More and more Germans become Muslims
Pastor Dale Morgan
More and more Germans become Muslims*
Islam-Institute: Number of converts rising steadily
Posted: August 5, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Wolfgang Polzer
ASSIST News Service
SOEST, Germany – More and more Germans are converting to Islam. Last
year approximately 4,000 persons became Muslims.
According to the Central Islam-Institute in Soest, the numbers have been
rising since the turn of the century. Up to the year 2000 the annual
number of conversions stagnated at 300, but it has been rising ever since.
The institute’s director, Salim Abdullah, has no plausible explanation
for this trend, as he told the evangelical news agency "idea." In the
past, converts were chiefly women, who married Muslims, or academics
with an "affection for the Orient."
Today people from all walks of life are among the converts, according to
Abdullah, who is a German born Muslim himself.
The Islamic Fellowship of Germany attracts especially high numbers of
converts – about 500 per year. According to the Office for the
Protection of the Constitution in Baden-Wuerttemberg (one of the 16
federal states) the fellowship is associated with the radical Muslim
Brotherhoods.
According to Abdullah there are 3.2 million Muslims in Germany. Most of
them are Turkish immigrants. Their religious life is flourishing.
Abdullah expects the number of mosques to double within the coming years.
Currently there are 143 full-fledged mosques, with 128 more in the
planning or building stages. In addition Muslims gather in 2,600 prayer
and meeting places.
Approximately two-thirds of the 82 million inhabitants are church
members. The Protestant Churches have 25.6 million members and the Roman
Catholic Church 25.8 million. Approximately 500,000 Germans belong to
smaller, often evangelical churches such as Baptists or Pentecostals.
It has been noted by the churches that interest in religion is rising in
Germany, but it is not focused on Christianity. Today, the citizens in
Martin Luther’ home country are equally fascinated by esoteric
practices, Buddhism and Islam.