Survey: Number of European Muslims to Increase by a Third by 2030
It is currently estimated that the Muslim population in Europe is around 44 million. According to population projections from the study Pew Center based in the United States, this figure will increase by almost a third to more than 58 million, by 2030.
In Europe as a whole, the share of the Muslim population will increase from six percent in 2010, to 8 percent in 2030.
Pew argues that a factor in population growth is due to higher fertility rates among Muslim women as well as improved health and economic conditions in Muslim-majority countries.
By 2030, Pew projects, France and Belgium will join eight other countries where Muslims make up more than 10 percent of the total population.
The forecast that the Muslim population will grow has become a hot topic in Europe, especially about integration. The subject of how to integrate minority with the majority in society has long been debated in Germany, France, Britain and several other EU countries.
However, Pew said, the definition used by Islam was very broad. The balance between allowing Muslims to exercise their faith in freedom and hoping to adapt to life in traditional Christian culture is not easy.
It is integration work. However, to see Europe integrated it will take up to three generations, most quickly it will be seen in the second generation. Integration is part of the normal pattern when there are tensions with second generation immigrants.
They try to find a balance between the culture and history of their former parents and a sense of community in the European country, where they were born. (wartanews.com). *