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Religions Of The Middle East
Introduction
Three major religious groups, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, originated in the Middle East. Smaller minority religions, such as the Bahá’í Faith, Druze, Yazidism, Mandaeism, Gnosticism, Yarsanism, Samaritanism, Shabakism, Ishikism, Ali-Illahism, Kakai, and Zoroastrianism, are also present in the Middle East. Islam is the prevalent religion in most of the region.
Below is a brief introduction to many of these religions. A more in-depth look at each one will follow.
Bahá’í Faith
The Bahá’í Faith has noteworthy representation in Iran, United Arab Emirates, Palestine, and Turkey. Its international headquarters are located on the northern slope of Mount Carmel at Haifa, Israel (if you’ve ever been to Haifa – you probably know – or if you ever plan to go to Israel, Haifa is a place to visit. The Bahá’í Faith’s gardens which seem to flow down the mountain side almost to the sea are beautiful to behold.) Founded in Iran in 1863, the Bahá’í Faith is one of the youngest world major religions. According to most encyclopedias, in the early 21st century there are an estimated six to eight million Bahá’ís across the globe.
Christianity
Christianity originated in the region in the 1st century AD, and was one of the major religions of the region until the Muslim conquests of the mid-to-late 7th century AD. Christianity in the Middle East is characterized with its diverse beliefs and traditions compared to other parts of the old world.
Christians now make up five percent of the population, down & with Muslims, extensive emigration and ethnic and religious persecution. In addition, political turmoil has been and continues to be a major contributor pressing indigenous Near Eastern Christians of various ethnicities towards seeking security and stability outside their homelands. Christian Palestinians face the same oppression as their Muslim compatriots. Recent spread of Jihadist and Salafist ideology, foreign to the tolerant values of the local communities in Greater Syria and Egypt has also played a role in unsettling Christians’ decades-long peaceful existence. It is estimated that at the present rate, the Middle East’s 12 million Christians will likely drop to six million by the year 2020.
Copts
The largest Christian group in the Middle East is the originally Coptic-speaking, but now Arabic-speaking Egyptian ethnoreligious community of Copts, who number 6–11 million people, although Coptic sources claim the figure is closer to 12–16 million. Copts reside mainly in Egypt, but also in Sudan and Libya, with tiny communities in Israel, Cyprus and Jordan.
Maronites
Arabic-speaking Lebanese Maronites number some 1.1–1.2 million across the Middle East, and often avoid an Arabic identity in favor of a pre-Arab Phoenician-Canaanite heritage.
Syriacs and Assyrians
Syriac Christians of various non-Arab ethnoreligious heritages number roughly two to three million people. The indigenous Eastern Aramaic speaking Assyrians of Iraq, south eastern Turkey, north-western Iran and north-eastern Syria have suffered both ethnic and religious persecution over the last few centuries such as the Assyrian Genocide, leading to many fleeing to the west or congregating in areas in the north of Iraq and Syria. In Iraq numbers of indigenous Assyrians has declined to somewhere between 500,000 and 800,000 (from 0.8–1.4 million before the 2003 US invasion) or six percent of the population of 23 million.
Currently, the largest community of Syriac Christians in the Middle East resides in Syria, numbering 877,000–1,139,000. These are a mix of Neo-Aramaic speaking Assyrians and largely Arabic-speaking Christians (originally speakers of the almost extinct Western Aramaic language) who ethnically identify as Syriacs.
Armenia
In the Middle Eastern states, there is a large community of Armenians. The Armenians in the Middle East number around 350,000-400,000 and are mostly concentrated in Iran, Lebanon, Cyprus, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine, although well-established communities exist in Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, and other countries of the area. Some other sources claim that the Armenians number around half a million, with their largest community in Iran with 200,000 – 300,000 members. The number of Armenians in Turkey is disputed having a wide range of estimations. More Armenian communities reside in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and to a lesser degree in other Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq and Israel. The Armenian Genocide during and after World War I drastically reduced the once sizable Armenian population.
Other Christian Groups
In the Persian Gulf states, Bahrain has 1,000 Christian citizens and Kuwait has 400 native Christian citizens, in addition to 450,000 Christian foreign residents in Kuwait. Arab Christians, and those who tend to identify as Arabs, are mostly adherents of the Greek Orthodox Church. In 2010 they numbered 1.1 million in Syria, 250,000 in Lebanon, 250-300,000 in Jordan, 150,000 in Israel and Palestine and smaller numbers in Iraq. Protestant converts number around 400,000. Melkite Christians who are ethnically Arab Catholic Christians of the Greek Rite compose almost 600,000. Syrian Orthodox number about one million in Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, with the great majority being in Syria.
