How many Muslims live in Russia?

If we talk about Moscow, then a person of Eastern nationality can be found almost at every step, and the ordinary Russian immediately reckons him to Muslims. In most cases this is the case. But what do the numbers say? How many Muslims in Russia really?

History of Islam

A new religion arose in a difficult period in the history of the Middle East. Everywhere was widespread struggle for power, idolatry, immoral customs. Approximately in 610 AD, according to tradition, forty-year-old Mohammed (Muhammad) received a revelation from the angel Jibril near Mecca. This was the beginning of a whole series of messages from above, which were passed on to the newly appointed prophet for 22 years until his death in 632. At first they were kept orally, then followers of Muhammad collected all his statements in a single book, which is widely known as the Koran.

One of the basic postulates of the new religion was monotheism as opposed to the polytheism of that time. Muhammad cleansed the Ka'ba, the main sanctuary of the Arabs near Mecca from pagan idols, and turned it into a temple of Allah. Although such religious reforms did not pass without resistance, the new doctrine soon gained many followers.

Main teachings

The basic doctrine of Islam - strict monotheism - is briefly expressed in shahada, or the symbol of faith, which every Muslim knows by heart: "There is no deity except Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." The other four pillars of Islam are praying five times a day (prayer), compulsory material donations for the poor (zakat), observance of fasting in the Ramadan (Saum) holiday month , pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).

How many Muslims in the world

Thanks to military, political and economic reasons, Islam has now become a world religion. The believers themselves consider this to be God's guidance and proof that it is their religion that is true. Islam brings to the masses not only new rituals and traditions, but, first of all, a radically new way of thinking.

How many Muslims are there in the world? This question is simple, but the answer to it is ambiguous. The figures are approximate: from 1.3 to 1.8 billion people. If the population of the world by 2015 has almost reached 8 billion, the adherents of Muhammad's religion make from 16 to 22%. And this is a fairly large number. Although throughout the world, the followers of Islam are scattered unevenly. There are countries that are actually almost completely Muslim, in others there are only small communities.

According to some reports, Muslims live in more than 197 countries around the globe. In 39 of them, they constitute even the predominant majority among the entire population (more than 80%). And in the other 28 states, Islam is the second or third largest religion. Including in 13 states the concentration of Muslims varies from 50% to 79%, and in 15 others - from 20% to 49%. According to statistics, in the remaining 33 countries, there are between 5% and 19% of adherents of Islam. A small number (from 1% to 4%) lives in 40 countries, and quite a bit - less than 1% - in 57 countries. Moreover, in 28 countries, Islam is given the status of state religion. If such figures are reliable, this religion ranks second in the world relative to the number of people who consider themselves adherents.

The leader in the number of Muslim residents is Indonesia. Then in descending order are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Turkey, Algeria. In these countries live from 222 to 36 million "faithful". Where is the RF located on this list?

How many Muslims in Russia

The Russian Federation occupies the 21st place on this list. The 2010 census showed that the number of Muslims in Russia is 15 million. In a few years, as of 2013, their number increased, and amounted to 18 to 21 million. Although back in 2000, from the lips of Russian officials, one could often hear the phrase: "We have twenty million Muslims in our country." Why such a difference in numbers? How many Muslims live in Russia in reality?

A large number of "faithful" do not have registration in the Russian Federation, since they are immigrants and do not stand anywhere in the register, although they actually live on the territory of the country. Some reports take into account such residents. In any case, most of them are seasonal workers who came for a month or two, and even if they have a temporary registration, whether they should be considered Russian Muslims, the question is controversial.

If we start from the figures of 21 million (the approximate number of adepts of Islam in 2013) and 146 million (the population of the Russian Federation on January 1, 2015), then we can calculate how many percent of Muslims in Russia. It turns out 14%. It turns out that the Russian ummah is an influential minority in the state.

If the data are reliable, then for three years (2010-2013), the Muslim population of Russia increased by 3-6 million. Such rapid growth is due to several reasons. First, the same migration. In addition to seasonal workers, many people moved to a permanent place of residence from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Secondly, the birth rate in Muslim families is traditionally higher than in Russians. Thirdly, many people of Russia accept Islam. Apparently, such dynamics will continue to be observed in the future, and the number of Muslims in Russia will grow.

The Muslim Peoples of Russia

If you do not take into account the diaspora of Azerbaijanis, Kazakhs, Abkhazians, Tajiks, Turkmens, Kirghiz, Uzbeks, who have their own statehood and speak only about those nationalities that reside on the territory of the Russian Federation as part of national republics, . If we list them, they are Tatars, Bashkirs, Chechens, Ingush, Karachais, Balkars, Avars, Dargins, Kumyks, Lezgins, Laks, Tabasarans, Nogais, Kabardians and others. Tatar numbers 7 million, Bashkir 1.7 million, Chechens 1.4 million. Almost all the above mentioned peoples are 100% Muslim. For example, among the Tatars, 98% professes the religion of Muhammad. Therefore, sometimes the number of Muslims in Russia is determined by the addition of the population of all such Muslim peoples. Of course, such a calculation can give inflated figures, because among those who were born under the sign of the crescent, there are converts later converted to Christianity. Although, in fairness, it should be noted that the percentage of those is quite small.

The Currents of Islam in Russia

Islam has two main directions: Sunnis (which are majority in the whole world, and in Russia in particular) and Shiites. Mostly, Shiites are Muslims in the south of Dagestan and Azerbaijanis living in Russia.

The attitude of Russians to Muslims

If to speak as a whole, in the majority it is negative. The reason is partly how many Muslims in Russia. The number of them, which is increasing every day, alarms many. But first of all, the division exists on a religious level, because Russia is a stronghold of Orthodoxy, and Islam is considered by Russians to be an alien religion. Also, the media often identify any Muslims with terrorists and extremists, and this develops fear of all persons of Eastern nationality. Although these are just stereotypes.

So, there is no unambiguous answer to the question of how many Muslims are in Russia, but most of the facts point to a number of 21 million people.