Islam

Posted By Muhammad Basharat

Islam is the official religion of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which has a population of about 174,578,558. The overwhelming majority (95-97%) of the Pakistani people are Muslims while the remaining 3-5% are Christian, Hindu, and others. Pakistan has the second largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia. Sunnis are the majority while the Shias make up between 10-20%  of the total Muslim population of the country. Pakistan has the second largest number of Shias after Iran, which numbers between 17 million to as high as 30 million according toVali Nasr.

 

 

 

 Islam and the Pakistan Movement

 

The Muslim poet-philosopher Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal first proposed the idea of a Muslim state in northwesternSouth Asia in his address to the Muslim League at Allahabad in 1930. His proposal referred to the four provinces ofPunjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and the NorthWest Frontier -- essentially what would became Pakistan. Iqbal's idea gave concrete form to two distinct nations in the South Asia based on religion (Islam and Hinduism) and with different historical backgrounds, social customs, cultures, and social mores.

Ahle Hadith movement in Pakistan. Many people on the Makran coast of Balochistan follow the Zikri sect of Islam.

 

 

 

 

The two subsects of Sunni Hanafi school, Barelvis and Deobandis, have their own Masjids. The Shi'a Ithna 'ashariyah school has its own Masjids commonly termed as Hussainias (Imambargahs). Mustaali Dawoodi Bohra and Sulaimani Bohra also have their own Masjids, while the Nizari Ismailis pray in Jama'at Khanas.

Sufism has a strong tradition in Pakistan. The Muslim Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting the millions of native people to Islam. As in other areas where Sufis introduced it, Islam to some extent syncretized with pre-Islamic influences, resulting in a religion with some traditions distinct from those of the Arabworld.

 

 

 

 

 

The Naqshbandiya, Qadiriya, Chishtiya and Suhrawardiyya silsas have a a large following in Pakistan. Sufis whose shrines receive much national attention are Data Ganj Baksh (Ali Hajweri) in Lahore (ca. 11th century), Baha-ud-din Zakariya in Multan and Shahbaz Qalander in Sehwan (ca. 12th century) and Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai in Bhit, Sindh and Rehman Baba in KhybIslamic education.

The Study of Islam as a subject is compulsory for all Muslim students up to Matriculation or O'levels in all schools in Pakistan. Islamic education to the masses is also propagated mainly by Islamic schools and literature. Islamic schools (or Madrassas) mostly cater to the youth from impoverished social backgrounds and those learning to be Islamic clerics.

 

 

 Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Pakistan

http://www.google.com.pk/images?q=islam+in+pakistan&hl=en&prmd=ivnsu&source=lnms&tbs=isch:1&ei=VNNLTbDRAsyxrAeW-NzZBg&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&sqi=2&ved=0CBwQ_AUoAQ&biw=1152&bih=773

Musilm

 Musilm

POsted By Muahmmad Basharat

A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم‎; /ˈmʊslɨm/ MOOS-lim or English pronunciation: /ˈmʌzlɨm/ MUZ-lim) or Moslem is an adherent of the religion of Islam. Literally, the word means "one who submits (to God)". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. All Muslims observe Sunnah, but differences in the definition of what is and what is not Sunnah has led to the emergence of sectarian movements. 

The well-organised and cohesive community of Muslims who accept the Sunnah as defined within one of the traditional Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi or Hanbali madhabs are the classical Sunni Muslims. Other Muslims, for example the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, are also well known as being an organised and a disciplined community.

Muslims believe that there is only one God, called Allah in Arabic. Muslims also believe that Islam existed long before Muhammad though it was not called Islam until the revelation of Surah al-Ma'ida. Muslims believe that this religion had evolved with time from the time of Adam until the time of Muhammad and was completed with the revelation of verse 3 of Surah al-Ma'ida:

"This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion."

 Currently, the most up to date reports from an American think-tank and PBS have estimated 1.2 to 1.57 billion Muslims populate the world, or about 20% of an estimated 2009 world population of 6.8 billion, with 60% in Asia and 20% of Muslims living in the Middle East and North Africa.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim