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Islam
Islam is a monotheistic faith and the world's second largest religion. Followers of Islam, called Muslims, believe that God revealed His will to Muhammad and other prophets, including Moses, Abraham, Adam, and Jesus.
21,950 Questions
How was the Muslim world different than the European world during the early Middle Ages?
In some respects it was much more advanced, because learning, especially in science and maths, flourished under early Islam.
At the same time, learning in Western Europe stagnated into dogmatic, non-analytical repetition of Ancient Greek ideas.
Which famous battle stopped the tide of the Islamic Empire advancing through all of Europe?
It depends on which "Muslim Invasion" the question refers to. If it refers to the Amazigh (Berber) invasions of Iberia and France in the 700s, the Battle of Tours/Poitiers in 732 C.E. was responsible for the halting of that conquest. If it refers to the Ottoman Invasions of the Balkans and Central Europe, the Battle/Siege of Vienna of 1526 was resposible for stopping the Ottomans.
What did the Arabs think about Islam?
Most of the Arabs rejected the message of Islam in the first time of it, they were bigoted to the astray belief of their parents which is worshipping idols beside God (polytheism), some knew the truth of the message & were amazed by the Holy Quran but they rejected to believe due to their arrogance, many of those disbelievers attacked Islam through the prophet Muhammad PBUH & the persecuting to the small number of believers.
Muhammad PBUH migrated with the believers from Mecca to Yathreb (Al-Madeenah) where He established the first Islamic community with the believers of Yathreb (Al-Ansar), with the time passing people started to convert to Islam as they realized the truth of the message & the greatness of the prophet Muhammad in particular & all the Muslims in general & realized their morals.
The Islamic community became stronger & stronger.
Muhammad PBUH with His Muslim companions returned to Mecca in 8 hijreah & they entered the city without fighting although they were a strong power at that time, it was a day of remission, an act of grace that forced all people of Mecca to convert to Islam after this huge mercy from Muhammad & that tolerance of Islam despite all the torment they caused to the believers.Mecca became an Islamic city & its people became Muslims. In the follwing year the Arabian tribes of the Arabic Peninsula came to Muhammah PBUh & converted to Islam in large numbers, that year is called the year of delegations.
The Islamic Empire stretched more & more even after the death of Muhammad PBUH.
Now, the Majority of Arabs are Muslims.
The Islamic Nation is wide & lives all over the world. Among all the Muslims today, Arabs are only 20 %. This assures that the message of Islam is universal.
For more information, please refer to the related questions.
What religious purpose did the astrolabe have for Muslims?
The astrolabe did not have a religious use per se as it is not a religious object. (As opposed to say a rosary for Catholics, which is a religious object.) The astrolabe was useful in determining when the sunrise and sunset would occur in order to pray at the proper times.
How did the Muslims conquer many lands?
The early Caliphates (or Islamic Empires) expanded due to a number of factors. It is notable that although there are a few occurrences of Muslims carrying out the "Convert or Die" scenario, this is not the most common reason for Islam's expansion exclusively in terms of territory.
1) Arabia - What's that?: Prior to Mohammed, Arabia had been seen as a cultural and political backwater barely worth notice and therefore Mohammed's consolidation of the Arab Tribes was not seriously considered by the Byzantine and Sassanian Empires. This lead to a very porous southern defense and miscalculation of the Islamic Armies.
2) Byzantine-Sassanian Wars: Since the Byzantines and Sassanians considered each other the only real civilizations in the region, they fought each other numerous times in the early 600s C.E. over control of what is today East Turkey and Iraq. These were intense religious wars (Christian vs. Zoroastrian) and greatly weakened both empires at just the wrong time.
3) Tribal Command Structure: Arab Tribes and warriors owed their loyalty to their Sheikhs and leaders without fault because the Sheikh provided each person with all of the amenities and protection necessary to live a full life. Whenever the Arabs went to war, the Sheikhs could count on the ability to muster their tribesmen as soldiers without issue.
4) Support of the Locals: Since the Byzantine Empire and Sassanian Empire were engaged in religious zealotry, it stands to reason that they did not tolerate their religious minorities very well. The Muslims professed to (and did) treat minorities far better than either of these Empires. This led to religious minorities (especially Jews) from within the conquered territories helping Muslims to secure outposts and positions, freeing the Muslims to continue to spread the religion.
