Islam is the majority and official religion in the United Arab Emirates, professed by approximately 76% of the population. [1] The Al Nahyan and Al Maktoum ruling families adhere to Sunni Islam of Maliki school of jurisprudence. Many followers Hanbali school of Sunni Islam are found in Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Ajman. [2] Their followers include the Al Qasimi ruling family. Other religions represented in the country including Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrians, Druze, Baha'i, Judaism, and Sikhism are practiced by non-nationals. [3]
The constitution designates Islam as the official religion, with over 90% of the Emirati population are Sunni Islam. The vast majority of the remainder 5-10% are Shia Muslims, who are concentrated in the Emirates of Dubai and Sharjah. Although no official statistics are available for the breakdown between Sunni and Shia Muslims among noncitizen residents, media estimates suggest less than 20 percent of the noncitizen Muslim population are Shia. [3]
The federal General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments (Awqaf) oversee the administration of Sunni mosques, except in Dubai, where they are administered by the Dubai’s Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department (IACAD). The Awqaf distributes weekly guidance to Sunni imams regarding the themes and content of khutbah with a published script every week which are posted on its website. The Awqaf applied a three-tier system in which junior imams followed the Awqaf khutbah script closely; midlevel imams prepared sermons according to the topic or subject matter selected by Awqaf authorities; and senior imams had the flexibility to choose their own subject for their khutbah. Some Shia religious leaders in Shia majority mosques chose to follow Awqaf-approved weekly addresses, while others write their own khutbah. [3] The government funds and supports Sunni mosques, with the exception of those considered private, and all Sunni imams as considered government employees. [3]
The Jaa'fari Affairs Council manages the Shia affairs for all of the country, including overseeing mosques and endowments. The council also issues additional instructions on sermons to Shia mosques. [3] The government does not appoint religious leaders for Shia mosques. Shia adherents worship and maintain their own mosques and the government considers Shia mosques to be private. However, Shia mosques are eligible to receive funding from the government upon request. The government allows Shia mosques to broadcast the Shia adhan from their minarets. Shia Muslims have their own council, the Jaafari Affairs Council, to manage Shia affairs, including overseeing mosques and community activities, managing financial affairs, and hiring preachers. The government permits Shia Muslims to observe Ashura in private gatherings, but not in public rallies. [3]
For Muslims, the Sharia is the principal source of legislation. However, the judicial system allows for different types of law, depending on the case. Sharia forms the basis for judicial decisions in most family law matters for Muslims, such as marriage and divorce, and inheritance for Muslims. However, in the case of non-Muslims or noncitizens, the laws of their home country apply, rather than Sharia. [4]
Conversion to Islam is viewed favorably, though converting from Islam to other religions is not recognized and deeply discouraged. Muslim men may marry non-Muslim women who are People of the Book, but Muslim women are not permitted to marry non‑Muslim men unless the man converts to Islam; such marriages are not legally recognized. [3]
Catholics and Protestants form a large proportion of the Christian minority. According to the 2005 census, Christians accounted for 9% of the total population; estimates in 2010 suggested a figure of 12.6%. [3] The country has over 52 churches in 2023. [5] Because Islam considers Christians to be People of the Book, the government has been more willing to consider land grants for churches, resulting in Christian religious buildings outnumbering those of other non-Muslim religions in 2008. [6] Many Christians in the United Arab Emirates are of Asian, African, and European descent, along with fellow Middle Eastern countries Lebanon, Syria, and other countries. [7] In April 2020, a Latter-day Saint temple was announced in Dubai. [8]
The schools in public ownership have no Christian religious education. [9]
In 1958, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al Makhtoum gifted land to allow a temple to built. A temple was built that was shared by Sikhs and Hindus. [10]
A temple with over 16 deities was inaugurated in the 'Worship Village' in Jebel Ali on September 1, 2022. [11] Previously, worshipers could attend the Dubai Hindu Temple in Dubai locally referred to as the Shiva and Krishna Mandir. This temple closed down in January 2024. [12] A traditional temple, BAPS Hindu Mandir, has opened on 14 February 2024. [13]
