Showing posts with label Islam in Sweden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Islam in Sweden. Show all posts
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: With his clean-cut looks, geeky spectacles, and sensible haircut, 31-year-old Jimmie Åkesson looks more like an accountant than a political extremist.Yet in the past few weeks Mr Åkesson, leader of the far-Right Sweden Democrat party, has blamed immigrants for rape - especially Africans and Arabs.
His party has played crude television advertisements accusing burqa-clad Muslim women of taking benefits from white Swedish pensioners. And last year he called Islam the biggest threat to Sweden since the Second World War.
To the horror of his compatriots in one of Europe's most liberal and tolerant nations, blaming foreigners has worked electoral magic.
When Swedes vote on Sunday Mr Åkesson's anti-immigrant party will almost certainly win its first seats at a general election - and has even been predicted to come third with 7.5 per cent of the vote, according to one poll.
That would be enough to give them 28 seats out of a total of 349 in the Riksdag, Stockholm's parliament, ahead of five more established parties, and hold the balance of power.It is the sort of far Right success that has been seen several times across Europe this year, and a prospect has struck fear in the hearts of Sweden's usually moderate voters who never thought they would see extremists get anywhere near power.
Mainstream politicians, deeply troubled by the party's success, have been forced to promise that they wouldn't under any circumstances go into coalition with the Sweden Democrats.
Swedes are bracing themselves for a difficult time of minority government, when their economic problems demand decisive leadership.
Fredrik Reinfeldt, the prime minister and leader of a centre-Right party, has been so rattled that, after ignoring the Sweden Democrats throughout the campaign, last week he came out and warned that a vote for them meant a "gamble with stability".
But Mr Åkesson has won support by saying what for decades most Swedes have considered unthinkable.
"Swedish pensioners can't afford to fix their broken teeth or pay for the medicine that would bring them back to health," he said, blaming the generous welfare system for lavishing money on immigrants.
"Today's multicultural Swedish power elite is completely blind to the dangers of Islam and Islamification," was another of his claims. He has called for massive restrictions to be placed on immigration.
It is a message which has resonated with surprisingly large numbers of voters. >>> Paul O´ Mahony in Stockholm and Nick Meo | Saturday, September 18, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Swedish elections: The impact of immigration – For many, Sweden represents a modern, liberal, progressive ideal. But after tomorrow's election, a far-right party could hold the balance of power >>> Andrew Brown | Saturday, September 18, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
RUSSIA TODAY: “To offend religion is possible in a democratic society”: Why there should be an exception for just one religion, Islam, not to create cartoons about it when all the other major religions accept this, is the problem bothering Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks. >>> | Monday, May 24, 2010
RUSSIA TODAY: Drawing attention to Mohammed: Five years after a Danish paper was fiercely criticized by Muslims for depicting the Prophet Mohammed in derogatory cartoons, Facebook and YouTube are under fire from Pakistan. >>> | Published Friday, May 21, 2010; Edited Monday, May 24, 2010
RUSSIA TODAY: Muslim girls fall victim to honor killings: The United Nations says that over five thousand women and children die every year in so-called "honor killings", often where family members kill women who refuse to enter forced marriages. >>> | Published Monday, June 22, 2010; Edited Saturday, January 23, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The home of a Swedish cartoonist who sparked controversy by drawing the Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog has been attacked with a petrol bomb.
The property belonging to Lars Vilks in the village of Nyhamnslaege was slightly damaged during the incident, the latest in a series of similar attacks in the country.
Police later arrested a 21-year-old Swedish national of Kosovar origin, from the southern city of Landskrona, at his home 25 miles away.
A spokesman said he was detained after personal items were found near Mr Vilks' house.
Police found glass bottles containing petrol inside the house which was empty at the time of the attack. >>> | Sunday, May 16, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A Swedish cartoonist whose sketch of the Prophet Mohammed enraged many Muslims, was attacked while giving a lecture about freedom of speech.
Lars Vilks, who depicted the Prophet Mohammad with the body of a dog in 2007, said he was headbutted by a man sitting on the front row as he spoke at the University of Uppsala, about 44 miles from Stockholm.
"He head-butted me and I fell into the wall and lost my glasses," Mr Vilks said. He added he was unharmed.
A spokesman for Uppsala police said about 20 people tried to attack Mr Vilks after interrupting his lecture, adding that the police had to intervene to stop them. Two people were detained.
Mr Vilks was not immediately available to comment further. He says he has received death threats since his Prophet sketch.
In March an American who called herself "JihadJane," was charged with plotting to kill the Swede and using the Internet to enlist co-conspirators. >>> | Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Related here and here
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
RUSSIA TODAY: Muslim immigrants make anti-Semitism an issue for Sweden: Sweden is normally considered to be a peaceful haven in Europe. But this Scandinavian stability is being shaken up by a wave of anti-Semitic attacks. >>> | Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Related:
THE WEEKLY STANDARD: Welcome to Ramallmö >>> By Paulina Neuding | Friday, March 13, 2009
STOCKHOLM NEWS: New Report about Islamism in Sweden >>> Tommie Ullman | Friday, January 30, 2009
Sunday, February 21, 2010
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Sweden's reputation as a tolerant, liberal nation is being threatened by a steep rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes in the city of Malmo.