5) Citizenship by Conversion: The Islamic Empire was interesting in that being the leader or a person of import in the Empire was not contingent on ethnicity or place of birth as was the case of most prior empires. All a person had to do to gain power and prestige was to convert to Islam. This simple integration mechanism resulted in massive number of Persians, Berbers, and Turks converting to Islam. In fact, the furthest expansions of Islam (Spain, India, West China, South Russia, the Balkans) were all accomplished by non-Arabs (respectively Berbers, Persians/Mughals, Turkmen, Azeris, and Ottomans).
6) Warfare: The leaders charged with expanding the influence of Islam were thoughtful and diligent military leaders. Caliph 'Omar, who conquered much of the Levant, Egypt, Persia, and Iraq was well-known as a strategist and a fighter. It was this knowledge of warfare that allowed Muslim forces to expand the territory's influence.
7) Universality: Islam, as a religion, claims salvation for all people in all places, making the religion very attractive, especially to people born into low castes and bad economic positions.
What is the social impact of the Islamic religion on the world today?
What is Islam?: The name of the religion is Islam, which comes from an Arabic root word meaning "peace" and "submission." Islam teaches that one can only find peace in one's life by submitting to Almighty God (Allah) in heart, soul and deed. The same Arabic root word gives us "Salaam alaykum," ("Peace be with you"), the universal Muslim greeting.
Who is a Muslim?: A person who believes in and consciously follows Islam is called a Muslim, also from the same root word. So, the religion is called "Islam," and a person who believes in and follows it is a "Muslim." * What is the difference between Muslim, Moslem and Islamic?
How Many and Where?: Islam is a major world religion, with over 1 billion followers worldwide (1/5 of the world population). It is considered one of the Abrahamic, monotheistic faiths, along with Judaism and Christianity. Although usually associated with the Arabs of the Middle East, less than 10% of Muslims are in fact Arab. Muslims are found all over the world, of every nation, color and race. * Muslim population of the world
Who is Allah?: Allah is the proper name for Almighty God, and is often translated merely as "God." Allah has other names that are used to describe His characteristics: the Creator, the Sustainer, the Merciful, the Compassionate, etc. Muslims believe that since Allah alone is the Creator, it is He alone that deserves our devout love and worship. Islam holds to a strict monotheism. Any worship and prayers directed at saints, prophets, other human beings or nature is considered idolatry. * More about the nature of God * "Names" of Allah
What do Muslims believe about God, prophets, the afterlife, etc.?: The basic beliefs of Muslims fall into six main categories, which are known as the "Articles of Faith": * Faith in the unity of God * Faith in angels * Faith in prophets * Faith in books of revelation * Faith in an afterlife * Faith in destiny/divine decree
The "five pillars" of Islam: In Islam, faith and good works go hand-in-hand. A mere verbal declaration of faith is not enough, for belief in Allah makes obedience to Him a duty. The Muslim concept of worship is very broad. Muslims consider everything they do in life to be an act of worship, if it is done according to Allah's guidance. There are also five formal acts of worship which help strengthen a Muslim's faith and obedience. They are often called the "Five Pillars of Islam." * Testimony of faith (Kalima) * Prayer (Salat) * Almsgiving (Zakat) * Fasting (Sawm) * Pilgrimage (Hajj)
Daily life as a Muslim: While often seen as a radical or extreme religion, Muslims consider Islam to be the middle road. Muslims do not live life with complete disregard for God or religious matters, but nor do they neglect the world to devote themselves solely to worship and prayer. Muslims strike a balance by fulfilling the obligations of and enjoying this life, while always mindful of their duties to Allah and to others. * Morals and manners * Business ethics * Modesty in dress and behavior * Dietary rules * Marriage * Care of children and elderly * Racism and prejudice * Relations with non-Muslims
Why was Muhammad sent to live with the Bedouins?
- This was a normal practice.
- Two months after the death of Muhammad father(Abd Allah), in 570 AD, Muhammad was born.
- As was tradition among all the great families at the time, Aminah sent Muhammad into the desert as a baby. The practice at that time was that in the desert, one would learn self-discipline, nobility, and freedom. This also gave Muhammad the chance to learn Arabic and Arab traditions.
