Iran has the world's largest Shia Muslim population, with around 90-95% of its Muslims adhering to Shia Islam, making it the only country where Shia Islam forms the basis of government, followed by significant Shia majorities or large communities in Iraq, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Lebanon, and Pakistan.
Iran has the largest Shia majority, with more than 66 million making up nearly 90% of the population. Shia are also in the majority in Iraq and Bahrain. There are sizable Shia communities in Kuwait, Yemen, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Large numbers of Shia Arab Muslims live in some Arab countries including Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, and Qatar. Shia Muslims are a numerical majority in Iraq. Approximately 35% of the population in Yemen and nearly half of the Muslims in Bahrain and Lebanon are Shia Muslims.
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.
The Muslim population is overwhelmingly Sunni. An estimated one to three million Muslims are Shia.
According to Iranian government estimates, Muslims constitute 99.4 percent of the population, of whom 90 to 95 percent are Shia, and 5 to 10 percent are Sunni.
Religious figures
He has been regularly listed among The 500 Most Influential Muslims of the world. He also created and hosted the television talk show Satyamev Jayate.
Khan was born on 6 August 1989 in Bhopal, India. Khan is a Sunni Muslim. She has a sister, Ayra Khan.
Neither Sunni nor Shia Islam is inherently "stricter"; both have diverse followers, but their interpretations and structures differ, with Shia often having a more defined clerical hierarchy (Imams) seen by some as stricter, while Sunnis emphasize the Prophet's direct tradition (Sunnah) through elected Caliphs, sometimes leading to more literalist theology but also direct faith, with both branches having very devout and more moderate individuals. Key differences include leadership succession (Ali for Shia, council for Sunni), legal interpretations, and specific practices like Ashura mourning for Shia, with modern tensions often driven by politics, notes this YouTube video and this PBS LearningMedia article.
Yes, Shia also do pray 5 times a day like “normal” Muslims (technically 15% of a sample set cannot be abnormal), however, many times they combine the setting under which they do Dhuhr and Asr prayers (i.e. they do both in one setting) and Maqrib and Isha prayers.
"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.
While the founder of all Islam is clearly Muhammad, the founder of Shia Islam is unquestionably his nephew and son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib. Ali would become the founder, Caliph, and first Imam of the Shia Islamic sect.
His books also bear the names of Muhammad, Fatima, 'Ali, and the four Caliphs of Sunni Islam, including 'Ali. His family was deeply influenced by Sufism, with ancestors originally coming from Delhi to the shrine of Gisu Daraz in Bijapur. Below is Tipu Sultan's Helmet.
Roshan has an older sister, Sunaina, and was educated at the Bombay Scottish School in Mahim. Roshan belongs to a Hindu family, though he considers himself more spiritual than religious.
Aga Khan (Persian: آقاخان; Arabic: آغا خان; also transliterated as Aqa Khan and Agha Khan) is the hereditary title of the spiritual leader and Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias, a branch of Islam with approximately 12–15 million followers worldwide.
Shroff is a devout Hindu devotee of Shiva and has attributed his physique to Shiva. He holds a fast every Monday and during every Mahashivaratri festival.
Hamas (or the Islamic Resistance Movement) is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist military and sociopolitical movement, and a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO).
Shah Rukh Khan is a Sunni-Muslim is married to a Hindu and his children follow both religions.
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.
The constitution designates Islam as the official religion, with over 90% of the Emirati population are Sunni Islam, mainly following the Maliki school. The vast majority of the remainder 5–10% are Shia Muslims, who are concentrated in the Emirates of Dubai and Sharjah.