Muslims are the followers of Islam. There are about two billion of them, around a quarter of the world's population, and they live on every continent. Only about one in five Muslims is Arab.
The country with the most Muslims is Indonesia, followed by Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Large Muslim communities live in Nigeria, Egypt, Türkiye, Iran, China, Russia, Europe and the Americas. Muslims come from every colour, language and culture, and are rich and poor, educated and uneducated, like any other people.
What unites them is the belief in one God, the Quran, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the five pillars. Customs, food and clothing differ widely from country to country, and many of those customs come from local culture and not from the religion itself.
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَٰكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍۢ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَٰكُمْ شُعُوبًۭا وَقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتْقَىٰكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌۭ ﴿١٣﴾
O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.
This answer follows the mainstream Sunni understanding and is general learning, not a fatwa. Where Muslims differ, the answer says so. Have a question of your own? Write to us.
