Breitbart reported that research in the nation of Denmark, which is a microcosm of Europe itself, has found three-quarters of Muslims in Europe register on an important measure for radicalisation, more now than a decade ago.
Whereas 10 years ago Muslims in Denmark could have been considered to be comparatively moderate, today a poll by newspaperJyllands-Posten finds attitudes have hardened – and the younger the Muslim, the more likely they are to hold hard-line views.
In a series of polls released by the paper over the course of this week, it has been revealed that Muslims are now more likely to take the word of the Quran literally, and that the teaching of the Islamic holy book should be implemented directly.
In 2006 the number of people who agreed with the statement “the Quran’s instructions should be followed completely” was 62 per cent – today it has grown to 77 per cent; a strong majority.
While many have argued that the more violent verses of the Quran, which includes commandments to slay the enemies of the religion, have been taken out of context and are not to be interpreted literally, the view of three quarters of Muslims living in Denmark seems to contradict this view.
As well as taking the faith more literally, Muslims in Denmark also practice it with greater devotion, with more than half now praying at least five times a day, and a similar proportion rejecting the notions of any form of modernisation or reformation.
Jyllands-Posten reports this attitude towards a possible Islamic reformation came as a great disappointment to the small, elite group of Muslims that exist within the fashionable and powerful neighbourhoods of Copenhagen, such as Conservative member of parliament Naser Khader, who campaigns for such a reformation.
The paper also printed the remarks of Imam Fatih Alev of the Danish Islamic Centre, who said: “You can not change what is in the Quran and what the prophet has told us we need to do. Then you are not a Muslim any-more”.
Sociologist Brian Arly Jacobsen of the University of Copenhagen expressed surprise at the finding.
He told the paper: “It seems that Danish Muslims have become more religious in all dimensions, both in terms of faith and practice. Generally, we would expect that the opposite would happen, and that they would eventually come to resemble the rest of the Danes, who are not particularly religious activity”.
He said the opening of 30 new mosques in the past decade was likely the main cause of the radicalisation, a key warning to other European nations presently planning to allow the construction of mosques to serve their own booming Muslim populations. Perhaps most telling of all are the comments of Free Press Society chairman Katrine Winkel Holm, who said of the findings that they were a sign of Islamist forces within Denmark “unfolding at full speed”.
Source: The Myth Of Integration: Muslims In Europe Getting More Radical With Time, Not Less
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