39. Religions of Overseas Asia
Asia is the part of the world where all the largest religions of the globe, including the three world religions, originated. Later, some of them spread mainly to other parts of the world, but most remained mainly Asian. First of all, this applies to such world religions as Islam and Buddhism.
Islam in foreign Asia it is very widespread: this religion is professed by over 800 million people, or more than 55% of all followers of Islam in the world and 20% of all inhabitants of this region. In many countries of foreign Asia, Islam is not only the dominant, but also the state religion. This is evidenced by the official names of some states - such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (with the capital Islamabad, that is, the city of Islam), the Islamic State of Afghanistan. This is also reminded by the image of the crescent moon and the presence of green on the state flags of many countries. For example, the green state flag of Saudi Arabia is the monarchical standard of the founder of the Saudi dynasty, the first king of the country, Ibn Saud. The inscription on the flag represents the opening phrase of the Quran: "There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet."
Figure 81 shows that Islam completely (with the exception of Cyprus and Israel) dominates Southwest Asia. Of the countries of South Asia, Muslims significantly predominate in Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives, but they form a noticeable stratum (13% of the population) in India as well. In Southeast Asia, Islam is represented in Indonesia - the first country in the world in terms of the total number of Muslims (210 million),
Rice. 81. The main religions of the believing population of foreign Asia
Malaysia and Brunei, and in East Asia - in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. As reflected in the same figure, Muslims in most Asian countries practice Sunni Islam, that is, along with the sacred scripture of Islam - the Koran - its sacred tradition - the Sunnah - is also recognized. The main stronghold Shia Islam Iran was and remains. But Shiites also predominate in Iraq, Bahrain and are widely represented in Lebanon, Yemen, and Afghanistan.
The Muslim cult proceeds from the fact that, according to the Qur'an, a person's entire life is considered as a service to God and a preparation for the afterlife by passing the tests that Allah ordered. Among the most important rituals of Islam are reading the Koran, which should be in every family, namaz - a prayer that is supposed to be performed five times a day - from dawn to early night, fasting during the month of Ramadan, Sunnat, or circumcision, giving alms, worship holy places. Of particular importance is the Hajj (Hajj) - a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina - which every adult Muslim, whether a man or a woman, should strive to accomplish at least once in his life.
Among the shrines of Islam in Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad, is primarily the main mosque of the Muslim world, Al-Haram. In the courtyard of this mosque, which can accommodate up to 300 thousand people, there is a quadrangular stone building of the Kaaba (“kaaba” means “cube”), in the northern wall of which there is a round black stone set in a silver hoop, apparently of meteorite origin, which is the main the object of worship of Muslims, because, according to legend, he was sent from heaven by Allah. In Medina, the main shrine of Islam is considered to be a mosque built on the place where, according to legend, Muhammad died. In total, there are 35 thousand mosques in the homeland of Islam, which are a necessary accessory to all city quarters and villages; they are supplied with electricity and water and are covered with carpets.
Muslims begin their chronology from the year when Muhammad moved from Mecca to Medina (in Christian chronology, this corresponds to 622 AD).
The geography of the Hajj covers the entire Muslim world (Fig. 82). The number of pilgrims in the second half of the XX century. has increased many times. Back in the early 1950s. it rarely exceeded 100 thousand people; in the late 1970s it reached 1 million, and in the late 1990s. - 2 million people or more.
Pilgrims, who in the old days had to cross the desert on camels or sail across the Red Sea in small boats, now arrive in Jeddah by plane or by sea. From Jeddah they go to Mecca, in the distant vicinity of which a huge tent camp is set up for them. Hajj is performed on a strictly defined date - from the 7th to the 13th day of the last, twelfth month of the lunar calendar (dhul-hijj-zha). This is due to the fact that, according to legend, it was on these days in 632 that Muhammad made his last visit to Mecca. He, according to legend, determined the basic procedure of the Hajj, which, as it were, symbolizes some of the events associated with the life of Ibrahim - the biblical Abraham, who is considered the progenitor of both Arabs and Jews. This procedure is very difficult. On the first day, the pilgrims, dressed in new white robes, should listen to the sermon and walk around the Kaaba seven times, then run seven more times between the two hills and pray on each of them, facing Mecca. On the second day, an army of pilgrims visits Mount Arafat, located 20 km from Mecca. On the third day, she remains in the Arafat valley, performing various religious rituals, on the fourth, she returns to the vicinity of Mecca. And in the last days of the Hajj, pilgrims - like the entire Muslim world - celebrate the most important holiday, the holiday of sacrifice (in Arabic - Eid al-Aja, and in Turkic - Kurban Bayram). Sheep or rams are used as sacrificial animals, but sometimes also bulls, cows, camels. In order to meet the need for such animals, Saudi Arabia has to additionally purchase hundreds of thousands of heads of sheep and rams from Australia and New Zealand. It can be added that as the number of pilgrims increased during the Hajj, all sorts of incidents began to happen more and more often: hundreds, even thousands of Muslims perish from the crush and the resulting fires. Therefore, the Ministry of Hajj Affairs of Saudi Arabia has recently paid much attention to ensuring his security.
