Busy sanitizing these mosques when they should be investigating them.
They should be looking under every nook and cranny in these mosques (who no doubt are receiving money from abroad) and deporting those caught in violation of whatever laws on the books. Instead, we have “outreach”, communal, society interaction, dialogue, when in fact, those engaging in the above are taken to the cleaners by disingenuous Islamo-hucksters who have been emboldened by weak-in-the-knees politicians who are desperately afraid of being labelled “this” and “that”.
Helsinki city workers visit mosques
Representatives of the City of Helsinki have set out to visit the city’s mosques this autumn, with the aim of reaching out to the growing numbers of asylum seekers and creating a dialogue with Muslim community leaders.
Helsinki is engaging in an outreach programme with the local Muslim community. City employees have made visits this autumn to all 38 of the city’s mosques and prayer halls, gathering a record of the community’s wishes.
“We have engaged in dialogue with the imams, as we seek to understand their wishes. As part of these meetings, we also hope to relay more about how Finnish society functions,” says Helsinki’s Deputy Mayor for Educational and Cultural Affairs Ritva Viljanen.
Viljanen says that during the visits, those present chat about the services offered by the city and together discuss how they would work best for the group in question.
“The cooperation has been very beneficial. I am delighted with our results. We plan to continue the programme,” she says.
Finland’s Ministry of the Interior expects somewhere between 30,000 and 35,000 asylum seekers to enter Finland this year, half of whom are predicted to be granted a residence permit.
Helsinki is now trying to prepare for the gradual transfer of refugees from the country’s more northern locations to the capital city region. Once this happens, it is likely that the transplanted asylum seekers will apply for their family members left behind to join them in their new home.
“We’ve never encountered this phenomenon before, that so many asylum seekers would arrive in such a short time frame,” says Viljanen.
Working together towards integration
The city has both short and long-term plans in place for dealing with the influx of newcomers. To start, they will be directed to take advantage of programmes concentrated at reception centres.
“Activities have to be arranged for them. Having nothing to do has adverse physical and mental effects,” says Viljanen.
In the long term, the goal is successful integration. A special steering group will be appointed to come up with a model for the city.
City employees have also visited Helsinki’s asylum seeker reception centres in addition to their mosque and prayer hall visits.
“The Youth Department organises football matches twice a week and the Sports Department has opened a number of sports services catering to the asylum seeker community. We have also arranged trips to the Korkeasaari Zoo, and cultural centres have organised several events,” she says.
Additional information is available at the info desk in the lobby of the City Hall.
Finding the appropriate resources to use in Helsinki’s schools in the future is also something the city will have to plan for. The adequacy of introductory courses and language instruction is currently being assessed.
[A group of young Muslim men and women met with Foreign Minister Timo Soini on Friday in a meet-and-greet set up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting, first conceived in spring, was a success according to the Ministry.]
