Epigraph: “Surely, the Believers, and the Jews, and the Christians and the Sabians — whichever party from among these truly believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good deeds — shall have their reward with their Lord, and no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve.” (Al Quran 2:63)

Source: The PEW Forum on research and religion

Navigate this page:

• Islam and Eternal Salvation
• Converting Others
• Religious Conflict as a Big National Problem
• Views of Muslim-Christian Hostilities
• Familiarity With Other Faiths
• Common Ground With Other Religions
• Relationships With People of Other Faiths

Muslims around the world agree that Islam is the one true faith that leads to salvation. Many Muslims also say it is their religious duty to convert others to Islam.

Many Muslims say they know little about Christianity and other faiths. And few believe Islam and other religions have a lot in common. Even in countries where a substantial proportion of the population is non-Muslim, most Muslims report that all or most of their friends also are Muslim. And while interfaith meetings and classes of Muslims and Christians are fairly common in sub-Saharan Africa, few Muslims in other regions participate in such gatherings.

Few Muslims see conflict between religious groups as a very big national problem. In fact, most consider unemployment, crime and corruption as bigger national problems than religious conflict. Asked specifically about Christian-Muslim hostilities, few Muslims say hostilities are widespread.

Islam and Eternal Salvation

In 34 of the 38 countries where the question was asked, at least half of Muslims believe that Islam is the one true religion that can lead to eternal life in heaven.

Overwhelming majorities of Muslims say that Islam is the only religion that leads to eternal life in heaven in most countries surveyed in the Middle East and North Africa, including Egypt (96%), Jordan (96%), Iraq (95%), Morocco (94%) and the Palestinian territories (89%). Somewhat smaller majorities take this view in Lebanon (66%) and Tunisia (72%).

In most countries surveyed in sub-Saharan Africa, more than six-in-ten Muslims say that only Islam can lead to eternal life. Somewhat fewer take this view in Cameroon (57%), Guinea Bissau (54%), Chad (50%) and Mozambique (49%).

Similarly, in all but one country surveyed in Central Asia, at least six-in-ten Muslims say that Islam is the only path to eternal life. The exception is Kazakhstan, where 29% say that Islam is the only path that leads to eternal life, while 49% say that many religions can serve this role.

At least half of Muslims in most Southern and Eastern European countries surveyed also say that Islam is the exclusive path to heaven. Albanian Muslims are the exception: 37% say Islam is the only faith leading to eternal life, while a quarter say many faiths can lead to heaven, and 38% offer no clear opinion on the issue.

In the majority of countries where the question was asked, Muslims who pray several times a day are more likely than those who pray less often to believe that Islam is the one true faith leading to eternal life. Differences by frequency of prayer consistently are large across the countries surveyed in Southern and Eastern Europe. For example, in Russia, Muslims who pray several times a day are 41 percentage points more likely than those who pray less often to believe Islam is the one true path to eternal salvation. Significant gaps on this question between those who pray several times a day and those who pray less often also are found in Kosovo (+34 percentage points), Albania (+28) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (+27).

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