Rice. 82. Pilgrimage to Mecca
The second of the world religions represented in foreign Asia is Buddhism. There are more than 530 million Buddhists here, therefore, it is in this region that almost all Buddhists in the world are concentrated. They are found in East, South-East, and South Asia, but - like the Sunnis and Shiites in Islam - they also distinguish adherents of the two main directions of Buddhism - Hinayana and Mahayana (Fig. 81).
Hinayana, which is also called southern Buddhism, prevails in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, but its adherents are also found in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries. According to rough estimates, Hinayana is practiced by almost 2/5 of all Buddhists in foreign Asia. Mahayana, or northern Buddhism, common among Buddhists in Japan, Korea, found in China, Vietnam and in several other countries. Like the Hinayana, it is characterized by division into numerous sects (schools). In total, Mahayana is professed by a little more than 1/2 of all Buddhists. The rest of them are in the third direction of Buddhism - lamaism, which is often considered one of the Mahayana currents.
Lamaism dominates among believers in Mongolia, in two regions of China (Tibet, Inner Mongolia), in Nepal, and Bhutan.
The administrative center of Tibet - Lhasa - from the beginning of the 15th century. served as the seat of the Dalai Lama, the high priest of the Lamaist Church. The huge Potala Palace, which was his residence, was supposed to arouse sacred awe among the inhabitants of mountainous Tibet, pilgrims who, after long ordeals, reached the citadel of Lamaism. However, in 1959 the 14th Dalai Lama emigrated to India. In Mongolia, Lamaism became the official religion at the end of the 16th century. At the same time, the first Buddhist monastery was built. By the time of the 1921 revolution, there were already 750 such monasteries, and the proportion of monks in the entire male population reached 40%.
Third World Religion - Christianity - represented in foreign Asia is rather limited. It is the dominant religion only in the Philippines (Catholicism, planted by Spain in this former colony) and in Cyprus (Orthodoxy). In Lebanon, where Christianity penetrated immediately after its inception, Christians make up 1/3 of the believers.
But national and regional religions are very widespread in this region. First of all, these include Hinduism, Confucianism, Shintoism and Judaism.
Hinduism in terms of the number of adherents (950 million people), it is much inferior to Islam, but significantly superior to Buddhism, and 99% of all Hindus in the world are residents of Asia. Nevertheless, Hinduism is usually not classified as a world religion - for the simple reason that (despite the presence of Hindus in Nepal, Bangladesh) the overwhelming majority (94%) are concentrated in only one country - India.
Confucianism- the predominant religion in their homeland - in China. However, it is rather difficult to determine the number of its adherents, since in China, as experts note, the phenomenon of polyconfessionalism is widespread, when one and the same person can worship two or even three religions - usually Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.
Such poly-confessionalism is also typical for Japan, but along with Buddhism, there is widespread Shintoism(the word "Shinto" literally means "the way of the gods"). After the Meiji revolution in the middle of the 19th century. Shinto in this country was elevated to the rank of the state religion and remained so until 1945.
Judaism - one of the oldest oriental religions - nowadays in foreign Asia it is represented only in Israel (where, by the way, only 1/3 of all adherents of Judaism in the world are concentrated). Judaism is the state religion here. Like any other religion, it has many features, specific features.
On Saturdays, Judaists are forbidden not only to work, but even to light and extinguish a fire. They should not wear clothes made from different fibers, and the pockets should be higher than the waist. Men are required to walk with their heads covered at all times. Pork, horse meat, hare, some other types of meat must not be eaten, and meat food must be prepared in a special way. It is forbidden to mix meat and dairy products. And the Judaists lead the chronology from the creation of the world, which, according to their beliefs, took place more than 5700 years ago. For example, 2008 according to this chronology is 5769th!
Finally, in foreign Asia, there are still quite large foci of distribution local traditional beliefs. They are located in the mountainous regions of South China, Indochina, Indonesia inhabited by small peoples. Here in almost every village there are specialists in black and white magic, sorcerers and shamans. In the Indonesian outback, people believe that if you change your name several times in your life, you can thus mislead evil spirits and protect yourself from diseases and all sorts of everyday adversities.
It has already been said above that in many countries of the region, religious contradictions are closely linked with ethnic and others. It remains to add that in some cases they come to the fore. An example of this kind is Lebanon, the only Arab country where one part of the population is Muslim and the other is Christian. According to the interfaith agreement, the president of Lebanon must be a Christian, the chairman of the parliament must be a Shiite Muslim, and the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim. Such a complex religious composition gave rise to enmity, religious fanaticism, which led to a 16-year civil war in this country (1975-1991).
Differences between Muslims and Christians have led to clashes in the southern Philippines, between Jews and Muslims in Israel, between Hindus and Muslims in India, and between Hindus and Buddhists in Sri Lanka. But lately, the world community is most of all concerned about the aggressiveness of some areas of Islam. An example of this is the activities of the followers of the Wahhabis sect, especially intolerant of all dissidents.
Asia is the part of the world where all the largest religions of the globe, including the three world religions, originated. Later, some of them spread mainly to other parts of the world, but most remained mainly Asian. First of all, this applies to such world religions as Islam and Buddhism.
Islam in foreign Asia it is very widespread: this religion is professed by over 800 million people, or more than 55% of all followers of Islam in the world and 20% of all inhabitants of this region. In many countries of foreign Asia, Islam is not only the dominant, but also the state religion. This is evidenced by the official names of some states - such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (with the capital Islamabad, that is, the city of Islam), the Islamic State of Afghanistan. This is also reminded by the image of the crescent moon and the presence of green on the state flags of many countries. For example, the green state flag of Saudi Arabia is the monarchical standard of the founder of the Saudi dynasty, the first king of the country, Ibn Saud. The inscription on the flag represents the opening phrase of the Quran: "There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet."
Figure 81 shows that Islam completely (with the exception of Cyprus and Israel) dominates Southwest Asia. Of the countries of South Asia, Muslims significantly predominate in Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives, but they form a noticeable stratum (13% of the population) in India as well. In Southeast Asia, Islam is represented in Indonesia - the first country in the world in terms of the total number of Muslims (210 million),
Rice. 81. The main religions of the believing population of foreign Asia
Malaysia and Brunei, and in East Asia - in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. As reflected in the same figure, Muslims in most Asian countries practice Sunni Islam, that is, along with the sacred scripture of Islam - the Koran - its sacred tradition - the Sunnah - is also recognized. The main stronghold Shia Islam Iran was and remains. But Shiites also predominate in Iraq, Bahrain and are widely represented in Lebanon, Yemen, and Afghanistan.
The Muslim cult proceeds from the fact that, according to the Qur'an, a person's entire life is considered as a service to God and a preparation for the afterlife by passing the tests that Allah ordered. Among the most important rituals of Islam are reading the Koran, which should be in every family, namaz - a prayer that is supposed to be performed five times a day - from dawn to early night, fasting during the month of Ramadan, Sunnat, or circumcision, giving alms, worship holy places. Of particular importance is the Hajj (Hajj) - a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina - which every adult Muslim, whether a man or a woman, should strive to accomplish at least once in his life.
Among the shrines of Islam in Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad, is primarily the main mosque of the Muslim world, Al-Haram. In the courtyard of this mosque, which can accommodate up to 300 thousand people, there is a quadrangular stone building of the Kaaba (“kaaba” means “cube”), in the northern wall of which there is a round black stone set in a silver hoop, apparently of meteorite origin, which is the main the object of worship of Muslims, because, according to legend, he was sent from heaven by Allah. In Medina, the main shrine of Islam is considered to be a mosque built on the place where, according to legend, Muhammad died. In total, there are 35 thousand mosques in the homeland of Islam, which are a necessary accessory to all city quarters and villages; they are supplied with electricity and water and are covered with carpets.
Muslims begin their chronology from the year when Muhammad moved from Mecca to Medina (in Christian chronology, this corresponds to 622 AD).
The geography of the Hajj covers the entire Muslim world (Fig. 82). The number of pilgrims in the second half of the XX century. has increased many times. Back in the early 1950s. it rarely exceeded 100 thousand people; in the late 1970s it reached 1 million, and in the late 1990s. - 2 million people or more.
Pilgrims, who in the old days had to cross the desert on camels or sail across the Red Sea in small boats, now arrive in Jeddah by plane or by sea. From Jeddah they go to Mecca, in the distant vicinity of which a huge tent camp is set up for them. Hajj is performed on a strictly defined date - from the 7th to the 13th day of the last, twelfth month of the lunar calendar (dhul-hijj-zha). This is due to the fact that, according to legend, it was on these days in 632 that Muhammad made his last visit to Mecca. He, according to legend, determined the basic procedure of the Hajj, which, as it were, symbolizes some of the events associated with the life of Ibrahim - the biblical Abraham, who is considered the progenitor of both Arabs and Jews. This procedure is very difficult. On the first day, the pilgrims, dressed in new white robes, should listen to the sermon and walk around the Kaaba seven times, then run seven more times between the two hills and pray on each of them, facing Mecca. On the second day, an army of pilgrims visits Mount Arafat, located 20 km from Mecca. On the third day, she remains in the Arafat valley, performing various religious rituals, on the fourth, she returns to the vicinity of Mecca. And in the last days of the Hajj, pilgrims - like the entire Muslim world - celebrate the most important holiday, the holiday of sacrifice (in Arabic - Eid al-Aja, and in Turkic - Kurban Bayram). Sheep or rams are used as sacrificial animals, but sometimes also bulls, cows, camels. In order to meet the need for such animals, Saudi Arabia has to additionally purchase hundreds of thousands of heads of sheep and rams from Australia and New Zealand. It can be added that as the number of pilgrims increased during the Hajj, all sorts of incidents began to happen more and more often: hundreds, even thousands of Muslims perish from the crush and the resulting fires. Therefore, the Ministry of Hajj Affairs of Saudi Arabia has recently paid much attention to ensuring his security.
Rice. 82. Pilgrimage to Mecca
The second of the world religions represented in foreign Asia is Buddhism. There are more than 530 million Buddhists here, therefore, it is in this region that almost all Buddhists in the world are concentrated. They are found in East, South-East, and South Asia, but - like the Sunnis and Shiites in Islam - they also distinguish adherents of the two main directions of Buddhism - Hinayana and Mahayana (Fig. 81).
