Short answer
No, there is no plan. Muslims move for the same reasons as everyone else: to escape war and poverty, and to build a better life for their families. Three things drive it. The first is war. Seven in ten of the world's refugees come from six countries in war or crisis, and most stay next door. The second is poor, unfree countries. Many migrants come from lands where people cannot choose their rulers. Some leaders who took control of their own oil or land were overthrown with foreign help. The third is invitation. After the Second World War, Britain and West Germany asked for workers, many of them Muslims. Often the men came first, and their families joined them later. The numbers do not fit a plan either. Nearly half of all migrants in the world are Christians. Most Muslim migrants do not go to the West at all. Even if migration stays high, Pew expects Muslims to be at most 14% of Europe by 2050. "Eurabia" and the "Great Replacement" are conspiracy theories. So is the claim that Muslims turn violent as their numbers grow. And Islam commands Muslims to keep faith with the country that takes them in, and to keep its law.
Most migrants are MuslimsChristians are 47% of the world's migrants, Muslims 29%.
Muslim migrants head for the WestOnly 2 in 10 live in Europe, and 6% in North America.
Refugees pick Christian countries65% live in a country next to their own.
They came uninvitedBritain and West Germany asked for workers after the war.
Muslims will be Europe's majorityAt most 14% by 2050, even with high migration.
Full explanation
Why people leave home
People move abroad for work, study, family and safety. Pew Research Center, a US research group, says this holds for migrants of every faith. They often leave poor or dangerous places for countries where they hope to find safety and a better living. At the end of 2025 UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, counted 117.8 million people forced from their homes. That is one person in every 70 on earth.
More than 280 million people, 3.6% of the world's population, are international migrants (UN data for 2020). Christians made up an estimated 47% of all people living outside their country of birth as of 2020, though they are 30% of the world's population; Muslims 29% (25% of the world's population), the religiously unaffiliated 13%, Hindus 5%, Buddhists 4% and Jews 1%. People move internationally for many reasons, such as to find jobs, get an education or join family members; regardless of religion, migrants often move from relatively poor or dangerous places to countries where they hope to find prosperity and safety. Mexico is the most common origin country for Christian migrants, and the United States is their most common destination.
At the end of 2025 the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide was estimated at 117.8 million; one in 70 people globally were forcibly displaced. 65 per cent of refugees and other people in need of international protection lived in countries neighbouring their countries of origin. Low- and middle-income countries hosted 68 per cent of them. More than seven in ten refugees and other people in need of international protection originated from the same six countries in 2025 as in 2024: Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Venezuela. Ukrainians remained the largest group seeking international protection in 2025. Of the people from Venezuela in need of protection, nearly all of them (97 per cent) have remained in Latin American or Caribbean countries.
- 117.8 millionForced from their homes
- 65%Of refugees live in a country next to their own
- 68%Hosted by poorer and middle-income countries
Refugees follow wars, not religion
More than seven in ten of the world's refugees come from just six countries. They are Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Venezuela. What these countries share is war or collapse, not one religion. In 2025 Ukrainians were the largest group seeking protection. Most refugees, 65%, live in a country next to their own. And 68% are hosted by poorer and middle-income countries, not by rich ones.
At the end of 2025 the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide was estimated at 117.8 million; one in 70 people globally were forcibly displaced. 65 per cent of refugees and other people in need of international protection lived in countries neighbouring their countries of origin. Low- and middle-income countries hosted 68 per cent of them. More than seven in ten refugees and other people in need of international protection originated from the same six countries in 2025 as in 2024: Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Venezuela. Ukrainians remained the largest group seeking international protection in 2025. Of the people from Venezuela in need of protection, nearly all of them (97 per cent) have remained in Latin American or Caribbean countries.
Migrants of every faith
Pew counted the religions of the world's migrants, using UN figures for 2020. Christians made up 47% of them, though they are only 30% of the world's people. Muslims made up 29%, close to their 25% share of the world. Christian migrants come most often from Mexico, and go most often to the United States. Migrants of every faith move for the same reasons.
