Swedish Prime Minister (Frederik Reinfeldt): No Burqa Ban in Sweden
THE LOCAL (SWEDEN): Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said definitively on Thursday that he is against introducing legislation which would ban women from wearing burqas.

“No, that’s not something I want,” he told the TT news agency.

The clarification comes following a Wednesday night debate with Social Democratic leader Mona Sahlin on Sveriges Radio in which both offered their views on prohibiting burqas in Sweden.

A parliamentary commission in France recently used a public buildings and transport bill to proposed a law which would ban the wearing of head-to-toe veils in public.

During the debate, Sahlin clearly rejected the idea of a similar proposal in Sweden, while Reinfeldt expressed himself somewhat more cautiously, which led to questions as to where exactly he stands on the issue.

But on Thursday he attempted to clarify that he would not support a law banning burqas, which he said would be “counterproductive”.

“Legislation shouldn’t lead to certain women being isolated even more from Swedish society,” he said. >>> | Thursday, January 28, 2010

Sweden: Prime Minister Calls on Companies to Offer Muslims Services
ISLAM IN EUROPE: The Swedish Prime Minister spent the first day of Ramadan learning more about halal products. At the slaughterhouse in Johanneshov Fredrik Reinfeldt spoke of how important multiculturalism is for Sweden.

The moderate fight for freedom must also be about empowering New Sweden, supporting integration and getting rid of a lot of unnecessary regulations that create value clashes in Swedish society. This is a task for the government, said Frederik Reinfeldt when he visited Qibbla Halal Kött i[n] Johanneshov. A 30 [ed: meant 13] year old company with 26 employees who work with different halal products produced according to Muslim traditions and which get [the] go-ahead from the Swedish authorities.

With this Reinfeldt started off the fall visiting tour where he would especially meet and speak with immigrants about discrimination and value questions. In the past he had similarly gone about the rest of the country and visited small businesses, employment services and met with women in the public sector.

Both Diler Mustafa Taher, one of the company's founders, and IT-manager Namir Zetali, tell of their quick success, they sell their meat products all over Sweden, Finland and Denmark. They have gotten one of the biggest chains, Coop, to sell their halal meat. On the other hand, several other chains have declined. Sweden: Prime Minister Calls on Companies to Offer Muslims Services >>> By Esther | September 1, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – Sweden) >>>