Hinayana, which is also called southern Buddhism, prevails in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, but its adherents are also found in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries. According to rough estimates, Hinayana is practiced by almost 2/5 of all Buddhists in foreign Asia. Mahayana, or northern Buddhism, common among Buddhists in Japan, Korea, found in China, Vietnam and in several other countries. Like the Hinayana, it is characterized by division into numerous sects (schools). In total, Mahayana is professed by a little more than 1/2 of all Buddhists. The rest of them are in the third direction of Buddhism - lamaism, which is often considered one of the Mahayana currents.
Lamaism dominates among believers in Mongolia, in two regions of China (Tibet, Inner Mongolia), in Nepal, and Bhutan.
The administrative center of Tibet - Lhasa - from the beginning of the 15th century. served as the seat of the Dalai Lama, the high priest of the Lamaist Church. The huge Potala Palace, which was his residence, was supposed to arouse sacred awe among the inhabitants of mountainous Tibet, pilgrims who, after long ordeals, reached the citadel of Lamaism. However, in 1959 the 14th Dalai Lama emigrated to India. In Mongolia, Lamaism became the official religion at the end of the 16th century. At the same time, the first Buddhist monastery was built. By the time of the 1921 revolution, there were already 750 such monasteries, and the proportion of monks in the entire male population reached 40%.
Third World Religion - Christianity - represented in foreign Asia is rather limited. It is the dominant religion only in the Philippines (Catholicism, planted by Spain in this former colony) and in Cyprus (Orthodoxy). In Lebanon, where Christianity penetrated immediately after its inception, Christians make up 1/3 of the believers.
But national and regional religions are very widespread in this region. First of all, these include Hinduism, Confucianism, Shintoism and Judaism.
Hinduism in terms of the number of adherents (950 million people), it is much inferior to Islam, but significantly superior to Buddhism, and 99% of all Hindus in the world are residents of Asia. Nevertheless, Hinduism is usually not classified as a world religion - for the simple reason that (despite the presence of Hindus in Nepal, Bangladesh) the overwhelming majority (94%) are concentrated in only one country - India.
Confucianism- the predominant religion in their homeland - in China. However, it is rather difficult to determine the number of its adherents, since in China, as experts note, the phenomenon of polyconfessionalism is widespread, when one and the same person can worship two or even three religions - usually Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.
Such poly-confessionalism is also typical for Japan, but along with Buddhism, there is widespread Shintoism(the word "Shinto" literally means "the way of the gods"). After the Meiji revolution in the middle of the 19th century. Shinto in this country was elevated to the rank of the state religion and remained so until 1945.
Judaism - one of the oldest oriental religions - nowadays in foreign Asia it is represented only in Israel (where, by the way, only 1/3 of all adherents of Judaism in the world are concentrated). Judaism is the state religion here. Like any other religion, it has many features, specific features.
On Saturdays, Judaists are forbidden not only to work, but even to light and extinguish a fire. They should not wear clothes made from different fibers, and the pockets should be higher than the waist. Men are required to walk with their heads covered at all times. Pork, horse meat, hare, some other types of meat must not be eaten, and meat food must be prepared in a special way. It is forbidden to mix meat and dairy products. And the Judaists lead the chronology from the creation of the world, which, according to their beliefs, took place more than 5700 years ago. For example, 2008 according to this chronology is 5769th!
Finally, in foreign Asia, there are still quite large foci of distribution local traditional beliefs. They are located in the mountainous regions of South China, Indochina, Indonesia inhabited by small peoples. Here in almost every village there are specialists in black and white magic, sorcerers and shamans. In the Indonesian outback, people believe that if you change your name several times in your life, you can thus mislead evil spirits and protect yourself from diseases and all sorts of everyday adversities.
It has already been said above that in many countries of the region, religious contradictions are closely linked with ethnic and others. It remains to add that in some cases they come to the fore. An example of this kind is Lebanon, the only Arab country where one part of the population is Muslim and the other is Christian. According to the interfaith agreement, the president of Lebanon must be a Christian, the chairman of the parliament must be a Shiite Muslim, and the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim. Such a complex religious composition gave rise to enmity, religious fanaticism, which led to a 16-year civil war in this country (1975-1991).
Differences between Muslims and Christians have led to clashes in the southern Philippines, between Jews and Muslims in Israel, between Hindus and Muslims in India, and between Hindus and Buddhists in Sri Lanka. But lately, the world community is most of all concerned about the aggressiveness of some areas of Islam. An example of this is the activities of the followers of the Wahhabis sect, especially intolerant of all dissidents.
Introduction
religion culture western asia
The relevance of this topic lies in the fact that Asia is a part of the world where all the largest religions of the globe originated: Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism. But the fate of these religions was different. Some of them spread widely in other parts of the world (Christianity, Islam, Judaism), while others remained mainly Asian religions (Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism). At present, Islam is the most widespread in Western Asia; it affects all aspects of the life of society in the countries of this region, including culture.
Western Asia countries include: Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen Arab Republic, People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan.
The purpose of the work is to consider the religions of the countries of Western Asia and their role in the development of culture, using scientific literature on ethnography, ethnology and culturology.
Objectives of the work: to give a religious description of the countries of Western Asia, to characterize Islam as the main religion of the countries of Western Asia, to consider the role of religion in the development of the culture of the countries of Western Asia.
The object of study is the religions of the countries of Western Asia.
The subject is the countries of Western Asia, their culture and religion Islam.
