Muslim Life in Germany - Deutsche Islam Konferenz

54 How many Muslims live in Germany?
fact that the focus of this study is on determining the number
of Muslims with a migrant background. While the number of
ethnic Germans who have converted to Islam is unknown due to
the fact that no such register is kept, it can be assumed that they
are relatively few in comparison with the number of immigrant
Muslims. As a result, the aspects covered by this study should
not be impaired on a statistical level. Estimates of the number
of German converts to Islam cover a rather broad range from
13,000 to 100,000 people; these figures have no scientifically
validated basis due to the fact that conversion to Islam is rarely
accompanied by written documentation. 24 One of the small
number of research projects dealing with this group works on
the assumption that women with Muslim spouses account for a
particularly large portion of these converts, and that conversion
is more common among relatively young age groups (between
the ages of 18 and 27) than it is in other age groups (Wohlrab-
Sahr 1999). There are also pragmatic reasons from a research
point of view for not including converts in this study. A different
survey method would be required for these than is applicable
for Muslims with a migrant background, A name-based procedure
such as that used in this study concerning Muslims from
other countries of origin could not be used for German converts
to Islam.
2.1 Number of Muslims in Germany
In order to determine the number of Muslims in Germany
who have come from the countries of origin covered in the
study, the data obtained for the persons with a relevant migrant
24 According to a controversial estimate made by the Zentralinstitut Islam-Archiv-
Deutschland Stiftung e.V. (Central Institute – Islam Archive Germany Foundation)
in 2007, approximately 4,000 people converted to Islam in 2006; it is
assumed that the number of people converting each year has varied markedly
since 1972.