Posted: October 22, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Wolfgang Polzer
© 2005 ASSIST News Service
WETZLAR, Germany – More than 53 million Muslims live in Europe – 14 million of them in the European Union, according to newly released figures.
The Central Institute's Islam Archives in Soest, Germany, says the number of Muslims in Europe has increased by 800,000 over the last two years, reports the German evangelical news agency IDEA.
The institute’s director, Salim Abdullah, says that among the 25 EU states, France has the highest number of Muslims – 5.5 million – followed by Germany with 3.2 million, the United Kingdom with 1.5 million and Italy with 1 million.
Taking into account the whole continent, Russia has 25 million Muslims and the European part of Turkey 5.9 million. The Muslim population in Germany is mostly made up of Turkish migrants. But the number of Muslims holding a German passport has risen to almost 1 million.
Muslim worship in Germany is on the rise. Approximately 200,000 take part in daily prayers and 493,000 in Friday prayers at mosques and prayer houses – an increase of more than 10 percent over last year’s figures.
Islam in Germany is a "young religion," according to the institute, which counts 850,000 Muslims as minors. One in five Muslim adolescents worships regularly.
The number of converts to Islam has reached a new high in Germany. According to the institute, more than 1,100 people changed their religion to Islam between 2004 and 2005. Approximately 60 percent of the converts were women. Most converted because they married a Muslim.
But the reverse also is true: More and more Muslims in Germany are becoming Christians. Most are Iranians in exile, who left their country after the Islamic revolution of 1979. Iranian converts estimate that each year approximately 60 Muslims are baptized in Germany.
The institute believes that more than 100,000 Iranian Shiites have converted to the Christian faith since the Islamic revolution. Most live in the United States.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Russian Leader Blames Unrest on Repressing Islam
MOSCOW, October 17, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News
Agencies) – The new leader of a Russian province
rocked by recent bloody attacks warned Monday, October
17, that religious repression was partly to blame for
the crisis in the country, promising that he will
reach out to Muslims.
"You can't solve these problems just through
prohibition," Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Arsen
Kanokov as telling the Kommersant daily in an
interview.
The recently-appointed president of the
Kabardino-Balkaria province was speaking a week after
more than 60 people were killed in simultaneous
attacks claimed by Chechen fighters on government
buildings in the southern Russian city of Nalchik.
Kanokov also highlighted that the closure of mosques
and abuses by law-enforcement bodies as reasons for
the ‘radicalization’ of local Muslims in the lead up
to last week's violence.
"Law-enforcement bodies did indeed commit certain
excesses. I consider that closing mosques was not
right. You cannot close mosques and push people into
one place," he said, referring to the sole,
government-controlled mosque left in Nalchik.
"Banning them from praying, forcing them into cellars
and hiding places, where it is harder to control them,
will only be worse. There has been, in my view, a
certain deviation which we will correct."
Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered sealing
off the city and issued shoot-to-kill orders for any
person who puts up armed resistance to security
forces.
Nalchik is located some 150km west of the Chechen
capital Grozny.
Closer
Kanokov, whom the Kremlin named in September to roll
back endemic corruption, economic collapse and a
growing Islamic insurgency in the province, said the
government must be closer to the people if it is to
win their trust.
"If people see that (the authorities) feel their
concerns, worry about them, then they will look
differently on the authorities. If we shut ourselves
from the population, from its problems, then people
feel this at once."
He said economic development would be the key to
keeping unemployed youths from falling under the
influence of ‘well-financed radical groups’.
"There is very high unemployment and a very low living
standard. The economy practically has not functioned,
people had nothing to do, and that means the mass of
young people.
"Of course it is very easy to bring them under the
wrong influence, especially with finances," he said.
Kanokov said he would discuss in Moscow the
possibility of allowing the relatives of gunmen killed
during the fighting in Nalchik to retrieve their
bodies.
Under anti-terrorism laws, the bodies of fighters and
others killed in armed clashes are buried secretly on
prison territory.
Kanokov said he would probably be against making an
exception in this case, but "on the other hand, it
would certainly be a tension-reducing act."
A statement posted on an Internet Web site used
regularly by Chechen fighters said the Nalchik attack
was mounted by a unit of the Caucasus Front of the
Armed Forces of the Chechen Ishkeria Republic.
Interfax quoted an official as saying that the attacks
were in reprisal for the recent arrest in Nalchik of a
group of Islamists, whom the gunmen were attempting to
free.
The Yarmak unit was the target of a swoop by security
forces in January.
The Nalchik attack was the latest in a series by
Chechen fighters on Russian federal security
installations in the volatile North Caucasus region.