Countries of Western Asia - a religious characteristic
One of the two predominantly Christian countries in Asia (the other is the Philippines) is Cyprus. Christianity penetrated the island back in the 1st century. n. e. The overwhelming majority of the population - the Greeks - adhere almost exclusively to Orthodoxy. There is an autocephalous Orthodox Church of Cyprus on the island, the influence of which is very great. Orthodox believers make up 77% of the island's population. A significant group in the country's population is formed by Muslims (18%), who adhere to the Hanifi Sunnism. These include the country's Turkish minority. Other religious groups are small. These are Maronites (3 thousand), Roman Catholics, Armenian Gregorians (3.5 thousand), Anglicans, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, etc.
In Lebanon, where Christianity penetrated at the end of the 1st - the beginning of the 2nd century. n. e., slightly more than half of the population are Muslims, slightly less than half are Christians.
Lebanese Muslims (Islam penetrated the country at the beginning of the 7th century) are subdivided into Sunnis (26% of the population), Shiites (27%) and Druze (7%). There is also a small group of Nusairites. Sunnis are concentrated mainly in northern Lebanon and Beirut.
The largest of the Christian branches is the Maronites (23% of the population). The creed of the Maronite sect was at first Monothelism, which was, as it were, a compromise, a middle line between Diophysitism and Monophysitism. Recognizing the dual nature of Jesus Christ, the Monothelites at the same time emphasized that this dual nature had a single will (hence the very name of the current). At the end of the XVI century. the Maronite Church entered into union with Rome, recognizing the dogmas of Roman Catholicism, but retaining the old ritual and organizational independence.
Now the Maronites can be found throughout Lebanon, but the main area of their settlement is Mount Lebanon. The next largest Christian branch of Lebanon is Orthodoxy (7% of the population). The Orthodox population of Lebanon, together with the Orthodox population of neighboring Syria, forms the autocephalous Antioch Orthodox Church. Half of the Orthodox are concentrated in Northern Lebanon, and a quarter in Mount Lebanon. As a result of strife within the leadership of the Orthodox Church at the beginning of the XVIII century. a group that recognized the authority of the Pope broke away from Orthodoxy. This group (the so-called Melkites) formed the Greek Catholic Church (about 5% of the country's population belongs to it). In addition to Maronites and Greek Catholics, the country has groups of Armenian Catholics (25 thousand), Roman Catholics (20 thousand, mainly foreigners), Syro-Catholics (18 thousand), Chaldo-Catholics (6 thousand). A small number of Jacobites (about 10 thousand) and Nestorians also live in Lebanon. Most of the Armenians living in Lebanon are Armenian Gregorians (about 5% of the population). Half of all Armenian Gregorians are concentrated in Beirut and its environs. In addition, among the Armenians there are also Armenian Catholics (19 thousand) and Protestants (the latter are united in the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Middle East). The total number of Protestants in Lebanon is 16 thousand, a significant part of them are foreigners. In addition to members of the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches, there are Presbyterians, Anglicans, Baptists, Nazarenes, Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. There are also followers of Judaism in Lebanon (0.4 thousand).
In the state of Israel, created in 1948, the dominant religion is Judaism. All believing Jews adhere to it. There are two sects of Judaism in the country, but they have a very small number of followers: Karaites (12 thousand people) and Samaritans (about 500 people). In addition to Judaists, Muslims and Christians live in Israel (4/5 of the Arabs living in Israel adhere to Islam, 1/5 - Christianity). The bulk of Muslims are Sunnis of various persuasions. There are also Druze (50 thousand). Christianity is represented in Israel by a number of churches. The most numerous are Catholics. These are mainly Melkites living in Haifa and other regions (41 thousand), as well as Catholics of the Latin rite (12 thousand) and Maronites (6 thousand). There are also Orthodox (22 thousand). In a small number in the country there are adherents of the Episcopal (Anglican by doctrine) church (1 thousand), Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists, Armenian Gregorians (900 people), followers of the Monophysite churches - Coptic (700 people) and Ethiopian. Almost all Christians live in large cities.
On the territory of Turkey from the end of the XI century. Islam began to spread, which gradually supplanted the formerly dominant Christianity. Currently, the overwhelming majority of the Turkish population (99%) professes Islam, mainly in the form of Sunni Islam. There are a number of religious orders in the country (although they are officially prohibited), the most famous of them are Mevleviya, Naqshbandiyya, Tijaniyya, and also Bektashi (the latter is Shiite). Shiites make up approximately 16% of Turkey's population. There are followers of two Shiite sects in the country: ali-ilahi (Kurds in the Dersim mountains and in the north of the Kharput plain, as well as part of the Yuryuk and Turkmen) and the Nusayrites (Arabs along the border with Syria; 80 thousand). Among the Kurds of some regions of southeastern Turkey, there are also Yazidis (70 thousand). Christians (0.7% of the population) are Orthodox (74 thousand, mainly Greeks, as well as Bulgarians and part of the Arabs), Armenian Gregorians (70 thousand), Chaldo-Catholics (11 thousand), Roman Catholics ( 7 thousand, mostly Levantines), Armenian Catholics (4 thousand), Greek Catholics (a small part of Greeks and Bulgarians), Syro-Catholics (the total number of all Catholics is 26 thousand), Protestants (23 thousand; Anglicans , Lutherans, Resbyterians, Congregationalists, Seventh-day Adventists, etc., mainly Europeans and Americans), Jacobites (in areas bordering Syria), Copts, Nestorians. Lives in the country and a small group of Judaists (24 thousand, almost exclusively Sephardic, half of them are concentrated in Istanbul).