A Jain temple, with the deities of Vimalnath Bhagwan and Parshwanath Bhagwan is located in Bur Dubai. [14]
In December 2011, Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara was inaugurated in Jebel Ali. [15] [16] On 17 January 2012 the gurudwara was open to over 50,000 devotees residing in the UAE. [17]
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Approximately 2% of the population, or nearly 500,000 people adhere to Buddhism; a temple is located in the Dubai neighbourhood of Jumeirah [18] [19] [20] Buddhists in UAE consist largely of expatriate workers from countries in Asia with large Buddhist populations, such as Thailand, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. [18]
As of 2022, Judaism is experiencing a revival in the Emirates. [21]
There is a small Jewish community in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). There is only one known synagogue, in Dubai, which has been open since 2008. The synagogue also welcomes visitors. [22] As of 2019, according to Rabbi Marc Schneier of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, it is estimated that there are about 150 families to 3,000 Jews who live and worship freely in the UAE. [23]
The synagogue in Dubai is supported by the UAE, with the appointment of a Minister for Tolerance in 2016. [24] The Ministry of Tolerance led to the creation of the National Tolerance Programme and official recognition of the Jewish community in the UAE. [25]
Another synagogue is planned to be built in Abu Dhabi, alongside a Mosque and a Church, as part of the Abrahamic Family House. [26]
As of June 2020 community is headed by, the president of the Dubai Jewish Community, Solly Wolf, and Rabbi Levi Duchman. The community has Talmud Torah, Kosher Chicken Shechita and a permanent synagogue located in Dubai. [27] [28] [29]
IMPACT-se launched a report in January 2022 about religious tolerance in the United Arab Emirates. Though the organization denied finding any anti-Semitic or hateful content in the textbooks, which “generally met” UNESCO peace and tolerance guidelines, it did cite the missing education about the Jewish state and its history. The textbooks in question reportedly taught about the 2020 Abraham Accords leading to the normalization of relations between the UAE and Israel, but skipped Israel in maps or education on the event of Holocaust. [30]
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Up to 4% of people reported irreligious beliefs according to a Gallup poll. It is illegal for Muslims, [31] with apostates from Islam facing a maximum sentence of the death penalty under the country's anti-blasphemy law. [32] As such, there have been questions regarding freedom of religion in the United Arab Emirates.
Atheism in the region is mainly present among foreign expatriates and a very small number of local youth. [33] [34] According to Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi, due to Islam being founded in the Arabian Peninsula over 1,400 years ago, the Persian Gulf region enjoys a long Islamic history and tradition, and it is strongly associated with national identity; thus, any distancing or criticism of religion "equates to distancing oneself from national identity". [35] Al-Qassemi notes that the use of social media via the internet remains the strongest medium of expression for Gulf atheists, while providing anonymity; a pioneering Gulf blogger is the Emirati atheist Ahmed Ben Kerishan, who is known in the Arabic blogosphere for advocating atheist and secular views. [35] [36]
In 2023, according to Freedom House, where 0 is the least freedom and 4 is the highest degree of freedom, the UAE was scored 2 out of 4 for religious freedom. [37] [38]
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East. Located at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula, it shares borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia; as well as maritime borders in the Persian Gulf with Qatar and Iran. The United Arab Emirates is an elective monarchy formed from a federation of seven emirates. As of 2023, the UAE has an estimated population of 9.97 million. Emirati citizens are estimated to form 11.6% of the population; the remaining residents are expatriates, the majority of whom are South Asian. Islam is the official religion and Arabic is the official language. Abu Dhabi is the country's capital, while Dubai, the most populous city, is an international hub.
Hinduism has been found in the Middle East since the early 16th century. Millions of members of the Indian diaspora, of different religions, reside and work in Arab states of the Persian Gulf; many of them are Hindu. Many came due to the migration of Indians and Nepalese expatriates and employees to the area around the Persian Gulf.