More than 280 million people, 3.6% of the world's population, are international migrants (UN data for 2020). Christians made up an estimated 47% of all people living outside their country of birth as of 2020, though they are 30% of the world's population; Muslims 29% (25% of the world's population), the religiously unaffiliated 13%, Hindus 5%, Buddhists 4% and Jews 1%. People move internationally for many reasons, such as to find jobs, get an education or join family members; regardless of religion, migrants often move from relatively poor or dangerous places to countries where they hope to find prosperity and safety. Mexico is the most common origin country for Christian migrants, and the United States is their most common destination.
Where Muslim migrants go
Most Muslim migrants do not go to the West. The Middle East and North Africa host 40% of them, and Asia and the Pacific 24%. Two in ten live in Europe, and only 6% in North America. Their top destination is Saudi Arabia, with about 10.8 million. The United Arab Emirates and Turkey come next. Pew says Muslims most often move to countries that are rich, mostly Muslim, or both.
The Middle East-North Africa region hosts 40% of the world's Muslim migrants, and the Asia-Pacific region 24%. Two in ten Muslim migrants live in Europe, and only 6% of all Muslim migrants reside in North America. Saudi Arabia is the top destination, with an estimated 13% of all Muslim migrants (10.8 million); the United Arab Emirates hosts over 6 million foreign-born Muslims, and Turkey is the third most common destination (5.9 million). Muslims most commonly move to countries that are wealthy, predominantly Muslim, or both.
Invited to work
Many Muslims came to Europe because Europe asked them to come. After the Second World War, West Germany's economy grew fast and ran short of workers. The Berlin Wall of 1961 cut off workers from East Germany. That year West Germany signed a recruitment agreement with Turkey. It signed others with Italy, Spain, Greece, Morocco, Tunisia, Yugoslavia and more.
Post-war growth in West Germany created demand for labour, and the shortage grew after the Berlin Wall of 1961 cut off workers from East Germany. West Germany signed recruitment agreements with Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey (30 October 1961), Morocco, South Korea, Portugal, Tunisia and Yugoslavia. Guest workers were at first not allowed to bring their families; this changed in 1964. In 1973 recruitment was stopped. About half of the Turkish guest workers then went home, while others brought over wives and family members and settled.
Britain asked for workers after the war
Britain was also short of workers after the Second World War. The British Nationality Act of 1948 made the people of Britain's colonies citizens, free to come and settle. That June the ship Empire Windrush brought 802 migrants. Health, transport and engineering recruited workers straight from the Commonwealth, among them the NHS and London Transport. British employers also recruited in Pakistan to fill gaps in key industries. Pakistanis worked in the textile industries of Lancashire and Yorkshire, and in the factories of the West Midlands. Many worked night shifts, in lower-paid jobs. Laws of 1962 and 1971 limited new workers, but their families could still join them.
The British Nationality Act 1948 gave citizenship to people of the United Kingdom and its colonies, with the right of entry and settlement in the UK. After the war the government encouraged immigration to fill shortages in the labour market. On 22 June 1948 the Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury with 802 migrants. Industries such as health, transport and engineering directly recruited overseas workers from the Commonwealth, and many were employed by organisations such as London Transport and the National Health Service.
After the Second World War, migration from Pakistan to the United Kingdom was welcomed, with active recruitment by British employers to address labour shortages in key industries. Many migrants came from Mirpur in Kashmir, after the Mangla Dam, built in the late 1950s, displaced thousands of people. They found work mainly in the textile industries of Lancashire and Yorkshire and in manufacturing in the West Midlands; many worked night shifts and in lower-paid or less desirable roles. The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 and the Immigration Act 1971 restricted primary migration, although family reunification remained permitted.
- 1948
The British Nationality Act
The people of Britain's colonies become citizens, free to come and settle.
- June 1948
The Empire Windrush
802 migrants arrive at Tilbury.
- 1950s and 1960s
Recruited for work
The NHS, London Transport, textiles and factories take on workers from the Commonwealth, Pakistan among them.
- 1962 and 1971
New limits
New workers are restricted, but families may still join them.
The men came first, then their families
At first the guest workers could not bring their families. That changed in 1964. In 1973 West Germany stopped recruiting. About half of the Turkish workers then went home. Many of the rest stayed and brought over their wives and children. Families still join their relatives today. The OECD, a club of mostly rich countries, says family reunion is still the leading reason for permanent migration there.