The ethnic Greeks, who had once inhabited large parts of the western Middle East and Asia Minor, have declined since the Arab conquests and recently severely reduced in Turkey, as a result of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, which followed World War I. Today the biggest Middle Eastern Greek community resides in Cyprus numbering around 793,000. Cypriot Greeks constitute the only Christian majority state in the Middle East, although Lebanon was founded with a Christian majority in the first half of the 20th century.
Smaller Christian groups include; Georgians, Messianic Jews, Russians and others, such as Kurdish, Turcoman, Iranian, Shabak, Azeri, Circassian and Arab converts exist in small numbers. There are currently several million Christian foreign workers in the Gulf area, mostly from the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Middle Eastern Christians are relatively wealthy, well educated, and politically moderate, as they have today an active role in various social, economical, sporting and political aspects in the Middle East.
Druze Faith
Druze, or Druse, is a monotheistic religion found in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. Representation ranges from 100,000 in Israel, to 700,000 in Syria. Developing from Isma’ilite teachings, Druze incorporates Jewish, Christian, Gnostic, Neoplatonic and Iranian elements.
Ishikism
Ishikism (also known as Chinarism or Ishik Alevism), a religious movement within Alevism that rejects its Islamic roots, is found in Turkey. Ishikīs consider themselves to esotericists, claiming that Alevism is esotericism itself, meaning that they identify themselves with every type of esotericism in history. They claim that Alevism is the oldest religion in the world, that has changed shapes throughout time. This “First and True Religion” of the world, is claimed by Ishikís to have been a main source for all other religions and beliefs in the world.
Islam
Islam is the most widely followed religion in the Middle East. About 20 percent of the world’s Muslims live in the Middle East. Islam is monotheistic believing in Allah and follows the teaching of the written sacred text, the Qur’an. Islam is believed to be an extension of Judaism and Christianity with the belief that Muhammad is the final prophet of God, in a long chain of prophets, from Adam on down to John the Baptist, Jesus, and finally Muhammad. The majority of the Muslims are Sunni, followed by Shi’a. Smaller sects or denominations include the Ahmadiyya, Wahhabi, and nearly 40 others.
Sunni And Shi’a Islam
A major source of conflict in the Muslim Middle East is the divisive nature between the two main sects of Islam: Sunni and Shi’a. Sunni is the largest branch of Islam and dominates most countries in the Middle East. Shi’a have their largest populations in Iraq (60-65 percent), Iran (90–96 percent), Lebanon (27–35 percent), the Zaydi in Yemen (45 percent) and Bahrain (75-80 percent) and are generally scattered otherwise. Minority Shi’a communities are also found in Turkey as the Alevi sect (20-25 percent), Saudi Arabia (10-15 percent), and Syria (15 percent). Though these two sects agree on the fundamentals of Islam and the teachings of the Qur’an, they are in conflict about who would lead the Muslim community after the Prophet Muhammad’s death. The Battle of Siffin (May–July 657 AD, occurred during the first Muslim civil war), was a significant schism between the two sects. Throughout the years, other differences have arisen between practices, beliefs and culture. Many conflicts between the two communities have occurred. Hi
Judaism
Judaism in the Middle East is mostly in the state of Israel. Israel’s population is 75.3 percent Jewish, with the remainder made up of Muslims (20.6 percent), Christians, Druze, Bahá’í and various other minorities (4.1 percent). There are a few other countries in the Middle East with significant Jewish populations, but they are small, scattered communities.
Kakai
Kakai is an independent Kurdish religion, with no affiliation to other groups such as Christians, Muslims or Yazidis. Our religion is a secret one. The information available online about the Kakai religion is mostly wrong. You may find the name of the Kakai book online, but you will never find the whole text of it.
Mandaeism
There are between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans worldwide and in the Middle East they are found in Iraq and Iran.
They reject Jesus and Muhammad and view Christianity and Islam negatively, but revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enosh and Noah. Mandaeans are an ethnoreligious community, which doesn’t allow conversion.
Samaritanism
Samaritanism is a closely affiliated religion with Judaism, practiced by the ethnoreligious Samaritan community, largely residing in Israel. In the past, Samaritans used to populate Egypt and Syria, but their community had almost collapsed by the late 19th century due to religious persecution by radical Islamists. Today the Samaritan community has grown to about 800 persons from as few as 150 in the early 20th century.
