One in three Muslims in France would like to see sharia law applied worldwide.

According to a survey by the French Institute of Public Opinion (Ifop), at least one third of Muslims living in France believe that sharia law should be introduced.

As a continuation of its annual research into the views of Muslims in France, Ifop conducted a new poll among 1,005 Muslims aged 15 and over, specifically examining the impact of political Islam in the country, with particular focus on the Muslim Brotherhood—an organisation that, according to the French government, has been campaigning for decades to undermine Western civilisation.

The survey found that 32 per cent of Muslims in France believe that Islam is both a religion and a legal system that should be applied in all areas of life,

Le Figaro reported.

A total of 36 per cent of respondents said they believe Western countries are experiencing moral and spiritual decline that only Islam can remedy. Even more strikingly, 43 per cent said it is legitimate to conduct political campaigns to promote Islamic values in Western countries such as France.

When asked specifically about sharia law, 33 per cent of respondents said it should be applied across the entire world. Among those who supported such expansion, 88 per cent said they would prefer a gradual approach through education and preaching. However, nine per cent stated that they accept the use of coercion or violence to spread Islamic law globally.

With regard to the Muslim Brotherhood, nearly one quarter of Muslims in France—23 per cent—said they agree with the thinking of the radical organisation.

Support for the Islamist network varied significantly by age group, with younger Muslims showing a far greater inclination to back the Brotherhood. According to the Ifop survey, 32 per cent of Muslims under 25 expressed support for the group, compared with 27 per cent among those aged 25–34, 11 per cent among those aged 35–49, and 16 per cent among those aged over 50.

It remains unclear whether the survey accurately captures the true level of support for the Muslim Brotherhood in France. Le Figaro notes that the Islamist organisation is “hierarchical in structure, requires strict secrecy, and permits the use of so-called taqiyya—the concealment or denial of one’s beliefs—which makes it particularly difficult to assess its true reach”.

The poll follows the publication of a major French intelligence report which concluded that the Muslim Brotherhood has been pursuing a “strategy of Western conquest” for several generations, embedding itself within European governmental and social institutions while strictly enforcing Quranic rules within Muslim communities in the West.

According to the report, the Brotherhood’s “primary influence” in France is exercised through mosques, 139 of which have demonstrable links to the Islamist network. The intelligence assessment also connected a further 114 Islamic schools and 280 Islamic organisations to the Muslim Brotherhood.