Islam is the official religion of the United Arab Emirates. Of the total population, 76.9% are Muslims as of a 2010 estimate by the Pew Research Center. Although no official statistics are available for the breakdown between Sunni and Shia Muslims among noncitizen residents, media estimates suggest less than 20 percent of the noncitizen Muslim population are Shia.
Islam is the majority religion in Azerbaijan, but the country is considered to be the most secular in the Muslim world. Estimates include 97.3% and 99.2% of the population identifying as Muslim. Of these, a majority belong to the Shia branch (55-65%), while a significant minority (35-45%) are Sunni. Traditionally, the differences between these two branches of Islam have not been sharply defined in Azerbaijan.
Islam is historically divided into two major sects, Sunni and Shia Islam, each with its own sub-sects. Large numbers of Shia Arab Muslims live in some Arab countries including Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, and Qatar.
Qatar is a Muslim-majority country with Islam as the state religion. Salafi version of Islam is the state sponsored brand of Sunni Islam in the country, making Qatar one of the two Salafi states in the Muslim world, along with Saudi Arabia.
The population of Dubai is estimated to be 3.5 million as of April 2022 according to government data. As of 2021, 3.2 million were non-Emirati, and 69% were male. About 58.50% of the population is concentrated in the 25-44 age group. This unnatural age and gender distribution is due to the large proportion of foreign workers, most of whom are working-age males. Life expectancy at birth was 81 years for males, and 82.1 for females.
The history of the Jews in the United Arab Emirates describes the historical and modern presence of Jews over the millennia in the Middle East and the recorded meetings with Jewish communities in areas that are today in the geographic territories of the United Arab Emirates.
The Constitution of Kuwait provides for religious freedom. The constitution of Kuwait provides for absolute freedom of belief and for freedom of religious practice. The constitution stated that Islam is the state religion and that Sharia is a source of legislation. In general, citizens were open and tolerant of other religious groups. Regional events contributed to increased sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shia.
The Constitution of the United Arab Emirates provides for freedom of religion by established customs, and the government generally respects this right in practice; however, there are some restrictions. The federal Constitution declares that Islam is the official religion of the country. The Government confirmed it illegal to convert from Islam and leaving the Islamic faith is considered apostasy, a crime punishable by death.
The Emiratis are the native citizen population of the United Arab Emirates. Within the UAE itself, they number approximately 1.15 million.
Holy See – United Arab Emirates relations are the foreign relations between the Holy See and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The earliest form of contact between officials of both states was when the founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, unofficially met Pope John Paul II in the 1980s. Relations between the two were not established until 31 May 2007. According to a Vatican communiqué, the diplomatic arrangement was founded on a desire to promote “bonds of mutual friendship and of strengthening international cooperation.
Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi is an Emirati educator, art collector, scholar, and columnist. As an Al-Qassemi, he is a member of the ruling family of Sharjah.
Shia Islam is practiced by a minority of Muslims in the United Arab Emirates. It is also practiced among expatriate Muslim communities living in the country, most notably Iranians, as well as some Arabs, Pakistanis, Indians, and other nationalities. Non-Twelver Shia branches such as Ismailis and the Dawoodi Bohras are also present in the UAE and account for less than 5% of the total population. Shia nationals are concentrated in the city of Dubai, belonging mostly to the latest (1920s) wave of migrants who managed to obtain citizenship.
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Irreligion in the United Arab Emirates is rare, with only up to 4% of people reporting irreligious beliefs according to a Gallup poll. It is illegal for Muslims, with apostates from Islam facing a maximum sentence of the death penalty under the country's anti-blasphemy law. As such, there have been questions regarding freedom of religion in the United Arab Emirates.
The King Faisal Mosque is a mosque in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates. It is named after the former ruler of Saudi Arabia King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.
The Sharjah Mosque, is the largest mosque in the Emirate of Sharjah, the U.A.E. Besides serving the needs of Muslims, the mosque has a library, and an area for giving Dawah to non-Muslims.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments (GAIAE) or (Awqaf) is a federal agency of the government of the United Arab Emirates.