Immigrants are helping to swell the ranks of these churches, sometimes composing as much as 50 percent of the congregation. Now about 3,000 evangelical churches worship in France - more than a third planted in the past 20 years. In France, evangelicals numbered just 60,000 in 1940 but have climbed to nearly 500,000 today. Yet as Christianity's presence in Europe wanes, there is hope.Įvangelical churches have seen slow but steady growth. But after years of struggling to assimilate into French society, Osman finally found acceptance among other West African immigrants by converting to Islam. Born in Paris, Osman's parents are Christians who came to France nearly 30 years ago from Togo, West Africa. Handsome and energetic, the 20-something works as a technician for the city's water department.

Osman* is among the men worshipping outside the Paris mosque. Such tension drives some immigrants away from their Muslim heritage while others gravitate toward it. The summer of 2007 saw peaceful but public protests by West African immigrants in a dispute with the French government over papers that would allow them to remain in France legally. A year later, riots broke out in Muslim-majority areas of Paris after the deaths of two North African teenagers. In 2004, a law banning Muslim girls from wearing head scarves in French public schools ignited uproar among immigrants. While the French government has made strides to help Muslim immigrants integrate into French society, things haven't always gone smoothly. Many entered the country as immigrants in guest-worker programs following World War II, but untold numbers have flooded France and other European nations illegally. Guesses put the number around 20 million.įrance accounts for the highest concentration of Muslims in the European Union - 5 to 6 million, or about 8 percent of the population. No one knows exactly how many Muslims call Europe home since most European nations don't track ethnicity or religious affiliation in census data. The shift is so dramatic that many demographers now believe more people in Europe practice Islam than Christianity. Even more alarming are statistics that only 5 percent of the French own a Bible and 80 percent have never even touched one. Tourists make up the overwhelming majority of those crowding Notre Dame in Paris, snapping photos during Mass as if the cathedral was more museum than place of worship. While European Muslims build mosques and win converts, European Christians (excluding evangelicals) are witnessing what's been called a near free-fall decline in church attendance. Instead, it's evidence of a trend that's changing the way Southern Baptists view the international mission field: Islam is expanding across Europe.įuelled by immigration and high birth-rates, the number of Muslims on the continent has tripled in the past 30 years, making Islam Europe's fastest growing religion. Some French pedestrians are visibly uncomfortable as they negotiate their way around the assembly.īut the scene isn't an aberration. The crowd's prayer rugs cover a city block's worth of sidewalk. Their prayers are guided by an imam's Arabic incantations. Like waves breaking on a beach, their bodies bend in unison as hundreds of men prostrate themselves before Allah. Just a 15-minute metro ride from the trendy shops and quaint cafés of the Champs-Elysees, a virtual sea of North and West African Muslims spills out the gates of a neighbourhood mosque.

Paris (BP)-It's a sight that would shatter most Americans' romanticized image of Paris.

Africans and Turks comprise the bulk of France's Islamic population.

Photo caption: Droves of faithful Muslims - including a few French converts - partake in Friday prayers outside a Paris mosque, this one located just minutes from Notre Dame. Paris: From Cross to Crescent : Islam triples in Europe 'Quiet Professionals' continue key role in terror war by Donna Milesġ. Muslim woman at the Vatican to promote Islamic-Christian dialogueĪustralia: Attempt to foster understanding of Islam Is Osama Bin laden recruiting Jihadis with talking baby dolls?Įcumenical Church Body Accuses Radical Islam DVD of Misleading Viewersįor real interfaith dialogue, the Muslim world needs experts on Christianity European Muslims on Shari`ah & Anti-Terror Lawsĭubai: Malek Akkad associate plans film on Islam’s birth

Forums jol dofus