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The term Muslim world (or Islamic world) has several meanings. In a cultural sense it refers to the worldwide community of Muslims, adherents of Islam. This community numbers about 1.3-1.5 billion people, roughly one-fifth of the world population. This community is spread across many different nations and ethnic groups connected only by religion. In a historical or geopolitical sense the term usually refers collectively to Muslim majority countries or countries in which Islam dominates politically. The worldwide Muslim community is also known collectively as the ummah. Islam emphasizes unity and defense of fellow Muslims, although many divisions of Islam (see the Sunni-Shia relations) exist. In the past both Pan-Islamism and nationalist currents have influenced the status of the Muslim world. The term "Islamic art and architecture" denotes the works of art and architecture produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by culturally Islamic populations.[1][2] No Islamic visual images or depictions of God are meant to exist because such artistic depictions may lead to idolatry. Moreover, Muslims believe that God is incorporeal, making any two- or three- dimensional depictions impossible. Instead, Muslims describe God by the names and attributes that he revealed to his creation. All but one sura of the Qur'an begins with the phrase "In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful". Images of Mohammed are likewise prohibited. Such aniconism and iconoclasm[3] can also be found in Jewish and some Christian theology.
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