Juan Cole has a Ph.D., while I have overdue library book fines (never over $10 at one time though!). He has a map, and so do I. Look below the fold (some explanations as well).
What do the labels mean? Here are some rough, rough, generalizations. Muslim readers are encouraged to offer their opinion so long as they don't call takfir.
Sunni - catchall for groups within the Muslim mainstream who aren't Shia and adhere to four primary schools of shariat (Islamic Law)
Salafi - originally Sunni reformists who attempted to go back to first principles. Some were originally quite modernist, but mostly they are now associated with violent nuts (al Qaeda) or repressive nuts (Saudi Arabia).
Shia - catchall for groups who place an emphasis on the lineage of Ali and the anti-Sunni party. Pretty wide though in its range. A lot of 'heretical' systems of belief (e.g., Mutazili) are preserved in small Shia groups as alternative traditions
Ibadi - random non-Sunni and non-Shia group that managed to survive in Oman. Originally associated with nuttery (Khajirites) as they considered the Shia party too soft on the Sunni compromises with something called reality, but now pretty mellow (the Sultan of Oman allowed a Hindu temple to open)
Alevi - persecuted by the Ottomans, probably somewhat Shia, but crypto so long that it is kind of confused. As many as 20% of Turks might be Alevi, but who knows, they lie all the time
Alawites - like the Alevi. Given official Muslim status within the past few decades, but murky past and crypto tendencies in their religion. Today they are Shia of the Twelver sect, but this is more politics than reality (Syria and Iran are allies, and Syria has backed Twelver Shia groups in Lebanon)
Twelver Shia - the vast majority of the Shia in the world, focused on Iran, but scattered through the Persian Gulf, Pakistan and Lebanon
Zaydi Shia - common in Yemen. A lot like Sunni. They pray in the same mosques in Yemen
The map is rough and doesn't show frequencies. For example, Pakistan is about 20% Shia. Lebanon 30-40%. Saudi Arabia 10%, but almost all the eastern coast. There are local patterns.
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Great post! I remember once hearing that Shiites seem disproportionately concentrated near the center of Islam (whereas Sunnis may be found all over the place), but I was surprised to see no Ismailis (that's what Aziz of City of Brass is, right?) on the map. Are they all in Central/South Asia?
but I was surprised to see no Ismailis (that's what Aziz of City of Brass is, right?) on the map. Are they all in Central/South Asia?
there are small numbers in yemen, etc. but the greatest number in absolute terms are prolly in south asia just cuz south asia is so populous.
It's good to know that Beltway strategists would like to destabilize the Shiite states. I wonder whether they've considered the implications of a unified Sunni bloc that would likely emerge if destabilized Shia lost some kind of Shia/Sunni religious war (it would take a long time, insha'Allah).
I guess they've never heard the saying, "Let sleeping dogs lie." Maybe they simply understand that war is good for politics and the defense industry, and they are taking action to make sure we see lots of war in the future. That motive, at least, would be rational.
What's with Sudan?
they're sunni...reformist, kinda fundamentalist. all over the place. hard to pin them down.