Islamic countries

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Islamic countries refers to those Muslim majority countries that attempt to propagate aspects of the religion of Islam throughout the social, economic and political institutions of governance. Islamic countries may be defined as either the countries which have Muslims making up more than half of their population, or as countries which have Islam as an official religion or countries where the most popular religion is Islam.

It may be argued that the term "Islamic Country" is a misnomer. It could be shown that there are no Islamic countries in the world, but only Muslim majority countries. An Islamic country implies that the law of the Qur'an and Sunnah is enforced in all aspects of lives of the people which includes Islamic politics, Islamic economics and an Islamic social system. This argument says that this is not true for a single country with a Muslim majority. Furthermore, goes the argument, although some Muslim majority countries themselves claim the Qu'ran as their constitution and the Sharia as their law, the actual practice of government is innovated and adapted to the exigencies of modern life. The term "Islamic Country," then, serves as a functional label to describe Muslim majority countries, although in a true sense they may not actually exist.

There is also an Organization of the Islamic Conference, of which most Muslim majority countries are members.