In Syria, Muslims also predominate (over 90% of the population), although there is also a fairly large group of Christians (7%). Most of the followers of Islam are Sunnis of the Hanifite and other sects (74% of the population), in addition to them there are Nusayrites (12%), who live mainly in Latakia, Druze (3%), who live mainly in Essaweid (in both of these areas there are few Sunnis) , Ismailis (38 thousand), found in the Salamiyya district, Orthodox Shiites - Imamites (15 thousand). The main part of the Arabs and the overwhelming majority of Kurds, Circassians, Turkmens and Turks, Shiism and its offshoots - part of the Arabs and Persians adhere to Sunnism. Among Christians, predominantly Orthodox (about 300 thousand) and Catholics (205 thousand, they break up into Greek Catholics, Syro-Catholics, Armenian Catholics, Maronites, Halle pre-Catholics, Catholics of the Latin rite). There are also Armenian Gregorians (150 thousand), Jacobites (125 thousand), Nestorians (20 thousand), Protestants (20 thousand; Presbyterians, followers of the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Middle East, Anglicans, Seventh-day Adventists, etc.). etc.). Christianity is spread mainly among Arabs; there are also Armenians and Assyrians among Christians (the latter are Nestorians). Of the representatives of other religions, there are Yazidis (about 10 thousand, part of the Kurds) and Judaists (4.5 thousand).
In Jordan, the state religion is Islam. It is practiced by 95% of the population. Among Muslims, Shafi'i Sunnis predominate (90%). In a small number there are Shiites - Imamites and Druze (together - 5%). Christians make up 5% of the population. They are concentrated mainly * in cities. 2/5 of Christians are Orthodox, about a third are Roman Catholics. There are also Greek Catholics, or Melkites, Armenian Gregorians, Jacobites and a small number of Protestants (Anglicans, Lutherans, Baptists, etc.).
The overwhelming majority of the population of Saudi Arabia (99%) is Muslim. In different parts of the country, this religion is represented in its various forms. 9/10 of all Muslims are Sunnis. In the central part of the state - Najdeh - almost the entire population of the Hanbalis-Wahhabis (more than half of all Sunnis in the country belong to them). In the west, in Hijaei, the Shafi'i wing of Sunni Islam prevails. There are also Hanifis and Malikis, Salafi Hanbalis and Wahhabis Hanbalis. In addition, a small number of Shiites-Imamites and Zaidis live in Khid-jaz. In the southwest, in Asir, the majority of the population adheres to Shafi'i Sunni Islam. Sunnis (Hanbalis, Maliki) also predominate in the Eastern Province (Al-Hasa). However, a large group of Shiites (about a third of the population) also live in this province. Among the Shiites of Saudi Arabia, there are many immigrants from other countries (Persians, Yemenis, Pakistanis, Indians). There are few non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia. In the city of Jidtsa (Khidokaz) there are small groups of Jews, Orthodox Christians (Greeks), Protestants (Americans and British) and Catholics (Italians, etc.; the total number in the country is 13 thousand).
The Yemeni Arab Republic is also an almost purely Muslim country. The largest group of believers is formed by the Shiites-Zaidis (50% of the population). There are especially many of them in Je-Bel - the mountainous part of the country. Of the non-Muslim beliefs, Hinduism and Judaism are represented (0.5 thousand people).
In the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, the overwhelming majority of the population is Muslim, mainly followers of Shafi'i Sunni Islam. There is a small number of Maliki Sunnis in the far east of the country, and a small group of Hanifi Sunnis in the coastal region. Among foreigners, Christianity (Europeans), Hinduism and Zoroastrianism (immigrants from South Asia) are widespread. There are several dozen local Christian Catholics in Aden.
In Oman, almost all residents are Muslims. Most Muslims adhere to the Ibadi direction of Islam. Over a quarter of the population are Sunnis. Among the Sunnis are the Hanbalis, as well as the Wahhabis Hanbalis (the Azrakite sect) and the Shafi'is. Shi'ism is widespread in the cities among the Persians, the sedentary Baharin Arabs, and part of the Pakistanis and Indians. Some of the Indians living in the country are Hindus. The Portuguese and British living in Oman adhere to Christianity.
The United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dibai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah) also have a predominantly Muslim population (89%). About two-thirds of the inhabitants profess the Hanbali Sunnis with a bias towards Wahhabism; there are also Maliki Sunnis and a small group of Shafi'i Sunnis. In the UAE, you can also find Shiites (1/5 of the population; these are immigrants from Iran and a small part of immigrants from Pakistan and India). A group of Ibadis lives in the east and south (about 40 thousand). There are also Christians (6% of the population, mainly British and Americans), Hindus.
In Qatar, the overwhelming majority of the population (98%) is Sunni Muslim. Among them are Maliki and Hanbali-Wahhabis. There are few Shiites (Baharin Arabs and Persians). In a small number there are Hindus and Judaists, as well as Christians (Europeans living in the country).
