According to some estimates, more Sunni Muslims adhere to Barelvi doctrine than that of the Deobandi.[9][10]Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who was also a follower of the Deobandi school of thought, prioritized the implementation of Sunni policies and laws that were in line with Deobandi beliefs during his attempts at the Islamization of Pakistan.[10]
Pakistan has been called a "global centre for political Islam" by Husain Haqqani.[11] Pakistani nationalist narrative is based on the idea that Muslims of the Subcontinent are an independent nation with their own distinctive outlook on life that is different from the rest of subcontinent.[12]
An overwhelming majority of nearly 97% of Pakistanis is Muslim.[13] Since 2024, Pakistan has officially become the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, surpassing Indonesia.[14][15] The majority are Sunni (85-90%)[16][17][18][19][20] while Shias make up between 10% and 15%.[21][17][22][23][24][25] The Hanbali school has gained popularity recently due to Wahabbi influence from the Middle East.[26] Smaller minority Muslim populations in Pakistan include Quranists, nondenominational Muslims.[27] There are also two Mahdi'ist based creeds practiced in Pakistan, namely Mahdavia and Ahmadis,[28] the latter of whom are considered by the constitution of Pakistan to be non-Muslims, constitute 1% of the population.[29] Pakistan has the world's largest Muslim majority city (Karachi).[30]
^Ḥaqqānī, Husain (2005). Pakistan: between mosque and military. Washington: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. p. 131. ISBN0-87003-214-3. Retrieved 23 May 2010. Zia ul-Haq is often identified as the person most responsible for turning Pakistan into a global center for political Islam. ...
^"The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity". Pew Research Center. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2016. On the other hand, in Pakistan, where 6% of the survey respondents identify as Shia, Sunni attitudes are more mixed: 50% say Shias are Muslims, while 41% say Shias are not Muslim.
^Cite error: The named reference seyed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Sheikh, Samira. "Aurangzeb as seen from Gujarat: Shi ‘i and Millenarian Challenges to Mughal Sovereignty." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 28.3 (2018): 557–581.
^The 1998 Pakistani census states that there are 291,000 (0.22%) Ahmadis in Pakistan. However, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has boycotted the census since 1974 which renders official Pakistani figures to be inaccurate. Independent groups have estimated the Pakistani Ahmadiyya population to be somewhere between 2 million and 3 million Ahmadis. However, the 2 million figure is the most quoted figure and is approximately 1% of the country. See:
3 million: International Federation for Human Rights: International Fact-Finding Mission. Freedoms of Expression, of Association and of Assembly in Pakistan. Ausgabe 408/2, Januar 2005, S. 61 (PDF)
3–4 million: Commission on International Religious Freedom: Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. 2005, S. 130
4.910.000: James Minahan: Encyclopedia of the stateless nations. Ethnic and national groups around the world. Greenwood Press. Westport 2002, page 52
^Khan, Nichola (2016). Cityscapes of Violence in Karachi: Publics and Counterpublics. Oxford University Press. ISBN9780190869786. ... With a population of over 23 million Karachi is also the world's largest Muslim city, the world's seventh largest conurbation ...