SHAFQANA- Although there is no official information about Muslim groups in Germany, it is estimated that some four million Muslims mostly migrants from the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe are currently living in the country.
It is thought that Muslims are five percent of the nearly 83 million population of Germany and form the third religious group after the Catholic and Protestant Christians. The 2007 nationwide census showed one in four of the 15 million migrants is a Muslim. Being spread across the west European country, Muslims mostly live in North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg and Bayern states and at least 45 percent of them have managed to obtain German citizenship.
According to figures released by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, 2.6 million Muslims in Germany are originally from Turkey, more than half a million come from eastern European countries such as Bosnia- Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Albania while a third of a million are originally from the Middle East. There are also Muslim communities from North Africa, Central, South and South East Asia.
The majority of Muslim population of Germany are Sunni (74%), the rest are Shia (7%) and other sects (6%). Thirteen percent of the world’s Alevi population also reside in Germany. According to figures, the rate of academic education among Muslim women and girls has increased dramatically even more than their coreligionist boys and men. The overall rate of academic education among the Muslim population of Germany is 64%.
Although the majority of Muslims (mostly from Turkey and North Africa) are practicing Muslims (86%), only 20% are members of Islamic associations and groups. These figures become significant as data shows more than half of the Muslim population are members of German groups, associations and foundations. Experts believe these numbers prove that Muslims have been well interacting with the German society, despite many Germans lack enough information about their Muslim co-citizens.
Source: International Quran News Agency
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