The Pakistani government has repeatedly said such attacks kill mostly civilians and only serve as a recruitment tool for Islamic militants.

VOA: standard.2009.06.03

He introduced Islamic law in the country, including in the mostly non-Islamic south, helping to set off the second north-south civil war, which would last until 2005.

VOA: standard.2009.05.31

Admired by the last shah, the Achaemenids (Cyrus and Darius among them) have been mostly disdained under the Islamic Republic.

ECONOMIST: Iran's heritage

As for the third Caucasian republic, Armenia, it does have close military ties with Russia and given its strained relations with its mostly Muslim neighbours there is a degree of anti-Islamic feeling there.

BBC: Analysis: Chechen war divides neighbours

The only electoral challenge to the ruling party of President Benjamin Mkapa comes from mostly Muslim Zanzibar, where the authorities regularly invoke the threat of Islamic fundamentalism at polling time.

ECONOMIST: Muslims in Africa