Muslim population of Europe soars. Politicians refuse to discuss the implications
A fascinating report in Britain’s Daily Telegraph by Adrian Michaels highlights a series of studies showing dramatic growth in Europe’s Muslim population. This is due to a rapid rise in immigration combined with high birth rates. Just as interesting is the story about the story: “Britain and the rest of the European Union are ignoring a demographic time bomb,” the author notes, “…almost no policy-makers are talking about it.”
The report goes on to state:
“The numbers are startling. Only 3.2 per cent of Spain’s population was foreign-born in 1998. In 2007 it was 13.4 per cent. Europe’s Muslim population has more than doubled in the past 30 years and will have doubled again by 2015. In Brussels, the top seven baby boys’ names recently were Mohamed, Adam, Rayan, Ayoub, Mehdi, Amine and Hamza.”
Michaels quotes a report for the European Parliament which estimated that the proportion of Muslims in Paris, London and Copenhagen is already 10 percent. In Marseilles and Rotterdam the figure is 25 percent, in Malmo it is 20 percent, and in Brussels and Birmingham (England) it is 15 percent.
A study by the US Migration Policy Institute suggests, conservatively, that Muslims will acount for 20 percent of the whole of the EU population by 2050 from about 5-6 percent today. However, the overall figures disguise large discrepancies across the EU. Many of the formerly communist countries have negligible Muslim populations. France’s Muslim population, by contrast, is already 10 percent of the total and other studies (not mentioned in the report) have estimated that it will easily surpass 25 percent by mid-century.
Clearly these demographic changes will have implications for European attitudes to the Middle East since there is copious polling evidence showing sharp hostility to Israel among Muslims inside and outside Europe. More broadly, it will have implications for Europe itself which has already experienced major challenges to liberal-democratic values (witness the Danish cartoon controversy and the Muslim Council of Britain’s boycotts of Holocaust memorial day), and the rise of far-Right anti-immigrant groupings.
So why is all this largely being passed over in silence? A big part of the problem is that the multi-culturalist agenda which permeates the continent’s opinion forming classes is unable to deal with questions relating to immigration in ways that might suggest that it could be problematic. Europe’s leading lights rightly condemn racism, and long may they continue to do so. But, over decades, they have lacked the political-cultural apparatus to make clear and unambiguous statements about the primacy of liberal-democratic values and national traditions over the values and traditions which some immigrant communities have brought with them. Nor have they found it easy to hold open discussions with their publics on the numbers of immigrants that should be allowed in.
As a result, the issue has been brushed under the carpet. The facts, however, will not go away.
To read the report in full, click here:
Tags: Islam
August 10th, 2009 at 9:30 am
To Robin,
Came to your site via jpost. It was a great article. Insightful and worrying. Excellent blog too.
I’m curious as to why this telegraph article was published now. I assumed the study referred to was a recent one, but it seems to be 2 years old.(and I can’t find it online)
It appears that the UK has granted a sort of veto to Muslims citizens when it comes to foreign policy. Which is quite extraordinary when you think about it. (Gert Wilders, Israel policy , cartoon stance)
I don’t think this is being analyzed at all.
I understand that every group will have a stance on certain issues, which they’ll want to put forward.
But in terms of British Muslims , the government seems to have created a new equation whereby terrorism against Britain isn’t completely illegitimate. Rather it is illegitimate only if specific political stances are taken. I think that this is very dangerous.
To what extent would this continue under Tory rule? Would the percentage of Muslims in Britain change the extent to which this would happen?
Keep up the good work,
David.
August 10th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
With the deafening silence by European politicians in relation to this growing population, cognizance should be given to Bat Ye’or with her warning of a developing Eurabia and its foundational systems entrenched since 1974 via the association called the Euro-Arab Dialogue(EAD).
