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Islam is the most practiced religion in Turkey. Most Turkish Sunni Muslims belong to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. The established presence of Islam in the region that now constitutes modern Turkey dates back to the later half of the 11th century, when the Seljuks started expanding into eastern Anatolia. [2]
Most Muslims in Turkey are Sunni Muslims forming about 85-90%, [12] and Shia-Aleviler (Alevis, Alawites, and Ja'faris) denominations in total form up to 10% of the Muslim population. [12] [13] Among Shia Muslim presence in Turkey there is a small but considerable minority of Muslims with Ismaili heritage and affiliation. [14]
Distribution of Sunni, Shia and Ibadi branches. Sunni Muslims are the vast majority of Muslims in most Muslim communities in Central Asia (including China), Europe (including Russia and the Balkans), South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Arab World, Turkey and among Muslims in the United States.
Of the total Muslim population, 87–90% are Sunni and 10–13% are Shi'a. Most Shi'as (between 68% and 80%) live in mainly four countries: Iran , Azerbaijan , Bahrain , and Iraq . [ 31 ] Furthermore, there are concentrated Shi'a populations in Lebanon , Russia , China , Pakistan , Bangladesh and 10 sub-Saharan African countries. [ 32 ]
Other Sunni scholars, such as Al-Ghazali, likewise considered them as non-Muslims. [171] Benjamin Disraeli, in his novel Tancred, also expressed the view that Alawites are not Shia Muslims. [172] Historically, Twelver Shia scholars (such as Shaykh Tusi) did not consider Alawites as Shia Muslims while condemning their heretical beliefs. [173]
Sunni Muslims are the largest denomination of Islam and are known as 'Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-JamÄ‘h' or simply as 'Ahl as-Sunnah'. The word Sunni comes from the word Sunnah, which means the teachings and actions or examples of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Therefore, the term "Sunni" refers to those who follow or maintain the Sunnah of Muhammad.
While the legal use of the term Turkish as it pertains to a citizen of Turkey is different from the term's ethnic definition, [106] [107] the majority of the Turkish population (an estimated 70 to 75 percent) are of Turkish ethnicity. [108] [109] The vast majority of Turks are Sunni Muslims, with a notable minority practicing Alevism. [82]
Turkey has officially been a secular country since its 1924 constitution was amended in ... Islam comprised 82% of the total population (65% Sunni and 4% Shi'a), ...