- During this time, Muhammad was nursed by Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, a poor Bedouin woman from the tribe of Banu Sa'ad, a branch of the HawÄzin, who would be with him during his time in the desert.
- When Muhammad was two years old he was reunited with Aminah. After 3 years when Muhammad was 5 years old, Aminah took him to Yathrib (Madinah) to meet his extended family and introduce him to the city. They ended up spending one month in Yathrib. However, after having traveled only 23 miles from Yathrib towards Mecca accompanied by her slave Umm 'AimÄn al Barakah, Aminah fell ill and eventually died 577 AD[6] and was buried in the village of Abwa'.
How did Islam spread from Arabia to Africa?
Aslam o Alaikum (Peace be upon you).
Islam spread by the word of mouth.
The dawa (preaching) of the religion is mandatory to every Muslim. There are good, better and best Muslims in the world. There are also those Muslims who are Muslim only by name, there are practising Muslims and those who learn, practice and then spread Islam.
Hence those people who were practicing Muslims, went on foot to Africa, hundreds of years ago, and spread the word of Allah (One God). They took along with them the Holy Quran (the last book of wisdom), revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) some 1428 years ago (today 2007).
You can get more information on the following web sites:
http://www.aswatalislam.net
http://www.aswatalislam.net/CategorySelectionMadeP.aspx?CatID=1002
http://www.Islamicity.com
etc. etc.
Allah knows best.
Waslam (peace on you)
Answerhow did the Islamic religion spread to form such a large empire? AnswerThe spread of the Ottoman Empire had a large role in the spread of Islam. " Almost all of the military conquests and annexations of other countries were done for one of two reasons: to guarantee the safe passage of Muslims to Mecca (the justification for invading non-Muslim territories) and the rooting out of heterodox or heretical Islamic practices and beliefs (the justification for invading or annexing Muslim territories)" (source: www.wsu.edu/~Dee/OTTOMAN/ORIGIN.HTM )Well, back in the day (Muhammad S.A.W) some people spread to Ethiopia, so something must of came out of there
Who were the rulers of Spain when the Muslims where kicked out?
Spain did not exist until 24 years after the Moors were expelled. In 1469 Queen Isabel I of Castile and Leon married King Ferdinand II of Aragon. These 2 monarchs co-ruled the 3 kingdoms after the Moors were expelled in 1492.
The 3 kingdoms were not united to form, what we know as Spain today, until all three were inherited by their grandson, Carlos I.
Carlos I of Spain was also Carlos V, Holy Roman Emperor.
What is The history of masjid al-haram?
The beginnings of the Holy Mosque were established under Caliph Omar Ibn al-Khattab (634-644). The caliph ordered the demolition of houses surrounding the Ka'ba in order to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims, then built a 1.5-meter high wall to form an outdoor prayer area around the shrine. During the reign of Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan (644-656), the prayer area was enlarged and covered with a simple roof supported by wooden columns and arches.
In 692, after Caliph Abdul Malik bin Marwan conquered Mecca from Ibn Zubayr, the building was enlarged and embellished: the outer walls were raised, the ceiling was covered with teak and the capitals were painted in gold. The caliph's son al-Walid (705-715) replaced the wooden columns with marble ones and decorated its arches with mosaics. Abbasid Caliph Abu Ja'far al-Mansur (754-775) added mosaics to the columns, doubled the size of the northern and western wings of the prayer hall and erected the minaret of Bab al-Umra on the northwest corner.
In 777, a major rebuild took place under Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi (775-785) to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims. The existing mosque was demolished along with more houses in the area and a new mosque was constructed in its place. Measuring 196 by 142 meters, it was built on a grid plan with marble columns from Egypt and Syria decorated with gilt teak wooden inlay. Al-Mahdi's mosque also included three minarets, placed above Bab al-Salam, Bab Ali and Bab al-Wadi.
In 1399, the northern part of the mosque was severely damaged by fire and the remaining sections suffered from water damage. The mosque was subsequently rebuilt by Mamluk Sultan Nasir Faraj bin Barquq (1399-1405). The damaged marble columns were replaced with stone columns quarried from the nearby Hijaz region and the roof was patched with local wood from the Ta'if Mountains.