Shabakism
There are about 60,000 Shabak people living today, all in northern Iraq. They are an ethnic group with a religion similar to orthodox Islam and Christianity. The Shabak have much in common with the Yazidis.
Yazīdī
Yazidis (Yezīdī, Azīdī, Zedī, or Izdī ) are found in Iraq, Syria, and Iran. It is a fusion of Zoroastrian, Manichaean, Jewish, Nestorian Christian and Islamic elements. They do not see themselves as descendent from Adam and maintain complete segregation from the rest of the population. They number fewer than 100,000 and worship a main divinity called Yazīdī is Malak Ṭāʾūs (“Peacock Angel”).
Zoroastrianism
In the Middle East, Zoroastrianism is found in central Iran. Today, there are estimated to be under 20,000 Zoroastrians in Iran. It is one of the oldest monotheistic religions as it was founded 3,500 years ago. It was also one of the most powerful religions in the world for about 1,000 years. Now, however, it is considered one of the smallest religions with only 190,000 followers worldwide. There are two deities: Azhura Mazda, who fights for a person’s goodness, and Ahriman, who fights for a person’s evil. It is ultimately up to the individual to decide which deity they will follow. Zoroastreans follow the Avesta which is their primary sacred text.
Other Religions
Hinduism In Arab States And Buddhism In The Middle East
There are many Hindus in the Arab states, mainly due to the migration of Indians to the oil-rich states around the Persian Gulf. Hindu temples have been built in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Yemen and Oman.
Though Buddhism has had a presence in the Middle East for over 1,000 years, it has recently experienced a revival with an estimated 900,000 people (perhaps more) who profess Buddhism as their religion.
Buddhist adherents make up just over 0.3 percent of the total population of the Middle East. Many of these Buddhists are workers who have migrated from other parts of Asia to the Middle East in the last 20 years, many from countries that have large Buddhist populations, such as China, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. A small number of engineers, company directors, and managers from Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea have also moved to the Middle East.
Sikhism, the fifth-largest organized religion in the world after Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, having over 25 million Sikhs worldwide, has a small presence in the Middle East also, mainly in the U.A.E, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iran. Most of them are Punjabi-speaking Indian expatriates.
Countries
Egypt
Religion in Egypt consists of Islam (mostly Sunni Muslim) 90 percent, Coptic Christians nine percent and Other Christians one percent. As Egypt has modernized with new forms of media and the Egyptian press was liberalized in the 2000s, Coptic Christianity has become a main topic of religious controversy. There is much tension between the Muslims and Copts of Egypt as Copts argue for more representation in government and less legal and administrative discrimination; they also feel under-protected from religious hate-crimes. With this greater freedom of press, the Coptic issue has just begun to break into public awareness, but also due to rises in extremism in both communities, media may also be exacerbating the sectarian tension by only publicizing examples of prejudice.
Another current religious tension in Egypt is the role of the Muslim Brotherhood, founded by Hassan al-Banna in Egypt. Many countries have now developed their own branches. Many are violent and most Arab governments actively try to restrain the group by arresting and killing members. As the current government of Egypt was trying to establish itself, there were many concerns that a member of the Muslim Brotherhood would again step in and claim leadership.
The Brotherhood is however unpopular among the majority of Egyptians on account of its fundamentalist views, its clampdown on tourism and its desire to impose Shari’a law on the nation.
Iran
Religion in Iran is made up of 98 percent Islam (Shi’a 89 percent, Sunni nine percent) and two percent Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha’i. There was much religious oppression and executions of members of the Baha’i faith. Religious minorities are now beginning to hold a larger presence and significance in Iran and are being acknowledged as such.
The Islamic Revolution replaced an old world monarchy with a theocracy based on a grand position of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (Velayat-e Faqih). This is a mix of republicanism and religion that would use religion to rule for elective and democratic institutions; it was to be a blend of liberalism and religious injunctions. Islam would be protected under this Islamic Republic and unelected positions like the Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council would have unlimited power over the nation. With the nuclear program developing in Iran and much conflict after September 22, 2001, Iran and the Islamic Republic are at a crossroads.
Iraq
Religion in Iraq is represented by 97 percent Islam (Shiite 60–65 percent, Sunni 32–37 percent), and three percent Christian or other. Because of this large majority of Shi’a over Sunni Muslim, there is much tension between the two groups.
