Religion In The Middle East

         The Middle East has three main religions; Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Islam has the largest percentage of population in the Middle East. It is divided into numerous sects; the most popular are Shi'a Islam and Sunni Islam. Islam is grounded on a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion which is based on the holy text (Qur'an) and the teachings and normative example (Sunnah) of Muhammad, the last prophet sent to them by god. Islam is made up of five pillars which are Shahadah (witnessing there is no God but Allah, and that Mohammad is his prophet), Salah (praying five times a day), Zakah (charity), Sawm (fasting during Ramadan) and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). An advocate of Islam is called a Muslim. 

          Muslims make up 91.8% of the Middle Eastern population making Christians and people of Jewish belief a minority at 3.7% and 1.7%. Below is a circle graph showing the percentages of people that follow each of the religions in Middle East.

Sources:

The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. (2013). Middle east religions. Retrieved from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/religionsMEmap.html