In 1571, Ottoman Sultan Selim II (1566-1574) commissioned the court architect Sinan to renovate the Holy Mosque. It is from this renovation that thepresent building mostly dates. Sinan replaced the flat roof of the prayer hall with domes, supported by the addition of new columns from the nearby Shams Mountains. The interior of the domes were decorated with gilded calligraphy.
Due to damaging rains in 1611, the mosque was once again restored under Sultan Murad IV (1623-1640) in 1629. It received a new stone arcade with slender columns and inscriptive medallions between the arches. The floor tiles around the Ka'ba were replaced with new colored marble tiles and the mosque was given seven minarets.
Between 1955 and 1973, the first of many extensions under the Saudi kings was commissioned by King Abdul Aziz (1932-1953). As part of the renovations, the Mas'a gallery connecting the Rock of al-Safa' with al-Marwah was extended to reach the mosque. The two-story extension was built of reinforced concrete arches clad in carved marble and artificial stone, which communicates with the street and the mosque via eleven doors.
A major extension sponsored by King Fahd (1982-present) consisted of a new wing and an outdoor prayer area on the southeast side of the mosque. In the two-story wing, air conditioning circulates below the tiled floors and is supplied through ventilation grids located at the base of each column. The facade of the extension blends in with the previous constructions, with gray marble facing from the Fatimah Mountains and carved white marble bands.
The monumental King Fahd Gate consists of three arches with black and white voussoirs and carved white marble decoration, flanked by two new minarets matching the older ones. The windows are covered with brassmashrabiyya and framed with carved bands of white marble. The minor gates have green-tiled sloped canopies
Was Napoleon able to conquer Russia?
No, it was a disaster and the first great stroke to the Napoleonic Empire. The defeat cost about 570,000 men, more than 200,000 trained cavalry, artillery and transport services horses, 1,050 (out of a total of 1300) cannons. The French military power never recovered after the losses suffered in the Campaign of Russia. Furthermore., it led Austria, Prussia, Bavaria and the other German States with exception of Saxony to repeal the alliance with France, and set up the Sixth Coalition, with Russia, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal and Sweden .
How were Muslim leaders able to spread Islam and create an empire?
By following the just and strong leadership of Muhammad PBUH and thus following the principles of Islam. Islam was spread on the basis of truth and knowledge and not at all on the basis of the sword as some false accusations have been made. After the Holy Prophet Kaliphs ruled Arabia and conquered many a regions. They emphasised upon spreading the word of God and thus nations turned to Islam.In a very short span of time Islam was spread in all the major parts of the world. And thus gradually strong Islamic empires and brotherhood were formed.
What is different between Islam and Arab?
Islam is the monotheistic religion revealed through the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him by God, Allah. A person who submits his will to the faith of Islam is a Muslim but, an Arab is a person of the Arabian Peninsula.
No he did not. The proof is the Quran and its miracles. Quran is the word of Allah and Allah challeneged human to create a small chapter like Quran, the smallest chapter consist of three sentence. At the time of Prophet the Arabs took to challenge but they failed. No one will ever be able to create a chapter like Quran. The challenge is still open for those who wants to participate.
How did the Caliphs contribute to the growth of Islamic empire?
omar ibn al khattab the second caliph after abu baker was the most is influential caliph in the sense of acheivments and contrubute to the growth of islamic empire :
Please see the Related Link below for more information.
Who were slaves in ancent Greece?
Slaves would be there in Greece to perform daily work. There are 2 main ways somebody could become a slave:
1. If they were born into slavery (mother was already a slave).
2. If they were kidnapped in war or daily life and then sold into slavery.
Slaves were the lowest in society. Masters were allowed to do anything to their slaves, masters could torture their slaves, beat their slaves, even kill their slaves and get away with it.
Slaves could only be free if their master freed them. Once they were free, they were okay to leave, but they still had to come back every so often to thank their master.
What religion was split by sunni and shiites?
Islam religion per revelation of Quran to prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). However, it is not a real split. Refer to question below.
Answer B
shia and sunni have mainly conflict on Imamat (leadership).
shia say Imamat is one of 5 pillars of Islam and only God can select leader for people. but sunni say Imamat is not part of Islam and leader can be selected by people by any method like shura (for example for Abubakr) or by will of previous leader for example for Omar) or by people (for example for Ali).
the conflict of shia and sunni has been always amplified by world Imperialism to prevent Islam from spreading in world.
