LAND AND PEOPLES OF THE MIDDLE EAST

There are several religion practiced in the Middle East such as Islam, christianity,
judaism ,Mandaeism, shabakism and samaritanism.

ISLAM

Is the most widespread religion in the Middle East apart from being the largest religion in the
Middle East it is also one of the largest in the world. Research indicates that close to 94% of the
Middle East population belonged to islam, Middle East's muslim population account for 20% of
the worlds muslim population. The spread of islam is closely linked with the history of the
Middle East as the converts established some caliphates with their own law based on islamic
law.In the modern era most of the nations in the region also use islamic law as the basis of their
legal law, but the sunni islam widely dominates othe islamic religion.

CHRISTIANITY

Is another dominant religion in the Middle East, which traces its root to modern day
isreal.Even though christianity traces its root to the region, it is still considered one of the minor
religion in the area since its adherents account for only 5% of the regions population.During the
early 20th century christian accounts for 20% of the regions population.The only Middle Eastern
nation that has a christian majority is Cyprus where more than 70% of the countrys population
is made up of christians.The most popular christian denomination in Cyprus is Eastern orthodox
christianiy, with the Greek residents of the country being the principal adherent of the sect.

JUDAISM

judaism which also traces it's root to the region, is also practiced in the Middle East , which is
considered to be the most ancient of the Abrahamic faiths. Some of the central figure in
judaism such as Abraham and Sarah were believed to have lived within present day Iraq,
another Middle Eastern country that is often mention in religious text in judaism is Egypt.In the
past a significant population lived in Arabic countries which greatly influenced their cultural
practices as well as their language.Most of the jews who lived in Arabic nations fled from those
ciuntries as a result of anti-semitism, in the modern era most of the jews living in the Middle
East live in Isreal where they make up more than 70% of the nations population.

MANDAEISM

is a minor religion in the Middle East which is mainly practiced in Iran and Iraq.Globally there
are less than 100,000 practioners of the religion. The practices and beliefs of mandaeism are
similar to those kf other religion practiced.
 SHABAKISM

Also another minor religion practiced in the region which is primarily practiced in the northern
part of Iraq. The Iraqi government estimated that roughly 60,000 people practice religion in the
country.

SAMARITANISM

Another dominant religion practiced in the region which has close ties to judaism.In the
ancient era, samaritanism had a large number of practitioners, however, some events led to a
reduction in the number of practitioners. During the 6th century, samaritanism was made
illegal which reduced the number of believers of the faith.Most of the believers also converted
to other faith such as islam and christianity.

Over the years it has been difficult to define the area called Middle East this prompted
scholars to give various decription or definition to the area.Alfred Thayer Mahan an American
naval strategist who was referring to the region between Arabia and India in 1902, sir ignatius
valentine chirol further enlarged the definition to cater for the Asian region which territories
extended to India. It is comprised of 17 nations and an estimated population of 371 million. The
term ''Middle East'' origin is seeped into controversy because it has been based on European
spheres of influence and ideas. Why middle ? because it was half way between the united
kingdom and India. countries that are not close to Middle East but have been integrated in the
region such as pakistan as led to various controversy defining the region , but it has been
reasoned that pakistan has a close tie and involvement in Afghanistan which accounted for the
extension of Middle East to Pakistan.