Israel
Religion in Israel is represented by the following religious make-up: Judaism 77 percent, Islam 16 percent, Christian two percent, Druze two percent. Israel represents the religious Holy Land for Jews, Christians, Muslims and Baha’is. All religions are present in Israel and lay personal claim to the land. Due to the significant Israeli/Palestinian conflict, tensions are high in the religious community. The majority of displaced and upset Palestinians are Muslim and the majority of current Israeli citizens are Jewish, so establishing the state borders is highly influenced by religion.
One of the main difficulties in establishing peace between the two countries is because of Jerusalem. Each of the three main religions is incredibly attached to this city and claim it as their own. Therefore, it is difficult to determine whether Palestinian Territories or Israel will encompass this region. Maps produced within the territories actually represent Jerusalem differently. Palestinian maps draw Jerusalem as divided and Israeli maps show it as a part of Israeli territory. Now, however, with the United States moving its Embassy to Jerusalem and replacing its Consulate there, recognition seems to tilt towards Israel, although, Israel still acknowledges and protects the presence of all other groups. Several other countries are following suit by relocating their embassies to Jerusalem as well.
Jordan
Religion in Jordan is represented by 92 percent Muslim (ySunni), six percent Christian (mostly Greek Orthodox), and two percent other.
Lebanon
Saint George Maronite Cathedral and the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque, Beirut. 40.4 percent in Lebanon are Christians representing the mosaic of the Middle East, and contributing heavily in the media, politics, entertainment, banking . . . sectors in Lebanon and the World.
Religion in Lebanon is the most unique in the Middle East, and a mix of religions make up Lebanon, represented by 57.5 percent Muslim (Shi’a, Sunni, Druze, Isma’ilite, Alawite/Nusayri), 41.5 percent Christian (Maronite, Greek Orthodox, Melkite, Protestant, and Christian churches non-native to Lebanon like Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Catholic Church, Armenian Evangelical Church, Roman Catholic Church, Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria), and one percent Jews. Lebanon has a confessional political system in which, regardless of political parties, the President is always Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of the Parliament a Shi’ite Muslim, and the Deputy Prime Minister Greek Orthodox Christian. Also, the Army General has to be Christian and the Bank Governor is always Christian as well. In addition, 50 percent of the Parliament is represented by Christian Members, according to the law in Lebanon since the end of the war until today. This is the foundation of uniqueness of Lebanon and the source of much of its conflicts; and while changes have been made to attempt to make parliamentary representation more even, many are still urging for reform and change. Some would like the confessionalist government to be abolished.
Saudi Arabia
Religion in Saudi Arabia is allegedly 100 percent Muslim. It is illegal to practice any other religion than Islam in Saudi Arabia. There is still tension, however, between the Sunnis and the Shi’as. Shiite Islamist revolution has never been a huge threat to the Saudi Arabian government, though, because it is such a small population. Sunni Islamists, though, present a larger threat to the government because of their large Saudi Arabian population.
Syria
Religion in Syria is represented by 70 percent Islam (Sunni), 12 percent Alawite, five percent Druze, and other Islamic sects, ten percent Christian (various sects), and there is some Jewish representation (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo).
Turkey
Religion in Turkey is represented by 99.8 percent Muslim& (mostly Sunni and approximately 20 percent are Alevi), and 0.2 percent other (mostly Christians and Jews). Originally a militarily secularized government, under president Erdogan, religious freedom has become much more accessible in Turkey. There has been a growing religious resurgence in Turkey and more and more citizens find significance in their religious identities. The previous laws disallowing the Hijab, religious headscarf, in schools and public places has been a huge source of contention.
Now, it is a matter of civil rights in the courts. The case of Sahin in 2004 was one that really exemplified the tension between religious secularism, civil rights and the government’s power in Turkey. The case revolved around a student at university being allowed to wear the Hijab in class. Religious education is also a topic of debate in Turkey. Before 1980, private religious education was banned and then it was changed to be required. As it is currently being re-evaluated, the question is whether religious education should be banned again, optional or if it should be obligatory and plural.
However, with a so-called failed coup of July, 2016 everything is changing. President Erdogan has strengthened his hold on power, seen a purging of the media, legal and educational systems, and the military. Shari’a is also finding popularity with the public. Everything that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who oversaw the fall of the Ottoman Empire and became the founder of what was modern Turkey in 1923, is at risk.
Yemen
Religion in Yemen is represented by a majority of Islam (including Sunni and Shiite), along with small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu.
Religions Of The Middle East
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https://discerning-Islam.org
Last Update: 04/2021
