What does this tell us about the growth of the Muslim population in the UK?

That, perhaps, the Muslim population is growing in the UK. Objectively, there’s nothing more we can get from it. And if the Muslim vote alone elected the president, I would think it no less objectionable than the Christian vote alone doing it today, if we can make such an assertion.

How that affects policy, law, and the government generally is a completely separate issue.

I think that unless we have a new admendment added to the constitution it wouldn’t mean much. The president alone cannot do that, it would take the legislature also agreeing to it.

UK Citizen and resident reporting in. What this likely shows is that ‘Mohammed’ and the other 11 spellings of it have become immensely popular in the Muslim population of the UK almost to the exclusion of all other names, and that the rest of the population are more and more trying to find interesting or individual names for their children. The story gives no context really. Can we compare 7,549 boys born with the total number of boys born in 2009?

More Islamophobia?

There are about 700,000 births per year in England and Wales meaning 7,000 out of 350,000 boys or 2% were given the name Mohammed or something like that.

I don’t think we can draw any meaningful conclusion from this data without better statistics.

Namely: It’s my understanding that the name “Muhammad” is by far the most popular Muslim name. Whereas no single Western name is as broadly popular.

In order to draw anything from this article, we need to determine what percentage of Muslims name their kids Muhammad, vs. what percentage of non-Muslims name their kids any other given popular name.

I think it means we better stick to separation of church and state and treating all people as equals, so no matter who occupies the white house they hold to these ideals. Otherwise, what are you going to do, argue to get rid of our democracy and put in a dictator not elected by the people?

@iamthemob @JLeslie I am a Christian, but I surely would not want us to be in a situation where Christians rule the electorate and, by their vote alone, can elect whoever they want to elect. Nor would I want any group who refused to culturally assimilate themselves into the American culture to have significant voting numbers.

How are Muslims not assimilating themselves into American culture? You’ve really only referenced Muslims and I know many Muslim people who are both American and Muslim. I’m also pretty sure that Christians rule the electorate by default in the U.S.

Well, the US has a white majority and we elected a black president, finally. People are not robots who are necessarily programed by their race, religion and/or gender. There are a number of thing people take into consider when they vote. People don’t necessarily vote automatically with their affinity
groups. And if we did have a Muslim president what would necessarily be wrong with that? What so right with, with the exception of JFK and Obama, having exclusively white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant presidents?

@plethora, you sound exactly like 19th century WASP Americans scared of all the Catholic immigrants who will doubtless pledge allegiance to the Pope instead of the U S of A.

Let me ask you a question. What is your alternative plan to culturally “assimilate” the 1.7 billion Muslims on Earth? Is there something that works better than, you know, welcoming them into our culture?

@plethora that is what I am talking about, if they are culturally assimilated we have nothing to fear. I believe in America they will be, if they are shown the American way gives them freedom. I understand your fear, I have a similar fear about Christians who want to create laws regarding their religious beliefs; I would fear it with any religion, I just pick on the Christians since they have an overwhelming majority in our country. America is unique in not existing because we are of similar ethnicity, or religion, or simply because our people have been hear for thousands of years, what unites us is the American ideal, the concept, America will not tolerate drifting away from it too far. All men created equal, the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness, a country founded on religious freedom. If we make it a religious war in America, we lose, because it is not American to do so. It also crates antagonism, and increases religiousity in my opinion. I never go to temple, but if all of a sudden America decided all synagogues must be closed, I would take to the streets in protest. Feel more protective of my religion, and not letting any person or state rob me of my religion or tradition.

My father-in-law who was raised Jewish in the Catholic country of Mexico says it is so different in America. He hated being Jewish in Mexico while growing up, felt excluded, was harrassed and bullied. The Jews in Mexico tend to be very clannish, very united, and very religious, as a reaction to their situation, as opposed to American Jews who tend to be secular, and don’t feel they have to fight against a majority, but who feel woven into the fabric of our country. I go by my experience as a minority religion here, I trust being fair to people sells the American way best.

America is over 35% minorities now, trying to define our country as white and Christian, especially if Christians are going to exclude Catholics, is a losing proposition. We have to promote our expectation of America, separate from race, religion, and ethnicity, but a bunch of people in the country try to tie it all together still, it is counterproductive and causes antagonism.

We are different than Europe. We have been dealing with immigration in large numbers longer than most countries, and traditionally by the time the grandchildren are born in America, they identify American more than anything.

I recently read a highly interesting book written by a Egyptian-German political scientist named Hamed Abdel-Samad (which is unfortunately only available in German right now). In a recent SPIEGEL interview, also available in English, he talks about his childhood as the son of an imam in Egypt, why he thinks Islam is a danger to society and his theories about the inevitable decline of the Muslim world. See my new Fluther question:

http://www.fluther.com/102099/egyptian-german-political-scientist-predicts-the-demise-of-the-muslim-world-/