Post-war growth in West Germany created demand for labour, and the shortage grew after the Berlin Wall of 1961 cut off workers from East Germany. West Germany signed recruitment agreements with Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey (30 October 1961), Morocco, South Korea, Portugal, Tunisia and Yugoslavia. Guest workers were at first not allowed to bring their families; this changed in 1964. In 1973 recruitment was stopped. About half of the Turkish guest workers then went home, while others brought over wives and family members and settled.
"Family reunification remained the leading reason for permanent migration to OECD countries, while labour migration declined." The total of 6.2 million new permanent immigrants in 2024 remained relatively high, 15% above 2019 levels.
1961
Short of workers, West Germany signs a recruitment agreement with Turkey.
1964
They may now bring their families.
1973
Recruitment stops. About half of the Turkish workers go home.
Then
Many who stay bring their wives and children and settle.
Do migrants come for benefits?
Some claim migrants come to live on benefits. In Britain the facts point the other way. People with no legal right to be there cannot claim most state benefits. Asylum seekers cannot usually work while their claim is decided. They get £49.18 a week for food, clothes and toiletries, or £9.95 if meals are provided. Among working-age people, about 10% of recent non-EU migrants received any benefit in 2019-21. Among British citizens it was 25%. And refugees go to work once they can. Of the refugees who came to Germany in 2015, 64% were in work by 2022. Nine in ten of those had jobs that pay into social insurance.
All residents with irregular immigration statuses are subject to the NRPF condition, which blocks most state benefits. An estimated 10% of working-age non-EU citizens with less than five years of residence receive public benefits (allowed, for example, if they are a refugee), compared to 25% of UK nationals (survey data, 2019-21).
An asylum seeker in need will usually get £49.18 for each person in the household, loaded onto a debit card (ASPEN card) each week, for food, clothing and toiletries. If the accommodation provides meals, the amount is £9.95 for each person instead. On claiming asylum: you will not usually be allowed to work while your asylum claim is being considered.
Für die 2015 zugezogene Kohorte lag die Erwerbstätigenquote im Jahr 2022 bei 64 Prozent: of the refugees who came to Germany in 2015, 64% were in paid work in 2022 (women 31%, men 75%). Of those in work, nine in ten had jobs that pay social insurance contributions. Refugees who came in 2013-2019 reached 63% in work after seven years and 68% after eight.
- £49.18A week for an asylum seeker's food, clothes and toiletries
- 10%Of recent non-EU migrants of working age get any benefit; 25% of British citizens
- 64%Of Germany's 2015 refugees in work by 2022
Countries where people have little say
Many migrants come from countries where people cannot freely choose who rules them. A research firm, the Economist Intelligence Unit, gives each country a score for democracy, out of 10. In 2025 the Middle East and North Africa had the lowest score of any region: 3.16. Of its 20 countries, 17 were rated authoritarian, the lowest grade, and none fully democratic. This is not only a Muslim story. Sub-Saharan Africa scored 4, and Latin America 5.71. Most people in both are Christians. Western Europe scored 8.43.
The index scores each country's democracy from 0 to 10. Regional averages for 2025: Western Europe 8.43, North America 8.37, Latin America and the Caribbean 5.71, Asia and Australasia 5.33, Eastern Europe and Central Asia 5.27, sub-Saharan Africa 4.00, Middle East and North Africa 3.16. Of the 20 countries of the Middle East and North Africa, 17 were rated authoritarian, 2 hybrid regimes, 1 a flawed democracy and none a full democracy.
Between 2010 and 2020, sub-Saharan Africa surpassed Europe as the region with the largest Christian population. As of 2020, sub-Saharan Africa was home to 31% of all the Christians in the world, while Europe held 22% of the global Christian population (down 4 points). Many Christians also live in the Latin America-Caribbean region (24% of all Christians). Christians are the world's largest religious group, and they are a majority in every region except the Asia-Pacific and Middle East-North Africa regions.
Schools and votes
Rulers who must win votes tend to spend more on schools for young children. A study of African countries found this once they began to hold elections with many parties. Governments chosen by vote spent more on primary schools. Where rulers need no votes, poor families have less power to ask for good schools. So many parents look abroad for a better future for their children.
