A high birth rate among Muslim immigrants to Europe will make followers of the religion a majority of the population in many European Union countries in less than 40 years, according to demographers.
Previous forecasts of population changes already have proven to be too low, and the baby boom already is changing the face of European society, where Muslims have made inroads to challenge the authority of secular law with Sharia regulations.
Europe’s Muslim population has more than doubled since 1980 and will double again in less than six years, according to the London Daily Telegraph. It noted that Arab names, such as Mohammed, dominate almost all of the seven most popular names of boys born in Brussels.
The high population numbers are the result of Europe’s open immigration policies that have attracted Muslims from poorer countries and whose birth rate is far higher than those of European non-Muslims. The mass influx has reversed the outflow of residents in EU countries, where previous estimates of a population loss of 16 million by 2050 have been replaced with forecasts of an increase of several million.
However, previous estimates have proven to be “nonsense,” the Telegraph reported, noting that an EU report reveals that its population has increased by nearly two million people every year since 2002.
The number of Muslims in Europe today is far above 15 million and may be as many as 25 million. In some cities, such as Birmingham England, whites are expected to be a minority in less than two decades, and Muslims may become a majority in France by 2050.
Long-term effects of the growing Muslim population may be felt in foreign relations, particularly with the United States, but immediate changes have been implemented in areas concerning Islamic law, known as Sharia.
Last year, the British government quietly allowed Muslim religion courts to rule on Muslim civil cases concerning divorces, financial disputes and domestic violence, creating fears that Muslims will establish a legal system parallel and with equal authority as the British legal system.
Muslim clerics responded that Jewish courts also are allowed to operate. Inayat Bunglawala, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said, “If the Jewish courts are allowed to flourish, so must the Sharia ones.”