Part III: Essay
Islam, followed by more than a billion people today, is the world’s fastest growing religion and will soon be the world’s largest. The 1.2 billion Muslims make
up approximately one quarter of the world’s population, and the Muslim population of the United States now outnumbers that of Episcopalians. The most
populous Muslim countries are Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. The number of Muslims in Indonesia alone (175 million) exceeds the combined
total in Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran, the traditional heartlands of Islam. There are also substantial Muslim populations in Europe and North
America, whether converts or immigrants who began arriving in large numbers in the 1950s and 1960s. In keeping with tradition, the two main branches of
Islam today are Sunni and Shiite.
How would you compare the position of Islam in the world today with its position in the era described in chapter 16?
Using the assigned readings (I can add information from the textbook after the essay is written but please find and cite the two additional academic sources
if possible) and two additional academic sources (not Wikipedia or google search), write a 4-5 page essay. You should have an introduction with a clear
thesis, at least 5 body paragraphs of at least 5 sentences, and a conclusion that sums up the information. You need to include direct quotes from the…