Can anyone explain the growth of Islam in the UK?

[chirpychirpy]

After 9/11, 7/7 and seemingly nothing but endless bad publicity, with its harsh attitude towards women and homosexuals and so forth, you'd have thought that Islam would be immensely unpopular in the UK. Yet, unless I'm very much mistaken, it s popularity appears to have increased hugely in all that time. Unless it attracts disaffected types who convert almost to stick two fingers up to family and friends they want to shock, I cannot fathom why Brits who do not have origins in Muslim countries have been drawn to Islam. Can anyone explain the appeal? I'd be particularly interested to read posts from those who have become converts.

[andy-hughes]

Rov - that is not true. A non-Catholic in a Catholic marriage simply has to confirm that he or she will agree to any children being raised as Catholics - I know, my wife is Catholic, I am not.

[Sqad]

jno...no not at all. What I am suggesting is that certain "intellectuals" feel that the 2001 Census of 3% was inaccurate and the figure was more like 10%, reason being that it was impossible to catch all the Muslims in the Censor net, for obvious reasons.

Don't ask me who these "intellectuals" are.

[Sqad]

EDDIE....you may well be right as I cannot find my reference for 10%.so for safety sake, let us keep to 3% of the population (registered) in 2001.

I have come now to be vary wary of figures....less than 3million unemployed (some people say nearer 6million)....we are better placed to ride out the recession....no we are not says someone else....violent crime is down.....no it isn't...........and so it goes on.

Where there are no mosques, there are no Muslims. Mosques have spread throughout the UK......Islam now the 2nd commonest religion in UK

The growth of Islam in UK in my opinion has been precipitous, this is not based on statistics, but going around the country now compared to 50yrs ago.

But that wasn't the question asked.

Immigration has been the biggest influence on Islam in the UK in my opinion.

[naomi24]

This from an article in The Times in 2007:

‘Overall Muslims account for 3% of the population, about 1.5 million people. However, the Muslim birth rate is roughly three times higher than the non-Muslim one.’

The growth of Islam in this country isn’t attributable to religious conversion - it’s attributable to continuing immigration and the continuing high birth rate.

[rov1200]

Andy Hughes you more or less answered my point. The Catholic religion dominates Cof E and insists the children are brought up in their religion even though the husband may have his own preferences. I have known many men especially in the forces where they had there arm twisted by the prospective wife to change to Catholic and being non church goers at the time had no qualms about it.

Maybe people should get more involved in the C/E to get our views put across.

We are now seeing the same happen with Islam.

[Sqad]

rov.....absolutely correct. One of my sons who was CofE was not actually brainwashed, but it was made clear that he should convert to Catholicism. This he did and the children are being brought up as Catholics.

Who was it that said "show me a little child and I will show you a Catholic?"

This is clearly happening with Islam as you quite rightly say.

[jno]

Sqad, why would it be impossible for the census to register all Muslims? They have to give their details like anyone else. Have you any grounds for supposing there's some massive under-reporting of Islam? If so, how could this be happening? It's not as if Muslims make any secret of their beliefs.

[Sqad]

jno...I don't know about "massive" undereporting of Muslims, but it is very easy not to be on a Censor Register, particularly if you are an illegal immigrant. By the way we have no idea how many there are, who they are and where they are.

naomi makes a good point about the breeding rate of Muslims.