I was surprised to see this report in the Washington Post of all places (albeit it is in a blog posting). It is about a study conducted a few years ago (why did they wait to publicize it?) that basically says a majority of European Muslims adhere to the teachings of the Koran (with no reform) while Christians are very much less “fundamental” in their beliefs.
Of course the article also notes that there are MORE Christians in over all numbers in Europe than Muslims, but really in that segment of the story the author is talking about “fundamentalist” Christians and “fundamentalist” Muslims and I would challenge the assertion on that. There are surely more Christians in Europe, but I question whether the number of “fundamentalist” Christians are that great.
Also, it is important to note that “fundamentalist” Muslims have proven they are more willing to act on their beliefs (undertake the Koranic admonition to violent Jihad), making them a greater threat to society in general than “fundamentalist” Christians. Correct me if I’m wrong but I haven’t noticed any “fundamentalist” Christians out killing people in the name of Jesus lately.
Here is the WaPo (emphasis mine):
One narrative about Muslim immigrants in Europe is that only a relatively small proportion holds views that are sometimes labeled as “fundamentalist.” Ruud Koopmans from the Wissenschaftszentrum in Berlin argues that this perspective is incorrect. He conducted a telephone survey of 9,000 respondents in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Austria, and Sweden and interviewed both Turkish and Moroccan immigrants as well as a comparison group of Christians.
His first finding is that majorities of Muslim immigrants believe that there is only one interpretation of the Koran possible to which every Muslim should stick (75 percent), and that religious rules are more important than the laws of the country in which they live (65 percent). Moreover, these views are as widespread among younger Muslims as among older generations.
He then looks at hostility toward out-groups. Fifty-eight percent do not want homosexual friends, 45 percent think that Jews cannot be trusted, and 54 percent believe that the West is out to destroy Muslim culture. Among Christians, 23 percent believe that Muslims are out to destroy Western culture. Koopmans says these results hold when you control for the varying socio-economic characteristics of these groups (although the analyses are not presented).
Check out the graph!
The article concludes with one more mention of the fact that young Muslims believe in “fundamental” Islam in the same numbers as their elders. Read it all!
Are 75% of Norway’s Somalis “fundamentalists?” If so, helping themselves to ‘infidel’ social services is just one more Koranic teaching to adhere to! The Islamic doctrine of immigration is also a fundamental Koranic teaching—read Al Hijra!