Talk:Religion in the Middle East

This is not a B class article. It should be addressed by an expert on religion and be essentially rewritten entirely, using e.g. reliable statistics and direct quotes from various religious scholars, instead of vague allusions to common knowledge one gathered from high school social studies class, as an encyclopedia is not a place for publishing common knowledge based off personal inference/experience/word of the street, it is a place for quoting and summarizing reliable source material to at least enlighten a person with zero knowledge on the subject matter.

Perhaps also addressing common misconceptions, again with appropriate citations of sources. For example, saying the most common issue of Islam is the Sunni/Shia split isn't really arriving at anything useful. What about internal dissensions of Sunni-Sunni conflicts? I am not an expert on the subject, but I know there is far more issues than merely the bickering between different major sects, of which there are also the Ibadis of Oman and Quranists, among others. Where do they fall in? When did this "Sunni-Shia" split happen according to scholars? Historiography on that topic is generally limited to the traditional sources within Islam alone (especially anything that happened before 750 CE) as far as I'm aware, so what do secular scholars of religion have to say about this? Or is that even a relevant point to bring up on an article about statistics?

(I'm not sure if I'm putting this in the right spot, I haven't posted before, but I hope the input is helpful enough to draw attention to the fact that this article is in desperate need of revision)

Untitled
these are the religions in the middle east such as Christianity,Islam, and Judaism. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.93.149.23 (talk) 20:55, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Please add Jainism in the "Other religions" section after Hinduism. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Krizpo (talk • contribs) 12:51, 23 July 2012 (UTC)

this article sucks
I mean it just is terrible. It was prob, imo, written by a person who uses english as a 4th language. Also uses thebestdata.com or whatever as a primary source for almost everything. The section on Iraq was so terrible I had to delete most of it.

Come on people. This article is utter shit. The section for Saudi Arabia, however, has a different tone then the other sections making me suspect that the author is from that nation. Can anyone invest some time and spruce this piece up?

Oh yeah salifis are not shia. jesus christ... General Choomin (talk) 04:53, 25 June 2013 (UTC)

Re-writing introduciton section
The introductory section fails to describe the article, I suggest to rewrite this sentence.

The introduction also fails to sumurize most major points of the article, I suggest to rewrite it.

The information in the second paragraph of the introduction is not present in the article, I suggest to remove this paragraph. — Preceding unsigned comment added by S2619059 (talk • contribs) 13:31, 8 May 2022 (UTC)

do we need citation for Islam being the prevalent religion of the Middle East? I feel like this could be considered as common knowledge(?) Annasaranszki (talk) 15:48, 17 May 2022 (UTC)

Shabakism
According to the WIki article on Shabakism, do "Shabaks regard themselves as Shia Muslims".

Therefore I would say that Shabakism should not be it's own sub-topic on the page. Advice would be arpeciated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by S2619059 (talk • contribs) 13:54, 8 May 2022 (UTC)

Other Religions
Currently Bushism, Hinduism, and, Sikhism are under the "other religions" section. This category does appear to me as quite arbitratry. I suggest that we remove this section and add these religions in the regular list. — Preceding unsigned comment added by S2619059 (talk • contribs) 14:02, 8 May 2022 (UTC)

Unbelief
I suggest that we remove the Unbelief section of the page. As the page is about religion in the Middle East, not irreligion in the Middle East, which has it's own page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by S2619059 (talk • contribs) 14:04, 8 May 2022 (UTC)


 * I agree but we could also mention/mark somehow that there is a page for that Annasaranszki (talk) 15:37, 16 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Disagree. Unbelief is part of the religious makeup of the Middle East.Editor2020 (talk) 01:15, 17 May 2022 (UTC)
 * I was thinking a bit more about it and I also think that we should keep it. It would make sense to include the unbelief because this is more and more relevant in today's world. (I hope this makes some sense.) Annasaranszki (talk) 15:51, 17 May 2022 (UTC)

Structure
Currently the structure of the sub-headings appears to be a bit disorganized.

To make the order in which religions are represented more coherent I suggest the following.

- As sub headings the Abrahamic religions ordered by number of believers in the Middle East - As sub-sub headings; Islamic sects by number of believers in the Middle East
 * Abrahamic religions (Because it's the largest religious group)
 * All other religions present in the Middle East ordered by number of believers.

Feedback apreciated! — Preceding unsigned comment added by S2619059 (talk • contribs) 14:14, 8 May 2022 (UTC)


 * I decided to add another category; non-abrahamic monotheistic religions. This should make the page more organized. S2619059 (talk) 14:57, 8 May 2022 (UTC)

Dispute header Israel section
I took the liberty to add a disputed header above the Israel section.

The section makes no destintion between Israeli terratory, and Palestinian terratory illegally occupied. It is not clear when is talked about which "area".

'"Israel represents the religious Holy Land for Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Baha'is".'

To my knowledge Islam does not have a concept of a "holy land". If this wrong, please provide credible sources, my apologies in advance.

It's also untrue that the state of Israel represents the Holy Land for Jews and Christians. It's undeniable that the state of Israel is located on what many Christians and Jews consider, at least in part, the holy land. That does not mean the state represents the holy land.

"All religions are present in Israel and lay personal claim to the land".

To my knowledge, in this point in time, does no state other then Israel make a religous claim to the land. Palestinians generally make a nationalistic claim, the claim that the palestinian people have a right to self detirmination.

"Due to the significant Israeli/Palestinian conflict, tensions are high in the religious community" I agree that tensions are often/in generally high. However it is not clear that these tensions are amongst religous lines. It could be argued that the conflict is primarily an Ethnic conflict. Or a collonial settler conflict.

"The majority of displaced and upset Palestinians are Muslim" This line fails to mention the many Christian Palestinians who have been displaced.

"The majority of displaced and upset Palestinians are Muslim and the majority of current Israeli citizens are Jewish so establishing the state borders is highly influenced by religion."

Although it's true that most Palestinians are Muslim, and most Israeli's are Jewish, that does not mean that the cause of the conflict is religous in nature, nor that religion is the reason.

"Each of the three main religions is incredibly attached to this city and claim it as their own."

There are currently no major Christian groups who claim the entirity of Jerusalem. Palestine Claims Jerusalem as it's capital, but not for religious reasons. Eventhough, it's important religously for many Muslim and Christian Palestinians.

I hope that future contributers can expand this section of the page, highlighting the different analysis of how religion plays a role in the Israeli-Palestinian area. — Preceding unsigned comment added by S2619059 (talk • contribs) 13:05, 16 May 2022 (UTC)

question in the Islam subheading
I just noticed it but are these 2 sentences really necessary here? I feel like it doesn't fit the 'general information image' of this page...especially that we don't have souces either: "The Battle of Siffin was a significant schism between the two sects.  [citation needed]Throughout the years, other differences have arisen between practices, beliefs and culture. Many conflicts between the two communities have occurred. [citation needed] Thanks for the feedback/help in advance! Annasaranszki (talk) 21:52, 17 May 2022 (UTC)

Categorizing Mandaeans as non-Abrahamic
How are Mandaeans not Abrahamic, exactly? It was my understanding that they claim lineage from John the Baptist, and are monotheists. I EAT PINBALLS (talk) 20:29, 23 June 2024 (UTC)