In this section, you need to complete all four parts regardless of your Girl Scout level.
The Spread of Islam
Islam is one of three monotheistic faiths (the belief in one God). People who practice Islam are known as Muslims. Islam originated in present day Saudi Arabia and was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He is considered the last prophet and the messenger of Allah (which is the Arabic word for God). The Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) and is the Islamic holy book for Muslims. The followers of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) went on to spread Islam throughout the world. Watch the video below.
Where do Muslims Live? How Many Muslims are in the World?
In 2020, there were around 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide. There were 7.9 billion people in the world in 2020 which means 24% of the world’s population was Muslim, making it the second largest religion in the world. Muslims live everywhere, except for a few countries. Most Muslims live in North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Indonesia. These are the green countries on the map. The dark brown shows countries where 20-30% of the population is Muslim. The light brown shows countries where 5-20% of the population is Muslim. The places where less than 1% of the population is Muslim are Japan, North Korea, Armenia, and Laos. These are the white countries on the map.
How Does Islam Relate to Other Religions?
There are three monotheistic faiths (belief in one God), and Islam is one of them. Judaism and Christianity are the other two monotheistic faiths. Muslims also believe in the same prophets as Christians and Jews do. They believe in Jesus and Moses, they just go by different names in Islam. Jesus is called Isa, and Moses is called Musa.
What are Sunni and Shia?
In Islam, there are two branches, Sunni and Shia. They share the same core beliefs, but there are some differences between the two. The main difference is that they believe that different people should have led the Islamic empire after Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) passed away. The Sunni believe that the caliphate or leader should be voted on, and Shia believe that it should be Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) descendants. There are more minor differences, such as the positioning of the hands when praying and praying at different times. 85% of Muslims are Sunni, and 15% are Shia.