1] Islam: The most rapidly expanding religion in Europe

1]
During the last 20 years, the number of Muslims in the world has been
increasing steadily. Statistics for the year 1973 indicate that the
world population of Muslims was 500 million; now, it has reached 1.5
billion. Today, every fourth person is a Muslim. It is probable that
the Muslim population will continue to increase and that Islam will
become the world's largest religion. The reason for this steady rise
is not onlythe increasing population in Muslim countries, but also the
growing numbersof people who are turningto Islam, a phenomenon that
has gained momentum, especially after the attack on the World Trade
Center on September 11, 2001 (hereinafter referred to as 9/11). This
attack, deplored by everyone, especially Muslims, has suddenly turned
people's attention (especially Americans) to Islam. People in the West
are talking a lot about what kind of a religion Islam is, what the
Qur'an says, what obligations come with being a Muslim, and how
Muslims are requiredto conduct their affairs. This interest has
naturally brought about a rise in the number of people worldwide
turning to Islam. So, the commonly heard prediction after 9/11 that
"this attack will change the course of world history" has, in a sense,
started to come true. The process of returning to religious and
spiritual values, which theworld has been experiencing for a long
time, has become a turning to Islam.
The extraordinary nature of what is taking place can be seen when one
sets out these developments regarding this trend, which we have
started to read about in newspapers or hear of in television reports.
These developments, generally reported as just one element of the
day's agenda, are actually very important indications thatIslamic
moral values have begun to spread very rapidly across the whole world.
As in the rest of theworld, Islam is in the midst of a rapid growth
inEurope. This developmenthas been attracting more attention in recent
years, as evidenced by the manytheses, reports, and articles published
on "the place of Muslims in Europe" and "dialogue between European
societyand Muslims." Along with these academic reports, the media has
carried frequent reports about Islam and Muslims. The root of this
interest lies in the continual growth of Muslim population figuresin
Europe, and that this increase cannot be ascribed solely to
immigration. While immigration certainly has had a significant effect
on the Muslim population's growth, so many researchers have addressed
this matter for quite another reason: high conversion rates. A June 20
2004 story on NTV News, headed "Islam is the most rapidly expanding
religion in Europe," dealt with a report drawn up by the French
domestic intelligence agency. The report stated that the number of
those converting to Islam in Western countries had risen still
further, particularly in the wake ofthe 9/11 attacks. For example, the
number of converts to Islam in France increased by between 30 and
40,000 last year alone.
The Catholic Church and the Rise of Islam
The Roman Catholic Church, headquartered in Vatican City, is one of
the institutions that follows conversion trends. One of the main
topics during the October 1999 meetingof the European synod, which was
attended by almost all of the Catholic clergy, was the Church's
position in the new millennium. The conference's main theme was the
rapid growth of Islam in Europe. The National Catholic Reporter
reported that some radical individuals stated that the only way to
prevent Muslims' gaining power in Europe was to stop tolerating
Muslims and Islam; other more objective and rational individuals
underscored the fact that since the tworeligions believe in one God,
there should be no room for any conflict or struggle between them. In
one session, ArchbishopKarl Lehmann of Germany stressed that there is
more internal pluralism within Islam than many Christians perceive,
and that the radicals' claims about Islam had no basis in truth. (1)
Considering the position of Muslims when elucidating the Church's
position in the new millennium was quite proper, for a 1999 United
Nations' survey showed that between 1989 and 1998, Europe's Muslim
population grew by more than 100 percent. It is reported that there
are some 13 million Muslims living in Europe today: 3.2million in
Germany, 2 million in Great Britain, 4-5 million in France, and the
rest dispersed over Europe as a whole, especially in the Balkans. This
figure represents more than 2% of the totalpopulation of Europe. (2)
Muslims' Religious Awareness Is Rising in Europe
Relevant research also hasrevealed that while the number of Muslims in
Europe continues to grow,there is a deepening of religious awareness
among Muslims.