General Category > World News

'Unprecedented' Doubling in UK Muslim Population

(1/1)

rangerrebew:
'Unprecedented' Doubling in UK Muslim Population

Survey finds UK Muslim children nearly doubled in a decade, half under 25 showing long-term impact as experts warn of massive shift for UK.

 
 By Ari Yashar

First Publish: 2/12/2015, 7:51 PM
 
Reuters
 

A new research study, the first of its kind, which was presented to the British Parliament shows an "unprecedented" shift with Muslim children in the UK nearly doubling in a mere decade.

Of all schoolchildren in England and Wales one in 12 are now Muslim, after the number of Muslims in the UK jumped by over 1.1 million from 2001 to 2011, reports the British The Telegraph.

The survey, which looks at official data from the Muslim Council of Britain, also found the trend is likely to only get more pronounced, since in contrast to the general aging in England, a full half of British Muslims are under 25 and a third are under 15.

In 2011 the survey found there are 2.7 million Muslims in England and Wales, with another 81,000 in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Back in 2001 the total was under 1.6 million, signifying a 75% increase in the ten year period.

The growth rate was even higher among children under the age of five, among whom a full 80% increase was recorded, leading experts to say the Muslim population will continue growing rapidly for "many decades" to come.

In addition to expanding in numbers, the survey found Muslims are twice as likely to be unemployed or homeless, and that in some Muslim communities almost a third have little or no English.

The report, submitted to the Parliament, concludes by saying Muslims are set to play a decisive part in UK elections, as they make up around 50% in several parliamentary constituencies and high percentages in many others.

While the report asserts that "a section of the society comprising one in 20 of persons in the overall population can hardly ‘take over,'" Professor David Voas, director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Essex University, said the growth does indeed pose a great change for Britain.

"In terms of ethnic-religious minority groups expanding I think this is probably unprecedented," he said. "Even if immigration stopped tomorrow it is clear that in due course by the middle of this century or a bit later, 10% of the population of Britain will be of Muslim heritage."

That new reality will change policy in the country, Voas asserts, and he also speculated that it could impact foreign policy limiting involvement in the war against Muslim terrorist groups in the Middle East.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191282#.VN87NJt0ywW

Navigation

[0] Message Index