The small mountainous Caucasus republic has been
ravaged by conflict since 1994, with just three years
of relative peace after the first Russian invasion of
the region ended in August 1996 and the second began
in October 1999.
It was on December 11, 1994 that former Russian
president Boris Yeltsin ordered Russian troops into
Chechnya to subdue an increasingly powerful separatist
movement.
After two years of horrific fighting, Russian troops
pulled out in 1996.
In 1999, then-prime minister Vladimir Putin pushed
some 80,000 Russian troops into Chechnya in what
Moscow called a lightning-strike “anti-terror
operation” but which has since degenerated into a
grinding war with Chechen fighters.
At least 100,000 Chechen civilians and 10,000 Russian
troops are estimated to have been killed in both
invasions, but human rights groups have said the real
numbers could be much higher.
Thousands of refugees from war-torn Chechnya live in
battered tent camps in neighboring Ingushetia and
refuse to return home because of continuing
insecurity.
Agencies) – The new leader of a Russian province
rocked by recent bloody attacks warned Monday, October
17, that religious repression was partly to blame for
the crisis in the country, promising that he will
reach out to Muslims.
"You can't solve these problems just through
prohibition," Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Arsen
Kanokov as telling the Kommersant daily in an
interview.
The recently-appointed president of the
Kabardino-Balkaria province was speaking a week after
more than 60 people were killed in simultaneous
attacks claimed by Chechen fighters on government
buildings in the southern Russian city of Nalchik.
Kanokov also highlighted that the closure of mosques
and abuses by law-enforcement bodies as reasons for
the ‘radicalization’ of local Muslims in the lead up
to last week's violence.
"Law-enforcement bodies did indeed commit certain
excesses. I consider that closing mosques was not
right. You cannot close mosques and push people into
one place," he said, referring to the sole,
government-controlled mosque left in Nalchik.
"Banning them from praying, forcing them into cellars
and hiding places, where it is harder to control them,
will only be worse. There has been, in my view, a
certain deviation which we will correct."
Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered sealing
off the city and issued shoot-to-kill orders for any
person who puts up armed resistance to security
forces.
Nalchik is located some 150km west of the Chechen
capital Grozny.
Closer
Kanokov, whom the Kremlin named in September to roll
back endemic corruption, economic collapse and a
growing Islamic insurgency in the province, said the
government must be closer to the people if it is to
win their trust.
"If people see that (the authorities) feel their
concerns, worry about them, then they will look
differently on the authorities. If we shut ourselves
from the population, from its problems, then people
feel this at once."
He said economic development would be the key to
keeping unemployed youths from falling under the
influence of ‘well-financed radical groups’.
"There is very high unemployment and a very low living
standard. The economy practically has not functioned,
people had nothing to do, and that means the mass of
young people.
"Of course it is very easy to bring them under the
wrong influence, especially with finances," he said.
Kanokov said he would discuss in Moscow the
possibility of allowing the relatives of gunmen killed
during the fighting in Nalchik to retrieve their
bodies.
Under anti-terrorism laws, the bodies of fighters and
others killed in armed clashes are buried secretly on
prison territory.
Kanokov said he would probably be against making an
exception in this case, but "on the other hand, it
would certainly be a tension-reducing act."
A statement posted on an Internet Web site used
regularly by Chechen fighters said the Nalchik attack
was mounted by a unit of the Caucasus Front of the
Armed Forces of the Chechen Ishkeria Republic.
Interfax quoted an official as saying that the attacks
were in reprisal for the recent arrest in Nalchik of a
group of Islamists, whom the gunmen were attempting to
free.
The Yarmak unit was the target of a swoop by security
forces in January.
The Nalchik attack was the latest in a series by
Chechen fighters on Russian federal security
installations in the volatile North Caucasus region.
The small mountainous Caucasus republic has been
ravaged by conflict since 1994, with just three years
of relative peace after the first Russian invasion of
the region ended in August 1996 and the second began
in October 1999.
It was on December 11, 1994 that former Russian
president Boris Yeltsin ordered Russian troops into
Chechnya to subdue an increasingly powerful separatist
movement.
After two years of horrific fighting, Russian troops
pulled out in 1996.
In 1999, then-prime minister Vladimir Putin pushed
some 80,000 Russian troops into Chechnya in what
Moscow called a lightning-strike “anti-terror
operation” but which has since degenerated into a
grinding war with Chechen fighters.
At least 100,000 Chechen civilians and 10,000 Russian
troops are estimated to have been killed in both
invasions, but human rights groups have said the real
numbers could be much higher.
