Religion in the Middle East for all other religions and beliefs in the world. Islam is the most widely followed religion in the Middle East. About 20% of the world's Muslims live in the Middle East. Islam is monotheistic believing in Allah and follows the teaching of the written sacred text, the Qur'an. Islam is believed to be an extension of Judaism and Christianity with the belief that Muhammad is the final prophet of God, in a long chain of prophets, from Adam on down to John the Baptist, Jesus, and finally Muhammad. The majority of the Muslims are Sunni, followed by Shi'a. Smaller sects
Apostasy in Islam to Islam and later rejects the religion is called a "murtad milli". The jurist Imam Ibnul Humam (d. 681 AH) wrote in his book "Fathul Qadir": A person is considered apostate if he or she converts from Islam to another religion. Apostasy can occur even if one does not formally renounce Islam. Those who were forced to denounce Islam under conditions of duress or out of fear of persecution or during war (Taqiyya or Kitman) are not considered apostates. Evidence of apostasy in Islam, according to Reliance of the Traveller, a 14th-century manual of the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence (Fiqh),