When she first arrived in Sweden after her rescue from a Nazi concentration camp, Judith Popinski was treated with great kindness.
She raised a family in the city of Malmo, and for the next six decades lived happily in her adopted homeland - until last year.
In 2009, a chapel serving the city's 700-strong Jewish community was set ablaze. Jewish cemeteries were repeatedly desecrated, worshippers were abused on their way home from prayer, and "Hitler" was mockingly chanted in the streets by masked men.
"I never thought I would see this hatred again in my lifetime, not in Sweden anyway," Mrs Popinski told The Sunday Telegraph.
"This new hatred comes from Muslim immigrants. The Jewish people are afraid now."
Malmo's Jews, however, do not just point the finger at bigoted Muslims and their fellow racists in the country's Neo-Nazi fringe. They also accuse Ilmar Reepalu, the Left-wing mayor who has been in power for 15 years, of failing to protect them.
Mr Reepalu, who is blamed for lax policing, is at the centre of a growing controversy for saying that what the Jews perceive as naked anti-Semitism is in fact just a sad, but understandable consequence of Israeli policy in the Middle East.
While his views are far from unusual on the European liberal-left, which is often accused of a pro-Palestinian bias, his Jewish critics say they encourage young Muslim hotheads to abuse and harass them.
The future looks so bleak that by one estimate, around 30 Jewish families have already left for Stockholm, England or Israel, and more are preparing to go. >>> Nick Meo in Malmo, Sweden | Sunday, February 21, 2010
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
ONEINDIA: Stockholm – A Muslim man has won the discrimination case against Sweden’s unemployment agency, for kicking him out of the job training program, after he refused to shake hands with a woman. >>> OneIndia News | Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
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
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Hat tip: European Alliance for Rational Thought >>>
Monday, March 16, 2009
THE WEEKLY STANDARD: How a tennis match sparked riots in Sweden.
"This is how it was last time too," said a Holocaust survivor, when she was escorted from Malmö's main square by the police. "We had to leave the square, while they got to stay."
On January 27th, it had been almost a month since the Israeli military operation Cast Lead was launched in Gaza. A couple of hundred people, mostly Jews, had gathered in Sweden's third largest city, Malmö, to show their support for Israel. Their slogans--"Israel's right to self defense" and "Compassion with all civilian victims"--were met with shouts of "Sieg Heil" and "Damn Jews" by a group of mainly Arab and left-wing counter protesters. Stones, eggs, and bottles were thrown, and when a home-made bomb was fired at the Jewish group police finally decided to evacuate. The pro-Israeli protesters fled, while children ran after them with cell phones to report back into the crowd where the Jews were heading.
One protester I spoke with was among those who refused to run. "I already left Poland forty years ago," she said. "They will not chase me away this time."
Last Saturday, roughly a month after the mob met Jews off Malmö's main square, the city was again shaken by riots. Seven thousand activists gathered to stop a Davis Cup match between Sweden and Israel, and the demonstration march was also a manifestation of the ideological confusion that has become the trademark of the Swedish pro-Palestinian movement. Hamas flags and headbands could be spotted next to banners supporting communist groups and feminist causes.
The protesters were met by the largest Swedish riot squad since the anti-globalization riots convulsed the city of Gothenburg in 2001. In order to take on radical Islamists, left-wing extremists, and a small group of neo-Nazis that had announced that they too wanted to show their resentment toward Israel, the Swedish police prepared with 1,000 officers, helicopters, police vehicles on loan from neighboring Denmark, and a platoon of "dialogue officers." Dressed in yellow vests, the specially educated dialogue police officers were on hand to sooth the violent extremists. But despite the preparation, the police could not prevent rioting.
On their end, left-wing Swedish politicians worked to grant legitimacy to the protests. After war broke out in Gaza, a majority in the local Malmö council decided that no audience would be allowed at the Davis Cup games between Sweden and Israel. The representative of the Left Party (as the Communist Party was rechristened in 1990) made it clear that the decision was due to Israel's "genocide" against the people of Gaza.
The popular mayor of Malmö, Ilmar Reepalu, who is often referred to by the nickname "Malmö's strong man," is one of the most influential figures of the Social Democratic Party. He told the assembled media before the match that, were it up to him, Israel wouldn't be allowed to participate at all. "This is not a match against just anyone," he explained. "It is a match against the state of Israel." >>> By Paulina Neuding | Friday, March 13, 2009
*Paulina Neuding is an editorial page contributor to the Stockholm daily Svenska Dagbladet.
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – Sweden) >>>
Monday, February 02, 2009
STOCKHOLM NEWS: A new study from Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies (CATS) states that radical Islam is a reality and a threat to some people in the area Rosengård in Malmö.
The study shows that a group of individuals with an extreme interpretation of Islam have a big impact on the local community. Some individuals harass woman who do not want to wear veil and sometimes prevent boys and girls in the neighborhood to play with each other. They also stop girls from participating on stage at local cultural days. Social workers who have tried to distribute information about women’s rights have also been threatened and harassed.
Another conclusion in the report is that many new families in Rosengård get visits from radical groups who tell them “about the rules in Rosengård”. Some families have said to the respondents that they were freer in their former country than they are now. >>> Tommie Ullman | Friday, January 30, 2009
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – Sweden) >>>
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