Muslim Europeans

I recently saw an alarming video that I imagine you have seen as well about how Islam is taking over Europe. The video sites the reason mainly as being that Muslims have more babies that their European counterparts. My family and I have recently returned from a trip to France where I was stunned by what I saw in the behavior of the Muslim immigrants in Europe. So to calm your fears of Europe turning into an Islamic state by 2020 as some have purported let me give you three reasons I don’t think that is happening:

1. Muslims are still a small minority making up less than 8 percent of Europe’s population. Granted they are a vocal 8 percent but their still only eight percent. Their numbers are three times the strength of the American Muslims so we should watch what happens in Europe to prepare for what will happen in our country in following years. I had heard so much about Muslims in Europe from the news and friends I was expecting to see Muslims everywhere… but I didn’t.

2. The falling Muslim birth rate in Europe. When a Muslim moves to Europe they don’t “Muslim-ize” the Europeans but are “European-ized” themselves. Consider a recent study:

“In Austria, for example, Muslim women had a total fertility rate (an estimate of lifetime births per woman) of 3.1 children per woman in 1981, well above the 1.7 average for the majority Roman Catholic women. By 2001, the rate for Catholics had fallen to 1.3, but the Muslim rate had fallen to 2.3—leaving a difference of just one child per woman between Muslims and non-Muslims.

The gap narrowed even further in the former West Germany, where the authors relied on data by mother’s nationality rather than religion. West Germany recruited a large number of workers from Turkey beginning in the 1960s, giving Germany one of Western Europe’s largest Muslim populations. In 1970, Turkish women living in West Germany had more than two more children than German women. By 1996, the difference between these two groups had fallen to one child.”

Not only in Europe is this the case but another study suggests that Muslim birthrates, though still higher than Christian, are actually decline faster using this graph as a guide:

Time Periods World Muslim Difference Doubling Time
1970-2000 1.66% 2.61% .95% 74 years
1990-2000 1.41% 2.13% .72% 96 years
2000-2006 1.22% 1.9% .68% 103 years
2000-2025 1.03% 1.64% .61% 115 years

According to these two studies and my own experience with Muslim families in Europe have two kids, I don’t believe that Muslims will take over in population.

3. The secularization of European Muslims. Going into our hotel in France for the three nights we stayed there we observed on the streets many prostitutes. I know this isn’t a statistic but all the prostitutes that we, my wife and I, saw were North African Muslims dressed like anything but a Muslim.

Though the percentage of Muslims in Europe is gradually growing (not rapidly) they are growing only in name. Many, if not most, Muslims mirror the decadent, secular, and materialistic culture around them. The last thing they would want to see is the Islamic culture of their homelands brought to their new country.

In the end, sin usually attracts many more adherents than self righteousness when given a fair shake though both are condemning.

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