Communication Between Cultures

Historical Overview of Islamic Civilization

The preceding sections in this chapter focused on how historical events influenced the

cultural characteristics of individual countries. For the final section, however, we will

take a broader perspective and examine the sweeping history of Islamic civilization

and how it continues to be a major factor in the lives of more than one and a half

billion people. Events such as the tragedy of September 11, 2001; U.S. military conflicts

in Iraq and Afghanistan; the Arab Spring; Syria’s civil war; Boko Haram’satrocitiesin

Nigeria; the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL); and the continuing

global fight against terrorism should serve as motivation for you to learn about Islam.

But there are other, equally compelling reasons for acquiring an appreciation of Islamic

history and culture. Not the least of these is because Muslims constitute an integral part

of the U.S. social fabric. Among the almost 3.5 million U.S. Muslims^145 are congressio-

nal representatives, doctors and lawyers, sports stars, your coworkers, and your neigh-

bors, and, most importantly, they form an integral part of our society.

Muslim Demographics

As discussed in Chapter 4, Islam is the world’s second-largest religion, exceeded only

by Christianity, with Muslims representing the majority of the population in forty-

nine nations. Islam is the predominant religion of most North African and Middle

Eastern countries and several nations in South and Southeast Asia. Additionally,

there are large, growing populations of Muslims in Europe and North America. Mus-

lims numbered approximately 1.6 billion in 2010, constituting over one-fifth of the

World’s population.^146 These numbers are expected to grow between now and 2030

before leveling off at more than 2.2 billion, exceeding one-quarter of humankind.“If

current trends continue, Muslims will make up 26.4 percent of the world’s total pro-

jected population of 8.3 billion in 2030.”In the United States, due to immigration

and birthrate, the Muslim presence over the next twenty years is expected to increase

to 6.2 million, representing approximately 1.7 percent of the projected population.^147

As depicted in Table 5.7, the largest number of Muslims is not in the Middle

East, as international events tend to suggest. The majority of all Muslims reside in

TABLE 5.7 World Muslim Population by Region^148

TOTAL

POPULATION*

MUSLIM

POPULATION

(MILLION)

MUSLIMS AS

PERCENTAGE

OF TOTAL

POPULATION

MUSLIMS AS

PERCENTAGE OF

TOTAL MUSLIM

POPULATION

Asia-Pacific 4,054.99 985.53 24.3 61.7

Middle East–North Africa 341.02 317.07 93.0 19.8

Sub-Sahara Africa 822.72 248.11 30.2 15.5

Europe 742.55 43.49 5.9 2.7

North America 344.53 3.48 1.0 0.2

Latin America-Caribbean 590.08 0.84 1.0 0.1

World Total 6,895.89 1,598.51 23.2 100

*In millions based on 2010 estimated population.

Muslim Demographics 189

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