London Immigration, higher birthrates and conversions to Islam are considered as major factors behind rise of the Muslim population in UK by more than
5 lakhs to 2.4 million in just four years.
Experts have also suggested a growing willingness among believers to describe themselves as Muslims because the western reaction to war and terrorism had strengthened their sense of identity.
The Muslim population multiplied 10 times faster than the rest of society, the research by the Office for National Statistics done during the period of 2004-2008 reveals. In the same period the number of Christians in the country fell by more than 2 million.
"The implications are very substantial. Some of the Muslim population, by no means all of them, are the least socially and economically integrated of any in the UK... and the one most associated with political dissatisfaction," David Coleman, Professor of Demography at Oxford University was quoted as saying by 'The Times'.
"You can't assume that just because the numbers are increasing that all will increase, but it will be one of several reasonable suppositions that might arise."
There are more than 42.6 million Christians in Britain, according to the Office for National Statistics, whose figures were obtained through the quarterly Labour Force Survey of around 53,000 homes.
Muhammad Abdul Bari, general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain said that the greater platform that Muslims would command in the future should not be perceived as a threat to the rest of society.
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