for residents and travelers.
A traditional Islamic term for Christians (literally "Nazarene"). Arab Christians prefer Masīḥī (مَسِيحِيّ).
A major study conducted by missionary David Garrison, highlighted in his 2014 book “A Wind in the House of Islam,” estimates that between 2 and 7 million Muslims have converted to Christianity worldwide in the past two decades. Garrison calls this movement “the greatest turning of Muslims to Christ in history.”