Asks whether Africa's move to multiparty elections changed spending on basic services. Argues that "the need to obtain an electoral majority may have prompted African governments to spend more on education", and finds that "democratically elected African governments have spent more on primary education", while spending on universities shows no clear change.
More than 280 million people, 3.6% of the world's population, are international migrants (UN data for 2020). Christians made up an estimated 47% of all people living outside their country of birth as of 2020, though they are 30% of the world's population; Muslims 29% (25% of the world's population), the religiously unaffiliated 13%, Hindus 5%, Buddhists 4% and Jews 1%. People move internationally for many reasons, such as to find jobs, get an education or join family members; regardless of religion, migrants often move from relatively poor or dangerous places to countries where they hope to find prosperity and safety. Mexico is the most common origin country for Christian migrants, and the United States is their most common destination.
Leaders overthrown with foreign help
Some leaders who tried to take charge of their own country's wealth were thrown out with foreign help. In 1951 Iran's prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, put Iran's oil in the state's hands. In 1953 a coup backed by America's CIA and Britain's MI6 removed him. A key aim was to protect British oil interests. In 2013 the CIA formally admitted its role. In 1954 Guatemala's president, Jacobo Arbenz, fell in a coup run by the CIA. His land reform had hurt a US firm, the United Fruit Company. In 1961 the Congo's first prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, was put to death. In 2002 Belgium said sorry and admitted "moral responsibility". These three are only examples: more governments have been overthrown with foreign help. One study counted 64 secret US attempts to change other countries' governments from 1947 to 1989.
On 19 August 1953 a coup d'état overthrew the Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh. It was instigated by the United Kingdom through MI6 and by the United States through the CIA. A key motive was to protect British oil interests after Mosaddegh nationalised Iran's oil industry in 1951. In August 2013 the US government formally acknowledged its role by releasing documents.
Posted 19 August 2013. Declassified documents on "the CIA- and MI6-backed plot to overthrow the country's prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddeq", described as the CIA's first formal acknowledgement that the agency helped to plan and execute the coup.
In 1954 Guatemalan president Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán was overthrown in a coup "that was orchestrated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)" and carried out by the exile Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas. Arbenz was targeted in large part because of his land reform policies that affected U.S. companies, namely the United Fruit Company. The CIA's methods included misinformation, propaganda, psychological warfare and sabotage.
Patrice Lumumba was the first prime minister of the independent Congo, in 1960. Katanga province, which held much of the Congo's natural resources, declared independence on 11 July 1960 with the support of the Belgian government and mining companies such as Union Minière. Lumumba was captured, tortured and executed by the Katangan separatist authorities on 17 January 1961. In 2002 Belgium formally apologised for its role in the execution and admitted "moral responsibility".
Reviews Lindsey O'Rourke, Covert Regime Change: America's Secret Cold War (Cornell University Press, 2018). Her original dataset of US regime-change operations carried out between 1947 and 1989 includes 64 covert cases. Covert interventions fail more than 60 percent of the time, and most did not stay secret.
- 1953
Iran
Two years after he nationalised the oil, Mosaddegh is removed in a coup backed by the CIA and MI6.
- 1954
Guatemala
After land reform hits the United Fruit Company, Arbenz falls in a coup the CIA orchestrated.
- 1961
Congo
Lumumba, the first prime minister, is executed. Belgium later admits moral responsibility.
- 1947 to 1989
And more
One study counts 64 secret US attempts to change other countries' governments.
Eurabia and the Great Replacement
Some claim Muslims move to Europe by plan, to outnumber and replace Europeans. The idea of "Eurabia" comes from a 2005 book by a writer called Bat Ye'or. Scholars call it an Islamophobic conspiracy theory. The "Great Replacement" was spread by the French writer Renaud Camus in 2011. Scholars say it rests on a misunderstanding of population figures. These ideas have also inspired killers. Anders Breivik's manifesto, before his attacks in Norway in 2011, supported the Eurabia theory. The man who attacked two mosques in Christchurch in 2019 called his manifesto The Great Replacement.
