Membership in a religious community is ordinarily determined by birth. Based on statistical analyses from 2006, Muslims A Muslim , pronounced /ˈmʊslɪm/, is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah (Arabic: مسلمة). Literally, the word means "one who submits (to God)". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah were estimated as constituting 87%[1] of the total population, although their proportion was possibly greater and was certainly growing. The Muslim A Muslim , pronounced /ˈmʊslɪm/, is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah (Arabic: مسلمة). Literally, the word means "one who submits (to God)". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah birthrate reportedly was higher than that of the minorities, and proportionately fewer Muslims were emigrating abroad. Of the Muslims, 74%[1] were members of the Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. It is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘ah (Arabic: أهل السنة والجماعة "people of the example and the community") or Ahl as-Sunnah (Arabic: أهل السنة) for short. The word Sunni comes from the word Sunnah (Arabic: سنة), which means the sect, while the remaining 13% were Alawites, Ismailis and Twelvers Twelver or Imami Shī‘ism is the largest branch of Shī‘ī (Shi'a) Islam. An adherent of Twelver Shī‘ism is most commonly referred to as a Twelver, which is derived from their belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imāms. Approximately 85% of Shī‘a are Twelvers, representing the largest branch of the Shī‘a, combined.[1] 10% of the population was made up by Christians,[1] while the remaining 3% were Druze The Druze are a religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, whose traditional religion is said to have begun as an offshoot of Islam, but is unique in its incorporation of Gnostic, neo-Platonic and other philosophies, similar to other followers of Ismaili Shi'a Islam.[1]
A striking feature of religious life in Syria is the geographic distribution of the religious minorities. Most Christians A Christian (pronounced /ˈkrɪstʃən/ ) is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah (the Christ in Greek-derived terminology) prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God live in Damascus Damascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and its current population is estimated at about 1,669,000. The city is a governorate by itself, and the capital of the governorate of Rif Dimashq ("Rural Damascus") and Aleppo Aleppo is a city in northern Syria, the second largest Syrian city and the capital of the Aleppo Governorate; the Governorate extends around the city for over 16,000 km² and has a population of 4,393,000, making it the largest Governorate in Syria by population. Aleppo is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world; it knew human settlement, although significant numbers live in Al-Hasakah Province in northeastern Syria Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية), is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. Nearly 90 percent of the Alawis live in Al-Ladhiqiyah Province in the rural areas of the Jabal an Nusayriyah; they constitute over 80 percent of the rural Rural areas are large and isolated areas of a country, often with low population density population of the province. The Jabal al-Arab/Jabal al-Druze, a rugged and mountainous region in the southwest of the country, is more than 90 percent Druze The Druze are a religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, whose traditional religion is said to have begun as an offshoot of Islam, but is unique in its incorporation of Gnostic, neo-Platonic and other philosophies, similar to other followers of Ismaili Shi'a Islam inhabited; some 120 villages are exclusively so. The Twelvers Shia's Twelver or Imami Shī‘ism is the largest branch of Shī‘ī (Shi'a) Islam. An adherent of Twelver Shī‘ism is most commonly referred to as a Twelver, which is derived from their belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imāms. Approximately 85% of Shī‘a are Twelvers, representing the largest branch of the Shī‘a, are concentrated between Homs and Aleppo; they constitute nearly 15 percent of Hamah Hama is a city on the banks of the Orontes river in central Syria north of Damascus. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. It is the location of the historical city Hamath Province. The Ismaili Shia's are concentrated in the Salamiyah region of Hamah Province; approximately 10,000 more inhabit the mountains of Al Ladhiqiyah Province. Most of the remaining Shia Shia Islam , is the second largest denomination of Islam, after Sunni Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'as or Shi'ites live in the region of Aleppo Aleppo is a city in northern Syria, the second largest Syrian city and the capital of the Aleppo Governorate; the Governorate extends around the city for over 16,000 km² and has a population of 4,393,000, making it the largest Governorate in Syria by population. Aleppo is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world; it knew human settlement. The Jewish The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation. Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos is equal community is also centered in the Aleppo area, as are the Yazidis The Yazidi are a Kurdish ethnicity with ancient Indo-European roots. They are primarily Kurdish speaking, and most live in the Mosul region of northern Iraq. There are traditional communities in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Turkey, and Syria, but these have declined since the 1990s, their members emigrating to Europe, especially to Germany, many of whom inhabit the Jabal Siman and about half of whom live in the vicinity of Amuda in the al-Jazirah.
Religion permeates life in all but the most sophisticated social groups. The Syrian tends to view religion instrumentally, depending on the deity and subsidiary powers to aid in times of trouble, solve problems, and assure success. The expressions bismallah (in the name of Allah Allah (Arabic: الله, Allāh, IPA: [ʔalˤːɑːh] ) is the standard Arabic word for God. While the term is best known in the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, in reference to "God". The term was also used by pagan Meccans as a) and inshallah (if Allah is willing) are commonly heard, expressing the individual's literal dependence on divine powers for his well-being.
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