In Bahrain, Muslims make up 85% of the population. More than half of them are Shiites, the rest are Sunnis. Shiites are predominantly sedentary Baharin Arabs, as well as Persians. Among the Shiites, there are Ismailis (part of the Pakistanis and Persians). Bahraini Sunnis are predominantly Maliki, but there is a small group of Wahhabis who have arrived from Saudi Arabia. People from Pakistan who live in the country also belong to Sunnism. Sunnis and Shiites live in separate villages, and in cities - in special neighborhoods. Christians make up 7% of the population (26 thousand). Most of them are British and Americans living in the country. There are small groups of Hindus (immigrants from India) and Jews.
Kuwait is also Muslim in population. Islam is adhered to by 92% of the population. Among Muslims, Maliki Sunnis predominate. There are also Sunni Hanifis and Wahhabis. 15-20% of Muslims profess Shiism (some residents of cities and northern regions of the country, Persians, some Indians and Pakistanis, Arabs - immigrants from Iraq and some other countries). Among the Shiites, there are a small number of Ismailis. Small groups of Hindus live in Kuwait (most of the Indians). 6% of the country's population are Christians. These are Anglicans and Reformed (4 thousand), Catholics (18 thousand), Orthodox Christians, Jacobites, Copts (the total number of three groups is 4 thousand), Armenian Gregorians (6 thousand), etc. Christianity (in the form of Orthodoxy, Monophysitism, Anglicanism, Reformed) are professed by a small group of Arabs and foreigners: part of the Malayal Indians, British, Americans, etc.
In Iraq, 96% of the population professes Islam (54% of Muslims are Shiites, 46% are Sunnis). The Hanifi and, to a lesser extent, Shafi'i Sunni interpretations are adhered to by Bedouin nomads in different regions of the country, by part of the townspeople (primarily the inhabitants of Baghdad and Basra), sedentary Arabs of Upper Mesopotamia, as well as Kurds, Turks, Circassians, and most of the Turkmens. The sedentary Arab agricultural population of southern and central Iraq, Persians, Lurs and about a third of the Shiite Turkmen. There is also a small number of aliilahi (Kurds and a small part of the Turkmens), Ismailis, and Bahais. 3% of Iraq's population is Christian, concentrated in the country's major cities, as well as in the countryside in the Mosul region. These are mainly Assyrians, Armenians and part of the Arabs. The largest group among Christians is formed by Catholics, mainly followers of various Uniate churches. The overwhelming majority of them are Chaldo-Catholics, there are also Syro-Catholics (35 thousand) and Armenian Catholics. There are few Catholics of the Latin rite (3.5 thousand), mostly foreigners living in Iraq. Other Christians include non-Storians (65 thousand), Armenian-Gregorians (23 thousand), Jacobites (12 thousand), Orthodox Christians, Protestants. A significant group was formerly Judaists, but in the early 1950s the overwhelming majority of them left for Israel, and only 450 people remained in Iraq. Followers of a number of ancient religions and sects have survived in the country: the Yazidis (70 thousand; part of the Kurds in the region of Mosul, Kirkuk and Sinjar), the Mandates (14 thousand, concentrated in the region of Nasiriyah).
In Iran, 99% of the population is Muslim. The predominant direction of Islam is Shiism (more than 90% of all Muslims belong to it), which has been located since the beginning of the 16th century. on the position of the state religion. It is adhered to by the overwhelming majority of Persians, Gilans, Mazendrans, Tats, Talysh, Lurs, Bakhtiars, Azerbaijanis, Shahsevens, Qashqays and others. Some of the Kurds (in Khorasan) and Arabs are also Shiites. A group of Kurds living in the Serdesht Bane region and in the south of Kurdistan belong to the Shiite ali-ilahi sect. Lurs living in Serkan, Tusserkanei Alishter belong to the same sect, as well as to another Shiite sect - the Kurd-Bacha. There are also Ismailis and Bahais in Iran (the latter - about 300 thousand). There are about 3 million Sunnis - mainly Shafi'is and Hanifis - which include most of the Kur-Tzs and Arabs, Baluchis, Turkmens, Djemshids, and a small group of Talysh. Christianity is professed by 169 thousand people (0.5% of the population). It is represented in Iran by the Armenian Gregorians (the bulk of the Armenians living in Tabriz and Isfahan), Nestorians (30 thousand, part of the Assyrians), Chaldo-Catholics (part of the Assyrians), Armenian Catholics (Armenians in Isfahan) and Catholics of the Latin rite ( all Catholics - 28 thousand), Protestants (8.5 thousand, mainly Presbyterians, as well as Anglicans), Orthodox. A group of followers of Judaism (62 thousand) lives in the country. There are also Zoroastrians (the so-called Gebras, 21 thousand in Yazd, Kerman, Tehran and Shiraz) and Yazids (a small group of Kurds).
Islam began to spread on the territory of Afghanistan from the end of the 7th - the beginning of the 8th centuries, and at present, the vast majority of the country's population are Muslims. The most widespread in Afghanistan is Sunnism of the Hanifite persuasion, which is adhered to by 80-90% of all residents. The majority of Afghans and Tajiks, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Baluchis are Sunnis.
