[LINK] "French Muslims becoming more observant"

[rfmcdonald]

From Reuters, Tom Heneghan's article "French Muslims becoming more observant".

France's Muslim minority, the largest in Europe, is becoming increasingly more observant, with more of them saying daily prayers, visiting mosques and fasting during Ramadan, a new survey said on Thursday.

This appeared to reflect in part a reaction to discrimination against Muslims in France, and a growing number of new mosques being built in the country.

Thirty-nine percent of Muslims surveyed by the polling group IFOP said they observed Islam's five prayers daily, a steady rise from 31 percent in 1994, according to the study published in the Catholic daily La Croix.

Mosque attendance for Friday prayers has risen to 23 percent, up from 16 percent in 1994, while Ramadan observance has reached 70 percent compared to 60 percent in 1994, it said.

Drinking alcohol, which Islam forbids, has also declined to 34 percent from 39 percent in 1994, according to the survey of 537 people of Muslim origin.

There was strong progression among Muslims under 25 for both mosque attendance and Ramadan observance. "There is a general tendency among the young to reaffirm their (Islamic) identity," Islam expert Franck Fregosi told La Croix.

He said this was partly a reaction to discrimination against France's Muslim minority, at five million the largest in Europe: "This 'Islam as a refuge' can be a way to respond to an environment that is not favorable to young Muslims."

It's worth noting that despite this, overall levels of irreligiosity are fairly high: "Fifty-seven percent of Catholics polled and 38 percent of Muslims called themselves 'non-practicing believers'." Fregosi goes on to say that this will represent a generational shift, as young French-born Muslims confront the first-generation immigrant leaders of the Muslim faith in France. Ramadan fasting, interestingly, seems to be a popular marker of Muslim identity.