Religion is one of the most important precepts in the middle east, as it dictates the ways of living of people of that religion, religion will have a great influence on the lives of these people.
The three main monotheistic religions, that is, belief in the existence of a single God, emerged in the Middle East: Islam, Christianity and Judaism.
The religion with the largest number of followers is Islam (90% of the population). It is a monotheistic religion, based on the teachings of Mohammed, or Muhammad, called by Westerners Muhammad. After Muhammad's death, the Islamic religion suffered ramifications, dividing into several strands with different characteristics. The segments of Islam that have the greatest number of adherents are that of the Sunnis (majority) and that of the Shiites. Contrary to what many people think, Islam is not only divided into Sunnis and Shiites, there are several other smaller groups, among them are Druze and Alawites.
The second largest religion in numbers of followers in the Middle East is Christianity. The region is home to about 12 million Christians, many from Arab churches, such as Coptic or Maronite, which are among the oldest in Christianity. The countries with the largest number of Christians are Syria and Lebanon.
In addition, more than 6.5 million Jews live in the Middle East, almost all of them in Israel. The territory that currently corresponds to Palestine was already inhabited by Jews about four thousand years ago, however, they were expelled during the Roman Empire. Jews returned to the Middle East through migratory flows, which were strengthened by the construction of the State of Israel in 1948. This fact is one of the main factors responsible for the constant conflicts between Jews and Palestinians, as Israel is annexing territories inhabited by Palestinians.
The city of Jerusalem is disputed by the three major religions. It is a sacred place for Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Check out the symbolic importance of Jerusalem for these religions:
