Sultanate of Oman

Ibāḍī sultanate; once an Indian-Ocean power ruling Zanzibar.

☾ The Coming of Islam

An early, peaceful acceptance of Islam

Oman is traditionally recorded as accepting Islam during the Prophet Muḥammad's ﷺ lifetime, when its rulers received his invitation to the faith; the region was Islamised early and largely peacefully.

☾ Religious Composition

The principal home of Ibāḍī Islam

Oman is distinctive as the main historic home of Ibāḍī Islam — a tradition distinct from both Sunni and Shiʿi Islam. It emerged from the currents of the first Islamic century that outsiders sometimes associate with the Khārijites (a label Ibāḍīs themselves reject), and developed as a moderate, quietist community — alongside Sunni and smaller Shiʿi Muslim populations.

Demographic shares are approximate.

At a glance