Middle Eastern Religions

Pages from a tenth-century Qur’an (Yale University Art Gallery)

1. Islam

With more than a billion adherents, Islam is one of the world’s dominant monotheistic religions. The source of Islamic teaching is the Qur’an, believed to be the literal word of God (Allah) as revealed to the prophet Muhammad. Throughout the centuries, other canonical texts and teachings have evolved, representing the Shia and Sunni sects of Islam. Jurists such as the Ayatollah Khomeini have interpreted Islamic law for Islam’s adherents.