The London Evening Standard reported that the individulas were arrested as part of an inquiry centred on allegations from four women that they were abused as children, predominantly in the towns of Dewsbury and Batley, between 1995 and 2002.
West Yorkshire Police said in a statement that three women and 36 men have been arrested over the past two weeks in connection with the investigation. Five other men were also investigated at the end of last year for the same crime.
Detective Inspector Seth Robinson, who is leading the investigation, said: “Safeguarding and protecting children remains the top priority for West Yorkshire Police.
“We hope that these recent arrests reassure our local communities that we are wholly committed to tackling child sexual exploitation in Kirklees, both current and non-recent.
“Child sexual abuse and exploitation is an abhorrent and heinous crime and one which affects some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
“We would urge anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse, whether recent or historic, to report it to the police. Please be assured that you will be listened to, taken seriously and supported by professionals with experience of dealing with these kind of offences.”
The 44 Muslims were arrested from various addresses including in Kirklees, Bradford and Leeds.
Mohammed has meanwhile topped the list of the most popular name for boys in the UK in 2019. Thus, the Islamic first name remains the most popular mane, the Daily Mail reported, citing an evaluation of the online portal Baby Center.
London’s Muslim mayor, Sadiq Kahn, has called the rise of the Muslim population a positive development, saying “that our diversity is our greatest strength”.
The population of the United Kingdom is considered an example of a population that has undergone demographic transition – that is, the transition from a pre-industrial population with high birth and mortality rates and slow population growth, through a stage of falling mortality and faster rates of population growth, to a stage of low birth and mortality rates with, again, lower rates of population growth.
This demographic change has been accompanied in the past two decades by growth through net international migration into the United Kingdom.
Also in Berlin last year Mohammed topped the list of most commonly chosen names. In addition, the name made it to the top 10 list of names in the city states of Bremen, Hamburg and the Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland.
Demographic facts are hard to ignore. In 2012, the UK’s total fertility rate was 1,92 children per woman, below the replacement rate. Fertility rates in almost all European countries are actually well below the replacement level of 2,1 children per woman. The figure for Italy is 1,45. In Germany it is 1,48; in Spain 1,5; in Hungary 1,4, and in Poland 1,38.
The 2014 UK fertility rate was higher for foreign-born mothers (2,09) than UK-born mothers (1,76).
The only country in continental Europe where a higher figure exists is France (1,97) – but France also has the largest Muslim population in Europe, and all available data show that birth rates are far higher in Muslim families.
The population of most European countries is decreasing. Italy is losing 250 000 inhabitants a year, equivalent to almost the population of Venice. And today, 12 percent of German citizens are foreign-born.
