Some 930,000 Muslims go to the mosque at least once a week

LONDON, January 27 (IslamOnline.net) – The number of British Muslims praying at mosques has outstripped the number of regular worshippers in the Church of England, the mother church of the Anglican communion, which covers 160 countries, a mass-circulation British daily reported.

According to figures compiled from government and academic sources, some 930,000 Muslims go to the mosque at least once a week against 916,000 Anglicans, The Sunday Times said.  

The figure does not include young children and does not give a real estimate of practicing Muslims, given that many of whom pray at home.

Tariq Modood, a professor of sociology at Bristol University, has found that 62 percent of Muslims pray in places of worship.

The Muslim community does not keep registers of attendance in mosques, the British daily said.

Archbishop of York David Hope, second in the church hierarchy, acknowledged that the number of Muslim worshippers has become greater in amount.

But he said that many more people "have an affinity" to the church than the number recorded as having attended once on a Sunday.

The figure proves the rise of Islam in Britain and the religious freedom enjoyed by around three million Muslims in the country amid calls for allocating more seats in the House of Lords to Muslims and other religious communities.

The Church of England has 26 seats in the House of Lords. However, the recent figures do not include Catholics.

Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) released recently a CD targeting the sizable Muslim community, reminding them that they are part and parcel of the British society and that their contribution "is not just a matter of history, but a reality in every walk of life".

The move came after realizing that many British Muslims are still feeling a deep sense of betrayal over persecutions and hate crimes that have followed the 9-11 attacks on the U.S.