Which countries are "Muslim countries"?
In the question about drinking beer in Dubai it arose that the term "Muslim country" can be seen as one where the laws of the country are affected by the rules of the religion (like Dubai), whereas other countries may be secular countries with overwhelmingly Muslim populations (like Turkey).
So which of the countries that have high Muslim populations are not secular and have laws based on the religion?
(I know this is asking for a list but it's a small, definite, closed set so not "too broad" in the sense possible with many questions.)
Best Answer
I can answer about the Middle East & North Africa only (the politically so-called "Arab World")
Egypt and Tunisia are not Muslim Countries since Islamic law is only one of the sources of legislation, not the only one, and used only in specific cases.
Muslim Countries are ones like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait...etc (religious states) whose law is only and fully based on Islamic law (Sharia) i.e. their law is the Islamic law, while in Egypt and others (civil states) the law is Egyptian law and when made the sources for making it were many such as French law and Islamic law, depending on what part of the law is being made (criminal, commercial, family law, personal affairs...etc) but every country has its own traditions, it's not just whether the law is Islamic or not since there are also different interpretations of Islamic law.
I would personally categorize them in three categories:
Extremely conservative - Religious states (this is where you really need to be careful) which include: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Oman, Libya
Moderate - usually civil states (you can still have fun in specified ways and certain parts) include: Jordan, UAE, Syria, Qatar, Sudan, Bahrain
Open minded - civil states, usually secular, include: Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon
But again every country has its own traditions. For example UAE and Qatar are religiously oriented but serve alcohol and are among the top countries for prostitution. however Egypt which is a civil state and serves alcohol among many things against Islamic law can be very conservative in some districts, example: you cant wear a short skirt in the poorer parts while in Sharm el Sheikh you can sit topless on some beaches.
Anyway in most of the countries I’ve mentioned foreigners are somewhat exempted from traditions applying to locals or at least they forgive you for being a foreigner, there isn’t a case where they will forbid you to do something or punish you legally (except in the extremely conservative) but if you're wearing something too sexy (as a woman) in a common poor district you will get people staring at you the whole time and probably hitting on you, which can be very annoying. While in other parts of the same city you can do all you can think of, the best thing is to have a guide from the country who is open-minded and well educated, not too common because you will get too much wrong information from them.
Pictures about "Which countries are "Muslim countries"?"
Which countries will be Muslim majority?
Top 10 Countries with the Highest Percentage of Muslims - 2021:- Maldives - 100%)
- Mauritania - 99.9%
- Somalia - 99.8% (tie)
- Tunisia - 99.8% (tie)
- Afghanistan - 99.7% (tie)
- Algeria - 99.7% (tie)
- Iran - 99.4%
- Yemen - 99.2%
Are there 57 Muslim countries?
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation founded in 1969 has 57 members, 56 of which are also member states of the United Nations with 49 countries being Muslim majority countries. Some, especially in West Africa, are \u2013 though with large Muslim populations \u2013 not necessarily Muslim majority countries.Which countries are Muslim country?
Islam is the dominant religion in the Maldives, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. India is the country with the largest Muslim population outside Muslim-majority countries with more than 200 million adherents.How many countries are Muslim ruled?
Islam is the official religion in 26 countries in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, and the Middle East. Islam is growing faster than any other religion worldwide (see: Pew Research Center).Flags and Countries name of 57 Islamic Cooperation members
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Images: Lara Jameson, Lara Jameson, Lara Jameson, Nataliya Vaitkevich