Selection of countries to monitor
The selection of countries to include in the monitoring was taken on the basis of methodological decisions. Rather than attempting to capture the full diversity of the various Muslim populations in Europe, it was decided to focus specifically on countries with significant Muslim populations whose presence dates back to relatively recent waves of migration — in most cases the last 60 years. In this way, the findings of the reports should be more directly comparable. This decision also reflects the focus of the previous EUMAP reports on Muslims in Europe.
The two main selection criteria were as follows:
First, it was decided to focus only on member States of the European Union (EU). Europe does, of course, include predominantly Muslim countries, such as Albania and Turkey. In addition, many non-EU European countries have sizeable and long-settled Muslim communities. But here, the issues that Muslims face reflect their older history in Europe, and in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, the recent conflicts and population displacements would also have needed to be taken into account in the monitoring.
Second, within the EU, it was decided to focus specifically on the northern European states that have experienced relatively recent, large-scale migration of different Muslim populations. This occurred particularly during the 1950s and 1960s, with family reunions in the 1970s and 80s and the arrival of Muslims largely as refugees in the 1990s. The issues faced by these states are therefore very similar. It was important to have this similarity to ensure that there will be sufficient 'read across' from the experiences of the different cities. This decision meant that many other EU member States with significant Muslim populations were excluded from the monitoring. Both Bulgaria and Greece have large and long settled Muslim communities, and here the issues that they face reflect their older history in Europe. In the case of Italy, Spain and the non-Turkish Muslim populations of Greece, the Muslim migration is very recent and the issues faced by many Muslims are for the moment closely related to their experience as new migrants.
The final seven EU states selected are as follows: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The estimated Muslim populations in each of these countries is as shown below:
|
Country
|
Estimated Muslim population
|
|
|
|
Total
|
As a share of total population (%)
|
|
(1) France
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3.5-5.0 million
|
6.0-8.5
|
|
(2) Germany
|
3.0-3.2 million
|
3.6-3.9
|
|
(3) The Netherlands
|
1.0 million
|
5.8
|
|
(4) UK
|
1.6 million
|
3.0
|
|
(5) Belgium
|
350-400,000
|
4.0
|
|
(6) Sweden
|
250- 400,000
|
1.8-4.4
|
|
(7) Denmark
|
around 260,000
|
4.8
|
|
|
Muslims in EU Cities (ongoing) Menu
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