Thousands of refugees from war-torn Chechnya live in
battered tent camps in neighboring Ingushetia and
refuse to return home because of continuing
insecurity.
Muslims Celebrate 50 Years in Korea
It was half a century ago that two Muslims, Imam
Zubercoch and Abdul Rahman, fought for peace in the
Korean War as part of the UN forces and in the process
introduced Islam's holy book, the Koran, to Korea. On
Friday, the country celebrated the golden anniversary
of their mission.
Sponsored by the Korea-Middle East Association,
prominent figures in Korea's Islamic community along
with foreign dignitaries and Korean lawmakers gathered
to commemorate the anniversary.
Muslims came together to say evening prayers before
breaking their fast during the holy month Ramadan with
the “iftar” meal. Though such observances seem alien
to many, Islam is said to be the fastest growing
religion on earth and followed by one-fifth of the
world population.
Korea now has some 100,000 Muslims, more than 30
percent of whom are Koreans. That Islamic
fundamentalists were behind major terrorist acts
worldwide has meant that many ordinary Muslims face
discrimination. But religious leaders insist Islam is
a peaceful faith.
"It's a shame that many Koreans associate Islam with
terrorism. Those terrorists have nothing to do with
our religion. It's wrong to say they are Islamic
fundamentalists, they are just from anti-American or
anti-Israeli groups. Islam's ideologies are peace,
equality and brotherhood," one said.
The Korean government has tried to ensure that not all
Muslims are tarred with the same brush. "We have
established an important forum, the Korea-Middle East
Forum, and we have held two conferences already,” a
government official said. The anniversary “provides a
very important platform and opportunity for people,
academics and journalists to exchange views and
appreciate the history and culture and religions of
Koreans and Muslims."
Korea is putting on exhibitions of Islamic art,
cultural performances and friendly football matches,
film screenings and food festivals to deepen ties
between non-Muslims in Korea and the Islamic world.
Arirang News
Zubercoch and Abdul Rahman, fought for peace in the
Korean War as part of the UN forces and in the process
introduced Islam's holy book, the Koran, to Korea. On
Friday, the country celebrated the golden anniversary
of their mission.
Sponsored by the Korea-Middle East Association,
prominent figures in Korea's Islamic community along
with foreign dignitaries and Korean lawmakers gathered
to commemorate the anniversary.
Muslims came together to say evening prayers before
breaking their fast during the holy month Ramadan with
the “iftar” meal. Though such observances seem alien
to many, Islam is said to be the fastest growing
religion on earth and followed by one-fifth of the
world population.
Korea now has some 100,000 Muslims, more than 30
percent of whom are Koreans. That Islamic
fundamentalists were behind major terrorist acts
worldwide has meant that many ordinary Muslims face
discrimination. But religious leaders insist Islam is
a peaceful faith.
"It's a shame that many Koreans associate Islam with
terrorism. Those terrorists have nothing to do with
our religion. It's wrong to say they are Islamic
fundamentalists, they are just from anti-American or
anti-Israeli groups. Islam's ideologies are peace,
equality and brotherhood," one said.
The Korean government has tried to ensure that not all
Muslims are tarred with the same brush. "We have
established an important forum, the Korea-Middle East
Forum, and we have held two conferences already,” a
government official said. The anniversary “provides a
very important platform and opportunity for people,
academics and journalists to exchange views and
appreciate the history and culture and religions of
Koreans and Muslims."
Korea is putting on exhibitions of Islamic art,
cultural performances and friendly football matches,
film screenings and food festivals to deepen ties
between non-Muslims in Korea and the Islamic world.
Arirang News
Hindu Nationalist - BJP sticking to Hindutva: Laxman
Hyderabad, Oct 22 : The BJP should remove the "public perception" that the party has distanced itself from the "Hindutva" ideology, to restore its glory, said party's former president Bangaru Laxman.
"The BJP will be reduced to a team of the Congress if it gives up Hindutva," he claimed in its sister fanatic organisation Jan Sangh Formation Day celebrations here last night. "The public perception that the party has distanced itself from the core issues of Ayodhya, Uniform Civil Code and abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution providing special status to Jammu and Kashmir, has cost the party dearly," he added.
"The BJP will be reduced to a team of the Congress if it gives up Hindutva," he claimed in its sister fanatic organisation Jan Sangh Formation Day celebrations here last night. "The public perception that the party has distanced itself from the core issues of Ayodhya, Uniform Civil Code and abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution providing special status to Jammu and Kashmir, has cost the party dearly," he added.
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