Thus, in the overwhelming majority of these countries, Islam is spread in the form of Sunni Islam. Only in Iran does Shiism prevail sharply. Shiites make up over half of the population in Iraq and the Yemen Arab Republic. Only two countries are non-Muslim in the area: Cyprus, which is dominated by Christians, and Israel, where the majority of the inhabitants are Jewish. In addition, in Lebanon, about half of the believing population is Christian.
In the Southeast Asia region, Indonesia and Malaysia belong to the Islamic sphere of influence. Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country, with 90% of its population practicing Islam, and their co-religionists are the majority in Malaysia and Brunei. Islam here has a huge impact on the social and political life of these countries. The bulk of the population sees religion and its organizational structures as a solution to the most painful problems that the state cannot solve. Concerned about the decline in moral standards, the social consequences of the market economy, the growth of corruption, society turns to religion and Islam. At the same time, the desire of people for religion is used by the political circles of these countries.
The political leaders of Islamic states, relying on the religious factor, make attempts to achieve their economic and political goals. Opposition forces organize and direct the activities of Islamic movements and organizations. In general, the researchers note that in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, Muslims are soft and inclined to compromise. But at the same time, one cannot fail to see that along with the moderate wing of the Islamists, radicals have appeared, whose activities are increasingly inclined towards the active intervention of Islam and its leaders in the political and economic life of these countries. Insisting on securing the status of an official or state for the Muslim religion, the bearers of Islamic culture began to incline towards separatism, going for a political alliance with local bureaucratic structures, pursuing at the same time poorly hidden economic goals. In this situation, the actions of separatist and external forces have created a complex atmosphere of political tension in the south of the region, reaching the point of confrontation and armed struggle.
In the province of Aceh in Indonesia, where the idea of creating an Islamic state is being put forward, the influence of Islamists is very great. In the province, measures were taken at the official level to restrict the use of alcohol, gambling and the spread of Islamic norms of behavior based on Sharia principles. The Islamists were responsible for resolving issues of inheritance, division of property, ritual ceremonies, etc. Separatist and extremist circles tried to direct the Islamic movement to isolate it from Indonesia and create an independent state. Aceh is one of the richest provinces of oil, gas and various minerals. In separatism and the war unleashed by the extremists, there was a clear struggle for power and control over the province's huge mineral wealth, existing and possible dollar flows. These movements were headed by 3 ex Islamic extremists and retired officers.
In Malaysia, the problems of family and family-marriage relations, observance of the moral principles of public information are dealt with by the Sharia courts. The main opposition party of the country is the Malay Islamic Party (PAS)
in a number of states, it exerts significant pressure on the Islamic community in order to establish Islamic rule and the formation of an Islamic state. This party claims to have a monopoly on the interpretation of Islam as applied to the conditions of the country. As the ruling party in two states, it is trying to carry out a series of activities that will ensure the power of the local religious bureaucracy.
At the turn of the century, the external factor acquired particular importance. The processes of globalization in the modern world have affected the regional problems of Southeast Asia. The Indonesian authorities associate the events in the Moluccas with the interference of international extremist organizations in the internal affairs of the country. The extremist separatist organization "Jihad Army" is constantly adding to the number of its supporters by arriving from Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East and other countries. The events led to a protracted civil war against extremism and separatism in the region, which has been going on for more than ten years. The countries of Southeast Asia have become embroiled in the global international adventure of Islamic extremism. Local extremists in Indonesia and Malaysia receive material and moral support from abroad, including from Osama bin Laden. After the events of September 11, 2001, the links of local extremist groups with the international organization "Al-Qaeda" became absolutely clear. Extremist youth from this region have been trained in religious and military schools in Pakistan, Egypt and other countries for several decades.
Influenced by international extremism, Islamic radicals in the Philippines, in places of compact residence of the Muslim population, created the Islamic Liberation Front, which is fighting for the creation of an independent Islamic state throughout the island of Mindanao. In southern Thailand, Muslim political leaders created the Pattani United Liberation Organization, which has formed militias seeking independence for the four predominantly Muslim Matai provinces and the establishment of an Islamic state there.
At the turn of the century, Southeast Asia found itself involved in a whirlpool of extraordinary events that began to matter not only for the countries of the region, but for the whole world.
Southeast Asia has become an important region in the fight against international terrorism and religious extremism. Events here are gaining increasing influence on the climate of the world community.
6. ISLAM, THE RELIGION OF SOUTH WESTERN ASIA AND NORTH AFRICA
Equatorial monotheism
So we come to Islam, the religion of the Prophet Muhammad and his Muslim followers. It is the most recent and one of the most "successful" great religions in the world. It spread from its origin in Arabia to the northern half of Africa, most of the Middle East, Central Asia, India (especially to the regions that make up Pakistan today) and the East Indies. Thus, it is mainly an equatorial religion, and people from cold or temperate climates have no interest in it. At present, the number of her followers is about 200 million; but many of them, although they call themselves Muslims, profess an ancient belief in demons, large and small, and they might rather be called animists.
In its fundamental mood, Islam belongs to the Western group of religions - Judaism and Christianity - although during its spread to the East and South, it naturally borrowed a lot from the East. In fact, it was born - quite in the spirit of the Old Testament prophets - as another protest against the prevailing polytheism. He teaches that there is One God, Allah Almighty: Muslims even claim that their religion is more strictly monotheistic than Christianity. Muhammad himself accused Christians of being tritheists, worshiping three Gods: God the Father, Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
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