In her words: “Eurabia represents a geo-political reality envisaged in 1973 through a system of informal alliances between, on the one hand, the nine countries of the European Community (EC)which, enlarged, became the European Union (EU) in 1992 and on the other hand, the Mediterranean Arab countries. The alliances and agreements were elaborated at the top political level of each EC country with the representative of the European Commission, and their Arab homologues with the Arab League’s delegate. This system was synchronised under the roof of an association called the Euro-Arab Dialogue (EAD) created in July 1974 in Paris. A working body composed of committees and always presided jointly by a European and an Arab delegate planned the agendas, and organized and monitored the application of the decisions.
Eurabia is the future of Europe. Its driving force, the Parliamentary Association for Euro-Arab Cooperation, was created in Paris in 1974. It now has over six hundred members — from all major European political parties — active in their own national parliaments, as well as in the European parliament. The creation of this body and its policy follow the 23 resolutions of the “Second International Conference in Support of the Arab Peoples”, held in Cairo in January 1969. Its resolution 15 formulates the Euro-Arab policy and its all-embracing development over thirty years in European domestic and foreign policy.”
For a an excellent background covering the history, methodology and implications of this geo-political reality refer http://www.dhimmitude.org/archive/by_eurabia_122002_eng.doc
August 14th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
“cognizance should be given to Bat Ye’or with her warning of a developing Eurabia” (GAS)
There is no such thing as Eurabia except in the mind of conspiracy theorists and Europeans-haters, and Bat Ye’or’s thesis is obviously a conspiracy theory.
August 18th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Mr Krebs,
The term “Eurabia” was not invented by Bat Ye’or, it was the title of a collaborative journal promoting closer relations between Europe and the Arab world. Reeling from fear of terrorism and the oil crisis, and under the sway of France, which tried to build a block against the US, the European Economic Comunity allowed the Arab League to dictate terms and set up a process called the Euro-Arab Dialogue. In essence, this process committed Europe to ultimately establishing a free-market, an open borders “Mediterrenean community” and cultural accommodations on one hand and a hostile policy towards Israel and the US barely distinguishable from that of the Arab League. The staggering rate of Muslim immigration, Europe’s political postures towards the US and Israel, and occasional candid proclamations by Europe’s political and cultural elites provide the clearest evidence of this process. And let’s not forget the open proclamations by the Islamists and their successful demands for communal autonomy, a separate legal system and special rights, priviledges and protections. Bat Ye’or is not alone in her thesis that through fear and avarice, Europe has essentially surrendered to Islam’s world-wide resurgence without a shot being fired.
I can’t guess your age, but my bet is that you will be able to watch the process get uglier and uglier as time goes on. I can’t see a happy outcome, neither for the ever-weakening Europeans, nor for its rapidly growing, impoverished and increasingly radicalized and violent Muslim minorities. Personally, I’m glad to have made my home in North America having sadly written-off Europe long ago, and only hope that Europe’s unfortunate fate will stir the remaining liberal democracies in preventing a similar fate before it’s too late.
September 15th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Mr Kovachev…while I hate to rain on your parade you must acknowledge that North America and Australia are no longer immune from this perverse poison known as islamification.The U.S has got millions of illegals from Asia,The Caribbean,Central America and Mexico crawling out of it`s ass and Multiculturism has been the ruination of Canada and already Euro Canadians in some of the larger cities have become a minority.Being from Canada,I am only too aware of the pernicious evil that multiculturism has created in Canada and the resultant havoc that has tragically ensued.So in the interests of honesty and integrity,stop suggesting that there are refuges that are not encountering the same challenges as the Europeans because like it or not the world has shrunk,baby,and there are no more promised lands period!You have to make a stand and fight because in today`s world there are no more places to run away too.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:31 am
bismilah alrahman alrahim
I am alhamdulilah muslim and very proud and lucky the reason behind the muslim population growth is there good teachings from allah and his prophet peace and blessings be upon him
we can have more kids because it is forbidden to drink alcahole and we do not play gambling and cheating on our wifes because that is forbidden we are god fearing people and we onlly fear god we do not fear anything else thise is why most non muslim people or countrys fear us because they are jelous of our strong hearts and that we pray 5 times per day to allah allone and not them so we are not liked because we will not asimialate to what they want inshallah