Eurabia is an Islamophobic and far-right conspiracy theory, developed by Bat Ye'or (the pen name of Gisèle Littman) and set out in her 2005 book Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis. Scholars have called it an Islamophobic conspiracy theory and a "dangerous Islamophobic fantasy" (Carr, 2006). The manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, who carried out the 2011 attacks in Norway, discussed and supported the theory. The narrative was later largely overtaken by the broader Great Replacement conspiracy theory.
A debunked white nationalist far-right conspiracy theory, popularised by the French writer Renaud Camus in his 2011 book Le Grand Remplacement. Scholars have dismissed its claims as rooted in a misunderstanding of demographic statistics and premised upon an unscientific, racist worldview. The man who attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019 titled his manifesto The Great Replacement, after Camus's book.
More Muslims does not mean more violence
Some claim that Muslims turn violent as their share of a country grows, and force Islamic law on others. The facts say otherwise. Many Muslim countries now have small families. Women in Turkey and Malaysia now have fewer children than in the United States. In Iran they have about as many. Albania is about half Muslim, and it has no official religion. In 2023 the United Arab Emirates opened a mosque, a church and a synagogue side by side. Indonesia, the country with the most Muslims, recognises six religions, and about one person in ten there is a Christian. Bosnia is about half Muslim too. At Srebrenica in 1995, it was Muslims who were massacred.
Total fertility rate (births per woman) in 2023: Turkey 1.51, Malaysia 1.55, United Kingdom 1.56, United States 1.62, France 1.66, Iran 1.70, Indonesia 2.13, Bangladesh 2.16.
At the 2023 census, 45.9 per cent of residents described themselves as Muslim and a further 4.8 per cent as Bektashi, a Sufi order within Islam.
Albania has been a secular state since 1912 and never had an official state religion after its restoration in 1912. Its constitution guarantees freedom of religion, belief and conscience, and requires the state to be neutral in questions of belief and conscience. Islam is the largest religious affiliation, at 50.67% of the population in the 2023 census; it was first introduced in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest.
A complex on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, inaugurated on 16 February 2023 and opened on 1 March 2023. It contains a mosque (the Eminence Ahmed El-Tayeb Mosque), a church (St. Francis Church) and a synagogue (the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue).
A country-by-country estimate of the world's Muslims in 2009: about 1.57 billion. About one in five lived in the Middle East and North Africa, a region that includes Turkey and Iran, and more than six in ten lived in Asia. The four largest Muslim populations were in Indonesia, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
In 1965 the government recognised six religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Ministry of Home Affairs data for 2025 give 10.44% Christians (7.37% Protestants, 3.07% Roman Catholics).
At the 2013 census, 50.7 per cent of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina gave their religion as Islam.
In July 1995 Bosnian Serb forces killed about 7,000 to 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys after taking Srebrenica. The UN tribunal and the International Court of Justice both ruled that it was genocide.
Muslims keep having childrenTurkey 1.51 and Malaysia 1.55 children per woman in 2023; the US 1.62.
Where Muslims are a majority, Islamic law is forced on allAlbania is about 51% Muslim, with no official religion.
Muslim lands drive out other faithsThe Emirates opened a mosque, a church and a synagogue side by side in 2023.
Christians cannot live in Muslim landsIndonesia recognises six religions; about 1 in 10 people there are Christians.
Where Muslims are many, they massacre othersIn Bosnia, about half Muslim, Muslims were the victims at Srebrenica in 1995.
What the numbers show
Pew projected Europe's Muslim population to 2050 in three ways. In mid-2016 Muslims were 4.9% of Europe. With no migration at all, they would reach 7.4% by 2050. With medium migration they would reach 11.2%. If the record refugee flows of 2014 to 2016 went on for ever, they would reach 14%. Even then, about six people in seven in Europe would not be Muslims.
In mid-2016 Muslims were an estimated 25.8 million, 4.9% of the population of the EU's 28 countries plus Norway and Switzerland. Even with zero migration, the Muslim share would rise to 7.4% by 2050; with medium migration (regular migration continuing, refugee flows stopping) it could reach 11.2%; with high migration (the record refugee flows of 2014 to mid-2016 continuing indefinitely) it could reach 14%, still a relative minority. Muslim women in Europe are projected to have 2.6 children on average, against 1.6 for other European women. Many refugees will continue to come from predominantly Muslim countries.
