Practising Muslims will surpass Christians in Europe very soon, says Belgian minister

Members of the Muslim community in Belgium take part in a ceremony to commemorate the victims of last month's attacks on the city's Zaventem airport and the Maelbeek metro station, outside the station in Brussels.Reuters

Belgian Minister Koen Geens has warned that the number of practising Muslims in Europe will "very soon" surpass those of practising Christians.

Speaking before the European Union Parliament that hears the Brussels terrorist attack, Geens said the stark reality is attributed not just to mass immigration and migration crisis but also to the fact that Christians nowadays are refusing to practise their faith.

"That is not because there are too many Muslims, it is because Christians are generally less practising. Europe does not realise this, but this is the reality," Geens told the European Community, reports The Sun.

According to a 2012 data from the European Commission, 72 percent of people in the European Union identify themselves as Christian but many reportedly do not actively practice their faith.

In contrast, the Muslim population tends to be more observant and devout, said the report, according to Breitbart.

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Jan Jambon, meanwhile, warned against Europeans "making an enemy of Islam," adding that doing such is "the worst thing we can do,"

"I've said a thousand times, the worst thing we can do is to make an enemy of Islam."

"To make an enemy of all of those people, we really will be creating problems. We need to see who the terrorists are, who supports the terrorists, what networks are there to support them," said Jambon.

The deputy chief stressed: Europe "must get all the rest of the Muslims on our side not working against us."

There are currently 600,000 to 700,000 Muslims in Belgium, and the overwhelming majority of those people reportedly share European values.

Earlier this month, Jambon claimed that some Belgian Muslims were "dancing" in the streets after the Brussels attacks that killed 32 people.

He also accused residents of Molenbeek district of attacking police officers when they were carrying out anti-terror raids last month, the Daily Mail reports.