Paris - A growing number of French Muslims say they are practising believers, according to a survey for the Catholic daily Le Croix made public on Thursday. In the poll, 70 per cent of respondents said they adhered to the Islamic laws on fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. In 2001, the figure had stood at 60 per cent.
In addition, 70 per cent said they were believers in the faith, and one third of those said they practised it. Of those asked, 39 per cent said they prayed daily, compared to 33 per cent in 2001.
The poll also found that the number of Muslims that take part in Friday prayers has grown from 16 per cent in 1994 to 23 per cent in 2007.
The survey confirmed that France's Muslims are far more devout than the rest of the French population, which is becoming less religious.
A December 2006 poll by Harris Interactive, published in the Financial Times, showed that nearly two-thirds of the French population described themselves as agnostic or atheist, and only 27 per cent believed in any type of God or supreme being.
In addition, a January 2007 poll published in Le Monde des Religions found that only half of the 51 per cent of the French population that described themselves as Catholics said they believed in God.
In the early 1990s, 80 per cent of the French had described themselves as Catholic, and the figure was 67 per cent in 2000.
In the Le Monde des Religions poll, only 10 per cent of respondents said they went to church regularly.