What Latin America shows
Latin America is mostly Christian. Yet Muslims are less than 1% of its people. Migrants go where they have jobs, family and ties, not where a plan sends them. The same rule holds for Christians. Millions of Venezuelans fled their country's crisis, and 97% of them stayed in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Between 2010 and 2020, sub-Saharan Africa surpassed Europe as the region with the largest Christian population. As of 2020, sub-Saharan Africa was home to 31% of all the Christians in the world, while Europe held 22% of the global Christian population (down 4 points). Many Christians also live in the Latin America-Caribbean region (24% of all Christians). Christians are the world's largest religious group, and they are a majority in every region except the Asia-Pacific and Middle East-North Africa regions.
Muslims make up less than 1% of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean, and that region holds less than 1% of the world's Muslims. Muslims are 6% of those who live in Europe and 1% of North Americans.
At the end of 2025 the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide was estimated at 117.8 million; one in 70 people globally were forcibly displaced. 65 per cent of refugees and other people in need of international protection lived in countries neighbouring their countries of origin. Low- and middle-income countries hosted 68 per cent of them. More than seven in ten refugees and other people in need of international protection originated from the same six countries in 2025 as in 2024: Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Venezuela. Ukrainians remained the largest group seeking international protection in 2025. Of the people from Venezuela in need of protection, nearly all of them (97 per cent) have remained in Latin American or Caribbean countries.
The first Muslim refugees
The first Muslims to leave home were refugees themselves. When the Muslims of Mecca were persecuted, some fled to Abyssinia, whose king was a Christian. Abu Bakr also set out for that land, saying, "My people have turned me out". They came for safety, not to take over. Most of them went back once the Muslims had a home in Medina. When the king of Abyssinia died, the Prophet (ﷺ) called him "a pious man" and prayed for him.
Aisha reports that when the Muslims were persecuted by the pagans of Mecca, Abu Bakr set out to emigrate to the land of Ethiopia. Asked where he was going, he said: "My people have turned me out (of my country), so I want to wander on the earth and worship my Lord." Later, when the Prophet (ﷺ) told the Muslims of their place of emigration, Medina, most of those who had earlier emigrated to Ethiopia returned to Medina.
Al-Tabari reads the verse as God telling the Prophet (ﷺ), whom his gloss names, what he would find: the Jews and the idol-worshippers strongest in enmity to those who believed in him. He ties the praise to Christians who heard the Qur'an and believed: the Negus of Abyssinia and his envoys, or people on the law of Jesus who then accepted Islam. He explains their nearness by their devotion and their humility before the truth. He contrasts them with the Jews the verse speaks of, who, he says, had long been used to killing prophets and altering revelation. That is the charge of 2:61 and 3:112, which Israel's own confession in Nehemiah 9:26 also makes.
Jabir reports that when the Negus (the king of Abyssinia) died, the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Today a pious man has died. So get up and offer the funeral prayer for your brother Ashama."
Shared values, not a clash
Some fear that Muslim migrants bring values that are foreign to the West. In fact Muslims and Christians share most of their values. Most of the Ten Commandments appear in the Qur'an too. Worship one God (﷾), honour your parents, and do not kill, commit adultery or steal. Both books call for kindness to neighbours, food for the hungry and care for orphans. Both teach forgiveness and justice, and both forbid usury and drunkenness. So a Muslim family that moves to a Christian country brings values its neighbours already know.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
“Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;”
“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”
“Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honour. And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: "My Lord! bestow on them thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood."”
“Thou shalt not kill.”
“Nor take life - which Allah has made sacred - except for just cause. And if anyone is slain wrongfully, we have given his heir authority (to demand qisas or to forgive): but let him not exceed bounds in the matter of taking life; for he is helped (by the Law).”
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
“Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil, opening the road (to other evils).”
“Thou shalt not steal.”
“O Prophet! When believing women come to thee to take the oath of fealty to thee, that they will not associate in worship any other thing whatever with Allah, that they will not steal, that they will not commit adultery (or fornication), that they will not kill their children, that they will not utter slander, intentionally forging falsehood, and that they will not disobey thee in any just matter,- then do thou receive their fealty, and pray to Allah for the forgiveness (of their sins): for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.”
“Those who witness no falsehood, and, if they pass by futility, they pass by it with honourable (avoidance);”
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.”
