page_title: Religion in Georgia (country)
section_title: Islam
hierarchical_section_title: Religion in Georgia (country) / Islam
caption_attribution_description: English: Mosque in Tbilisi
context_page_description: The wide variety of peoples inhabiting Georgia has meant a correspondingly rich array of active religions. Today most of the population in Georgia practices Orthodox Christianity, primarily in the Georgian Orthodox Church whose faithful make up 82.4% of the population. Around 1% belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, while about 3.9% of the population follow the Armenian Apostolic Church, almost all of which are ethnic Armenians. Adherents of Islam make up 10.7% of the population and are mainly found in the Adjara and Kvemo Kartli regions and as a sizeable minority in Tbilisi. Catholics of the Armenian and Latin churches make up around 0.8% of the population and are mainly found in the south of Georgia and a small number in Tbilisi. There is also a sizeable Jewish community in Tbilisi served by two synagogues.
  The Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church is one of the world's most ancient Christian Churches, founded in the 1st century by the Apostle Andrew the First Called. In the first half of the 4th century Christianity was adopted as the state religion.
context_section_description: Islam in Georgia was introduced in 645 AD during the reign of third Caliph of Islam, Uthman. During this period, Tbilisi (al-Tefelis) grew into a center of trade between the Islamic world and northern Europe. Islam's history continued in Georgia throughout the late 14th and early 15th centuries with Timur's invasions of Georgia and during the 16th and early 19th centuries, the Iranians (Safavids, Afsharids, Qajars) and Ottomans commanded influence in the region until its annexation by Russia in 1801. In 1703, Vakhtang VI became the ruler of the kingdom of Kartli and he embraced Islam. Other notable Georgian Muslims from that era include David XI of Kartli,  Jesse of Kakheti and Simon II of Kartli.
  Muslims constitute 9.9%, or 463,062 of the Georgian population. There are two major Muslim groups in Georgia. The ethnic Georgian Muslims are Sunni Hanafi and are concentrated in Autonomous Republic of Adjara of Georgia bordering Turkey. The ethnic Azerbaijani Muslims are predominantly Shia Ithna Ashariyah and are concentrated along the border with Azerbaijan and Armenia.
caption: Mosque in Tbilisi
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