Islam versus Europe

The number of mosques and Muslim prayer rooms has doubled in France over these last twenty years, going from 1000 to 2000.

In precise terms, the Minister of the Interior and of Religions counts 150 in 1976, 900 in 1985 and 1,555 in 2001. Ten years later there are exactly 2,368 Muslim religious centres, but this falls to 2,052 if Mayotte and the overseas territories are taken away.

In the short term, the president of the Conseil français du culte musulman (CFCM) [French council of the Muslim religion], Mohammed Moussaoui, estimates that between 100 and 150 mosques are in the course of construction. But, for the long term, more than 1000 extra places of worship will be needed to cover the needs of the Muslim community. Equilibrium will be achieved with 3000 mosques and prayer rooms. Other estimates put this equilibrium at 4000 Muslim buildings.

Without going into the financial aspect, at least two questions are begged. That, first of all, of the number of Muslims in France. Absent a census - prohibited on religious criteria, the estimates vary between 2.1 million (last study of INED and INSEE) and 5-6 million for the majority of polling specialists and institutes.

Then comes the question of the number who are practising, considered in this case under the sole criterion of attending the mosque on Friday. According to the last IFOP poll, a quarter of French Muslims (sic) say they attend.