“And in no wise covet those things in which Allah Hath bestowed His gifts More freely on some of you than on others: To men is allotted what they earn, and to women what they earn: But ask Allah of His bounty. For Allah hath full knowledge of all things.”
“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.”
“Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do good- to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbours who are near, neighbours who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (ye meet), and what your right hands possess: For Allah loveth not the arrogant, the vainglorious;-”
“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:”
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
“And they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and the captive,- (Saying),"We feed you for the sake of Allah alone: no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks.”
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
“Let not those among you who are endued with grace and amplitude of means resolve by oath against helping their kinsmen, those in want, and those who have left their homes in Allah's cause: let them forgive and overlook, do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
“Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
“O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do.”
“Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.”
“Those who devour usury will not stand except as stand one whom the Evil one by his touch Hath driven to madness. That is because they say: "Trade is like usury," but Allah hath permitted trade and forbidden usury. Those who after receiving direction from their Lord, desist, shall be pardoned for the past; their case is for Allah (to judge); but those who repeat (The offence) are companions of the Fire: They will abide therein (for ever).”
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”
“O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan's handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper.”
| Value | Bible | Qur'an |
|---|---|---|
| Worship one God (﷾) | Exodus 20:3 | 112:1 |
| Honour your parents | Exodus 20:12 | 17:23-24 |
| Do not kill | Exodus 20:13 | 17:33 |
| Do not commit adultery | Exodus 20:14 | 17:32 |
| Do not steal | Exodus 20:15 | 60:12 |
| No false witness | Exodus 20:16 | 25:72 |
| Do not covet | Exodus 20:17 | 4:32 |
| Be good to your neighbour | Leviticus 19:18 | 4:36 |
| Feed the hungry, care for orphans | Matthew 25:35; James 1:27 | 76:8-9 |
| Forgive others | Matthew 6:14-15 | 24:22 |
| Do justice | Micah 6:8 | 4:135 |
| No usury | Deuteronomy 23:19 | 2:275 |
| No drunkenness | Ephesians 5:18 | 5:90 |
No side in politics: keep the law
This page takes no side in party politics. Its point is religious. Islam tells Muslims to keep their agreements and the law of the land they live in. So Islam does not approve of entering a country unlawfully. A Muslim should come by the legal routes a country offers.
“O ye who believe! fulfil (all) obligations.”
“Come not nigh to the orphan's property except to improve it, until he attains the age of full strength; and fulfil (every) engagement, for (every) engagement will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning).”
Ibn Qudamah, a Hanbali jurist, holds that the matter of jihad is entrusted to the ruler (imam) and his judgement, and that the people must obey him in it. He makes one exception: if an enemy attacks suddenly and there is no time to ask the ruler, the people may defend themselves without his permission. He also holds that a Muslim who enters a non-Muslim land under a promise of safety (aman) may not betray its people or take their property, because the safety was given on the understanding that he would not betray them, even if this was not said in words.
Must Muslims obey the law where they live? Do they want to force Sharia on others?
Safe routes for some, not for others
Yet legal routes are not open to all alike. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the EU used its temporary protection law for the first time. Ukrainians could live, work and get welfare at once, without the usual asylum process. About 212,000 Ukrainians came to Britain on special visas, most of them in 2022. Over seven years, Britain's scheme for refugees of the Syrian war resettled 20,319 people. Most Ukrainians are Christians, and most Syrians are Muslims. Germany was the exception. In 2015 Angela Merkel let in refugees stranded in Hungary. About 890,000 people came, many fleeing war in Syria and Iraq. With few safe routes, some people in despair turn to smugglers. The Refugee Convention says refugees should not be punished for entering illegally, if they come forward without delay.
The Council of the European Union formally activated the Temporary Protection Directive on 4 March 2022 for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. The directive was not used before 2022: calls to invoke it in 2011 and in 2015 did not lead to its use. Beneficiaries get a residence permit without the complicated bureaucracy normally associated with seeking asylum, may work and access social welfare, and their children have access to education.
Around 212,000 people have come to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme or the (now closed) Ukraine Family Scheme, the majority in 2022: about 154,000 on Homes for Ukraine visas and over 58,000 under the Family Scheme.
The Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS), for refugees from the Syrian conflict, was launched in January 2014. The final number of refugees who found safety in the UK under it was 20,319, including 239 resettled before the scheme was upscaled. The final refugees arrived on 25 February 2021.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Ukraine, with 85% of the population identifying as Christian according to a 2022 survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.
Islam is the religion of most Syrians: ARDA estimates for 2025 put Muslims at about 95% of the population. Christians were about 5-6% in 2011, and around 2-2.5% in 2022.
In early September 2015 Germany and Austria announced they would let migrants stranded in Hungary cross their borders and apply for asylum. Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected a cap on asylum applications and said Germany could cope: "wir schaffen das" ("we can manage this"). Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis were the largest groups of applicants in Europe that year.
Germany's interior ministry revised its count of asylum seekers who arrived in 2015 down from about 1.1 million. The current official tally is about 890,000 who entered the nation as part of last year's exodus into Europe from war-ravaged places such as Iraq and Syria.
The 1951 Refugee Convention says the contracting states shall not impose penalties on refugees who entered illegally in search of asylum if they present themselves without delay (Article 31).
Keep faith with the land that takes you in
A Muslim who enters a country under its protection may not betray its people or take their property. The jurist Ibn Qudamah says the promise of safety holds him, even if nobody said it in words. The Qur'an says: "fulfil (all) obligations". It also says: "fulfil (every) engagement, for (every) engagement will be enquired into". Plotting to take over a country that took you in would break that trust. And Islam is never to be forced on anyone: "Let there be no compulsion in religion".
Ibn Qudamah, a Hanbali jurist, holds that the matter of jihad is entrusted to the ruler (imam) and his judgement, and that the people must obey him in it. He makes one exception: if an enemy attacks suddenly and there is no time to ask the ruler, the people may defend themselves without his permission. He also holds that a Muslim who enters a non-Muslim land under a promise of safety (aman) may not betray its people or take their property, because the safety was given on the understanding that he would not betray them, even if this was not said in words.
“O ye who believe! fulfil (all) obligations.”
“Come not nigh to the orphan's property except to improve it, until he attains the age of full strength; and fulfil (every) engagement, for (every) engagement will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning).”
“Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.”
Must Muslims obey the law where they live? Do they want to force Sharia on others?
Perspectives
Critics of immigration
Some critics say the number of Muslims in Europe is rising fast. Some say this is planned, or that it will change Europe for ever.
Muslim women in Europe have more children, so Muslims will one day be the majority.
Rebuttal
Pew found that Muslim women in Europe have 2.6 children on average, and other women 1.6. Even so, with high migration Pew expects Muslims to be 14% of Europe in 2050. That is far from a majority.
Most of the refugees who reached Europe in recent years were Muslims.
Rebuttal
They fled wars. Pew expected many refugees to keep coming from mostly Muslim countries, because that is where the wars were. In 2025 the largest group seeking protection were Ukrainians.
As Muslims grow to a larger share of a country, they turn violent and impose Islamic law.
Rebuttal
The facts say otherwise. Albania is about half Muslim and has no official religion. The Emirates opened a church and a synagogue beside a mosque in 2023. And in Turkey and Malaysia, women now have fewer children than in the United States.
Muslim preachers call people to Islam, which shows there is a plan.
Rebuttal
Inviting people to a faith is open and peaceful, and Christians do it too. Islam forbids forcing faith on anyone. A Muslim must also keep his agreements with the country he lives in.
Muslims may lie about such a plan; this is called taqiyya.
Rebuttal
Islam forbids lying. Taqiyya only excuses a believer forced, under threat, to deny his faith with his tongue. The Prophet (ﷺ) said truthfulness leads to Paradise, and lying to the Fire.
The Islamic perspective
Muslims, like other people, migrate to escape war and to build a better life for their families. Islam requires them to keep faith with the country that takes them in.
Seven in ten refugees come from six countries in war or crisis, and most stay next door.
Christians are 47% of the world's migrants and Muslims 29%.
Only two in ten Muslim migrants live in Europe, and 6% in North America.
"Eurabia" and the "Great Replacement" are conspiracy theories that scholars reject.
Islamic law forbids a Muslim to betray a country that has given him safety.