The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community (Ummah), comprising all those who adhere to the religion of Islam, or to societies where Islam is practiced. In a modern geopolitical sense, these terms refer to countries where Islam is widespread, although there are no agreed criteria for inclusion.
The history of the Muslim world spans about 1400 years and includes a variety of socio-political developments, as well as advances in the arts, science, philosophy, and technology, particularly during the Islamic Golden Age. All Muslims look for guidance to the Quran and believe in the prophetic mission of Muhammad, but disagreements on other matters have led to appearance of different religious schools and branches within Islam. In the modern era, most of the Muslim world came under influence or colonial domination of European powers. The nation states that emerged in the post-colonial era have adopted a variety of political and economic models, and they have been affected by secular and as well as religious trends.
As of 2015, over 1.7 billion or about 23.4% of the world population are Muslims including the 4.4% who live as minorities. By the percentage of the total population in a region considering themselves Muslim, 91.2% in the Middle East–North Africa, 29.6% in Sub-Saharan Africa, 24.8% in Asia–Oceania, around 6.0% in Europe, and 0.6% in the Americas.
Muslim history involves the history of the Islamic faith as a religion and as a social institution. The history of Islam began in Arabia with the Islamic prophet Muhammad's first recitations of the Quran in the 7th century in the month of Ramadan.