European Muslim populations are internally diverse and largely secular-minded

Evidence

These assumptions tend to evoke a generalised image of an ‘Islam’ as a hermetically sealed monolithic cultural bloc, whose adherents are theologically incapable of coexistence with other cultures or religions, either as minorities or majorities. In France, Muslim residents come from more than fifty-three countries and speak some twenty-one languages. According to various surveys, between 12 and 30 per cent of French Muslims do not even go to a mosque, while a 2004 poll found that 68 per cent regarded the separation of religion and state as ‘important’ and 93 per cent felt the same about republican values. — Matt Carr, You Are Now Entering Eurabia, 60

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to critiques of Huntington’s ‘clash of civilizations’ thesis and to polemics like Bat Ye’or’s Eurabia.
• SEED: Angle: ‘The Monolith That Never Was’ — polling data dismantling the idea of a unified Muslim bloc in Europe.