{"id":14201,"date":"2025-05-24T11:20:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T11:20:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/al-mawrid.org\/questions-en\/?p=14201"},"modified":"2025-11-16T21:48:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T16:48:40","slug":"religions-origin-asia-islamic-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/al-mawrid.org\/questions-en\/religions-origin-asia-islamic-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Were No Major Religions Born in Africa, Europe, or Australia?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Question<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Most of the world\u2019s major religions\u2014such as Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism\u2014originated in Asia or the Middle East. Why is it that no globally recognised or major religion seems to have originated in Africa, Europe, or Australia?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Answer<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Salaam<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for writing to us. Your query is small but requires a somewhat detailed response. I will deal with aspects of your query under certain headings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Misconception about Where Religions Originate<\/strong>
A careful reading of religious history, particularly from an Islamic perspective, shows that prophets and divine guidance were not restricted to any one region. According to the Qur\u2019an, every nation received a messenger at some point in its history (Qur\u2019an, 10:47; 13:7; 40:78). The fact that today\u2019s largest, most historically documented religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) emerged from Asia and the Middle East does not mean other parts of the world did not receive guidance or produce notable religious traditions. Rather, these global traditions have been preserved in records, scriptures, or continuous communities, whereas the teachings in some other parts of the world may have been lost, changed, or overshadowed by cultural and historical circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Islamic Understanding of Prophethood<\/strong>
From an Islamic point of view, there is only one true religion, which the Qur\u2019an refers to as Islam (Qur\u2019an, 3:85). This \u201cIslam\u201d means complete submission to the one Creator. This message, in various forms, was brought by all prophets across different regions and eras (Qur\u2019an, 22:78; 2:132). However, according to Islamic tradition, after the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), prophethood largely remained within his lineage, culminating in the final Prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Abraham (pbuh), God raised prophets among all nations. After Abraham (pbuh), his progeny was specifically chosen to carry forth the last phases of divine guidance (Qur\u2019an, 3:33).
The Qur\u2019an acknowledges that we only know some of these prophets by name; many others remain unknown to us (Qur\u2019an, 40:78).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loss and Preservation of Religious Traditions<\/strong>
One reason we see fewer globally recognised religions emerging from other regions (e.g., Africa, Europe, Australia) may be the loss or metamorphosis of earlier prophetic teachings. Oral traditions can fade over centuries if not meticulously preserved, or they may develop into philosophical systems or mythologies without retaining a single, well-defined name or scripture. By contrast, the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) as well as certain Asian religions (like Hinduism and Buddhism) benefited from strong textual traditions and communal practices that preserved their core teachings over millennia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prevalence of \u201cMajor Religions\u201d<\/strong>
What we label as the \u201cmajor religions\u201d today are often those which:<\/p>\n\n\n\n