History of the Middle East balance of power in the Muslim world as Egypt once again emerged as a major power. Religion always played a prevalent role in Middle Eastern culture, affecting learning, architecture, and the ebb and flow of cultures. When Muhammad introduced Islam, it jump-started Middle Eastern culture, inspiring achievements in architecture, the revival of old advances in science and technology, and the formation of a distinct way of life. Islam primarily consisted of the five pillars of belief, including confession of faith, the five prayers a day, to fast during the holy month of Ramadan, to pay the tax for charity (the
Islam in the Republic of Macedonia Islam in the Republic of Macedonia Muslims in the Republic of Macedonia represent one-third of the nation's total population, making Islam the second most widely professed religion in the country. Muslims in the Republic of Macedonia follow Sunni Islam of the Hanafi madhhab. Some northwestern and western regions of the country have Muslim majorities. A large majority of all the Muslims in the country are ethnic Albanians, with the rest being primarily Turks, Romani, Bosniaks or Torbeš. Albanian Muslims, forming roughly 25% of the nation's total population and most of the Muslim population, live mostly in the Polog and western