Shia believes in Allah, prophet and all fundamentals of Islam.
Shia pray 5 times a day but usually do the 2, 3 and 4, 5 pray together and so may seem they do only 3 pray a day. there is some differences in details of pray like genuflect (for shia should be on a stone or part of earth and for sunni on carpet or floor ).
shia believe after death of prophet God selected the successive for prophet who is the political leader of Muslim community and people can not and does not the right to selected it.
shia refers to many verse of Quran like: "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority" (Quran 2:30) or "O David! We did indeed make thee a vicegerent on earth" (Quran 38:26) also other verses.
Shia believes such verses means only God can select an Islamic political leader (Caliph) and there is no mention in Quran people have the right to select leader. and shura is not allowed to be used for selecting leader and prophet himself always selected leaders of wars and other leaders by command of God.
In Shia Islam Caliphs after prophet are 12 infallible Imams who have inherited divine knowledge of prophet.
Shia Muslims do not consider selection of Abubakr as Caliph by people valid because God did not select him. They believe God ordered prophet to declare people that Ali is selected as successor of prophet and prophet did this mission many times during his prophet-hood and mainly in Ghadir event after last Hajj of his life at a 3-4 hour speech in front of 120,000 Muslims at Ghadir in hot desert after 2 days stop of long caravan for gathering and 3 days after speech for congratulations and homage of Muslims to Ali.
Islam at that time had high power in world and Some companions had high interest in leadership position after prophet. Muslims knew that it is the final Hajj of prophet (predicted by prophet) and were going along with prophet to hear what prophet says at end of his life.
Shia believes Ghadir event is the most important event of Islam and is mentioned in Koran in many verses like "Today" (اليوم) in verse 5:3 of Quran is the day of Ghadir. Or Verse 5:67: "(O Messenger! proclaim the (message) which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord. If thou didst not, thou wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission. And Allah will defend thee from men (who mean mischief). For Allah guide not those who reject Faith)" is revealed at Ghadir day and is about declaring political and spiritual leadership of Ali S.A. after prophet.
Both Sunni and Shia Muslims accept happening of Ghadir event But different interpret. Some Sunni writers tried to reject the event of Ghadir as declare of leadership of Ali S.A. and said at Ghadir prophet only wanted to say Ali S.A. is my friend and no one should bother him.
Ali S.A. had 3 different missions to Yemen by prophet during 10 years and in 2 of them some companions of prophet had some conflicts with Ali S.A. and prophet said some sayings about Ali S.A. to solve conflicts and some sunni writers have mixed stories of missions of Ali S.A. to Yemen with story of Ghadir to prove Ghadir event is not about Leadership of Ali and is not important.
Shia scholars believe some Sunni writers who were related to Kings have changed and deviated historical evidences about political leadership of Ali S.A. in old historical books and republished them to destroy evidences of leadership of Ali from old Sunni books.
The famous Shia book Al-Ghadir (الغدير) by Allameh Amini is a collection of evidences and proofs for Ghadir Events written all from sunni historical books by referring to 100,000 Sunni books and full reading of 10,000 sunni books. Allameh Amini is a famous Shia scholar and spent 40 years of his life in traveling to access original old Sunni books in libraries in different countries to write this 20 volume book only from Sunni books and not using any Shia book. Some Sunni scholars tried to reply this book but then said if we want to reply this book we should first destroy all sunni books.
Shia doctrine have root in Battle Karbala.
When tragedy of Karbala happened most of Iranians understood there is two different interpret of Islam that both can not be true. so most of Iranians became shia and followers of "Ahl al-Bayt" and forgive their lives for them like what they did in Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War.
Shia Muslims have at least 120,000 Hadith (saying) from The Fourteen Infallibles that is the base of Shia Islam along with Quran.
Shia believes according to " Hadith of the two weighty things" The Fourteen Infallible are the only valid interpreters of Quran and sayings of them are from God because they are Representative of God in earth and they have inherited divine knowledge of prophet.
