Assyrians Demonstrate in Sweden Against Ethnic Cleansing in Iraq (6.07)
Some Muslim families are now feeling the pinch in Sweden, as Assyrian Christian youths wrongfully attack Muslims in their areas, with very hurtfull language. Their conduct is condemnable, but it should be noted however, that no matter how wrong their actions are, and indeed they are, it’s prudent to note that they’re only responding in the manner in which the Muslim community treated them when they were living in Islamic lands.Södertälje Muslims flee after threats
Fathima and Ali live with their three children in Hovsjö. Outside the locked apartment door was waiting a reality that the family could never imagine themselves in 2006, when they moved to Hovsjö from Skåne. They moved there due to Fathima getting a job in the south of Stockholm, but no vacant flats were to be found other than in the Södertälje district of Hovsjö. We have lived in a small town in Skåne and in other parts of Sweden, but never have we encountered such racism as this. Swedes and other groups have never been a problem, but the screams of Syrian “Muslim bastards” and “fucking Muhammed and bin Laden” after us, “says Ali, who gave up. Now the family wants to move and are looking for housing in northern Stockholm. Behind the attacks are children and young people of the Assyrians / Syrians who immigrated a couple of decades ago.
I’m not down playing the wrongful actions being committed by these Assyrian youths, they should be stopped, but it’s also helpful to understand the complete picture, there are no innocent sides here. It’s not by accident that the Assyrian community in Sweden has the lowest regard for Islam and for Muslims in general. The woman Fathima defends herself further in the article that “they are not extremists, just average Muslims”, but to the Assyrians, they represent the “average Muslim” population that oppressed their communities for centuries, so the woman’s pleas (valid or not) fall on deaf ears. I came across the results of an enquiry that was a part of larger study called:The Church of Sweden encounter with Islam
An account of the responses to an enquiry,
January 1997 that was completed twelve years ago. The findings of the study underline the significance of the article, that Assyrian Christians do not have a positive view of Islam or Muslims. I feel that it’s solely due to having lived for centuries in Muslim lands as dhimmis, and forced to shoulder the burden of victimization and discrimination. Here is what the study said about the Assyrians:Some parishes point out that the presence in their area of Syrian-Orthodox members is a complicating factor in relation to Islam, since this group often has a strongly negative attitude towards Islam. As far as the Church of Sweden is concerned, they prefer to give priority to their relationship with their Christian fellow-believers. Also note worthy, is the Swedish article’s mentioning of racism where the Muslim family is concerned, when in fact, it’s a question of bigotry. How in the world could it be racism, if the people who are hurling the insults are from the same ethnic group and region? This is nothing more than a foreign dispute being carried out in a domestic setting, this time around, no matter how wrong it is, some Assyrians believe they have the upper hand, and want to keep it that way. KGS
H/T: Reinhard Fomi
