They don’t, that’s a misconception.
While not necessarily refugees (we’ll get to them in a moment) the largest diaspora in the Islamic world comes from Egypt.
With 9.5 million Egyptians living abroad. Now I want you to take a wild guess at the top 5 nations where Egyptian migrants and their descendants live. Take a moment, maybe write down your answers. Finished reflecting?
Alright here’s the list:
Saudi Arabia ~ 2.9 million
Jordan ~ 1.6 million
United Arab Emirates ~ 765,000
Italy ~ 560,000
Kuwait ~ 500,000
3 Gulf states, 1 Middle Eastern, 1 Western
9.5 million Egyptians live abroad, mostly in Saudi Arabia and Jordan - Egypt Independent
Now you’re probably thinking “Ok, Ahmed. That’s just for Egyptians, what about Syrian refugees?”
To which I say, “fair enough”. Think of the top 5 nations where Syrian refugees can be found. Same as before.
Alright, now here’s the list:
Turkey ~ 3.572 million
Lebanon ~ 2.2 million
Jordan ~ 1.265 million
Germany ~ 600,000
United Arab Emirates ~ 242,000
3 Middle Eastern, 1 Gulf, 1 Western
Refugees of the Syrian Civil War There’s this pervasive myth in the West that there’s a horde of Muslims desperate to enter. For some reason, many Westerners assume that hordes of Muslims are trying to storm the beaches and take their nations by force to Islamise them resulting in widespread misconceptions on things like how many Muslims live in their nations.
This was a poll done by The Economist in which Europeans were asked to estimate how many Muslims lived in their country and this was compared with the real figure. The average Italian said 20% of the population is Muslim, in reality it’s 4%.
When in reality, very few Muslims (both refugees and economic migrants) are trying to migrate into the West. As seen above, only one Western nation makes it into the top 5 recipients each time. Now does this mean no Muslims are trying to emigrate into the West? Of course not, clearly there are Muslim migrants in the West.
Germany alone has 600,000 Syrians and Italy has a similar number of Egyptians. That’s from just one group. Italy also has about 500,000 Moroccans and Germany has 3 million or so Turks.
But these migrants are not the majority of Muslim emigration. Only two Islamic nations send the majority of their immigrants to the West:
Morocco (4 million of 5 million emigrants live in the West)
Turkey (3 million Turks in Germany alone outnumbering all other diaspora populations)
Why do these Muslim migrants (despite being a minority of emigrants) choose the West? For some, better rights.
The West, without a doubt, is the freest and best protected region in the world.
In France, my maximum work week is 35 hours and if I work overtime my boss must bump up my pay by 40%. I’m also guaranteed paid vacation, help for my retirement, medical insurance and even reimbursement of my transport costs.
In Morocco, if I was to ask for those rights/privileges I’d be laughed at.
Many genuinely prefer democracy.
I’ve met many Muslim migrants who lament the lack of democracy in their homelands and for one reason or another, feel that it’s best and safest political system.
The first country to accept them.
This is actually what happens very often to the surprise of many people. It’s how my family ended up in the United States.
Myself applied for jobs as Contracts Manager in the UAE, Kuwait, the United States and France. The first job he got accepted to was in the US and his visa was sponsored. If that Kuwaiti construction firm had hired him, my bio would be saying “Moroccan-Kuwaiti” today instead of “Moroccan-American”.
Nor is my father (an economic migrant) unique. I’ve met refugees in France who tell me the same, one refugee even told me France was actually his 3rd option. Originally he was trying to move to Sweden where his family lives or Germany where he can work as a mechanic for one of the auto manufacturers.
So there are many reasons why some Muslim refugees and migrants choose the West.
