The Muslims of France

France today has roughly four or five million Muslim inhabitants, nearly a tenth of the population. Approximately half have French citizenship. More precise figures are not available, since the French state, being officially secular, is forbidden to inquire into questions of religion. It is generally agreed, however, that France, preponderantly Catholic, now has more Muslims than either Protestants or Jews, its historical minorities. Islam has become the country's second religion.

The change has come about through immigration, largely from France's former North African colonies. Although a presence since World War I, Muslims arrived in significant numbers in France only in