Muslim migrants in Europe: A challenge to the policy of the state

Although there have been Muslims in Western Europe for ages - including foreign traders, diplomats and students - they have never before been present on such a large scale as they are now. There are no authorative maps of the distribution of Muslims in Europe or counting systems that warrant reliable statistics about the precise number of Muslims. According to the U.S. Department of State Annual Report on the International Religious Freedom 2003, more than 23 million Muslims reside in Europe, comprising nearly fi ve per cent of the population. The overwhelming majority of Muslims - approximately three quarters of the total - are living in Western Europe as fi rst and second-generation immigrants