Shia believes 12th of them (Imam Mahdi S.A.) is alive and because people have killed all 11 Imams before him, he is in occultation like Jesus S.A. and will rise with Jesus S.A. when people become ready and want to accept his leadership. All 11 Imams have been killed and during their life they all have been in prison or under hard control of government to not have any political activity.
They never had enough serious followers to can get political power. Among them only the sixth Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq was relatively free (for transition of power between Umayyads and Abbasids) to have only scientific activities and so only he is known in west because he established university and had students from all over the world. Westerns know him as a polymath: an astronomer, alchemist, Imam, Islamic scholar, Islamic theologian, writer, philosopher, physician, physicist and scientist. He was also the teacher of the famous chemist, Jābir ibn Hayyān (Geber), and of Abū Ḥanīfa, the founder of the Hanafi school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. He never wanted be a famous man and only shared his knowledge with seekers of knowledge. Some researchers consider his teachings the root cause of renaissance.
Sunni Muslims also accept Mahdi and his worldwide leadership as Caliph of God in earth at end of world. There is a famous Hadith from prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that Mahdi at occultation is like sun behind cloud, he is hidden from people but people receive his benefits.
Shia Muslims say some faithful believers have connection with Mahdi and use his knowledge and at least 1000 persons have had connection and talk with Mahdi during his occultation but Any one having relation with Mahdi S.A. should keep it secret and does not declare it in public until death.
How did Muslims scholars help preserve learning from ancient world?
After Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire, Christian mobs, often led by the bishops, set about burning all literature that did not support the objectives of the Church. Many ancient texts were lost forever, as were nearly all the Gnostic Christian texts, at least until the Nag Hammadi disciveries of the twentieth century.
In large parts of the Middle East, the Nestorians and Jacobites, who had been excluded from the Orthodox Church for alleged heresy, were outside the reach of Rome and were therefore free to follow their somewhat more tolerant teachings. By the time of the Muslim conquest, many of the most important ancient texts had survived under the protection of the Eastern Churches. The Nestorians and Jacobites continued to flourish for some centuries under Islamic rule, and provided many of the scholars of the early Islamic empire, teaching Muslim scholars the fundamentals of Greek scholarship. Whereas the Catholic-Orthodox Church had feared the damaging effect of non-Christian literature on innocent minds, the Muslims had no such concerns and made no attempt to destroy the ancient texts.
What is the holy city in which all Muslims hope to make a pilgrimage?
Type your answer here... Mecca and Medina
What is the major export of Muslim countries?
qatar & saudi arabia : oil
iran : oil & gas
bangladesh:pat san
What is the percentage of Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula?
The world's human population is currently 6.8 billion. Numerous surveys, censuses and estimates place the number of Muslims at between 1.2 billion and 1.57 billion.
From these figures, one can easily figure that the percentage of people that are Muslim is between 17.647% and 23.088%.
Direct estimates of percentages normally provide figures between 20% and 25%, with some going below this range as above. About one quarter (25%) of total world population are Muslims; according to Pew Forum study as of October 2009. In other words, one out of every four or five people.
What percentage of Nigerians are Muslim?
According to the CIA World Factbook and the Library of Congress Country Studies entry for Nigeria (as of 2009), 50% of the population are Muslim.
Current estimates (again as of 2009) of the population of Nigeria vary from 154 millionA to 138 millionB people which would give a Muslim population of between 77 and 69 million.
As can be seen above, estimates of population vary and in some cases are contradictory.The Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division of the United Nations quotes a figure of over 154 million, while the CIA world fact book quotes a figure of 149 millionC people. However the Library of Congress Country Studies entry for Nigeria quotes figures of 138 million and 140 millionB people, Some reasons for the potential variability in these figures is given in the Library of Congress report:
As of mid-2008, Nigeria's population was estimated at 138 million...Provisional results of the 2006 census indicate a total population of 140 million. Like its predecessors, this census has been controversial...Many observers, and southerners in particular, do not accept census results indicating that the north is more populous than the south. The significance of census data for political power and resource allocation exacerbates the controversy.A Exact figure 154,729,000. Source: Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division (2009) World Population Prospects, Table A.1. United Nations.
B US Library of Congress: A Country Study: Nigeria.
C Exact figure 149,229,090. Source: CIA World Fact Book: Population and religions of Nigeria.
