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| Increasing Fear of Islam | |
Asad Mirza
A recent statement by the Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch has stirred a big debate in Sweden. She said that Muslims in Sweden must adapt to Swedish values or leave the country. Her statements have raised questions about cultural integration, religious freedom, and immigration policies, in Sweden and elsewhere.
Busch's comments came after a celebration by Hamas supporters in Sweden. The event sparked discussions on how different cultures can coexist in Sweden. Most Swedes are concerned about the future of multiculturalism in the country. Some agree with Busch, saying that immigrants should follow the values of their new country.
Others believe that such demands are unfair and could lead to discrimination against Muslims. Busch stated, "I want Muslim girls and boys to feel that we are on their side." She repeated this message several times, showing her concern for young Muslims in Sweden. However, her comments have been seen as controversial by many.
Meanwhile, on 31 August 2024, Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of PM Modi’s Economic Advisory Council (PM-EAC), criticised the Sweden-based independent research institute Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem).
Apparently, Sanyal’s critique was triggered by a statement from Ebba Busch, Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister, who claimed that Islam must align with Swedish values and that Sharia law has no place in the country.
Through a witty post on his official X account, Sanyal tagged V-Dem and questioned, “Would be interested to know if @vdeminstitute’s supercomputer adds or deducts points for these statements from the Deputy PM of its home country.”
Sanyal claims that instead of addressing the issue or leaving it alone, the institute - rather than engage with Sanjeev Sanyal’s critique - chose to block him.
However, we have to be clear here that Sanyal’s tweet was not in favour of Islam, or condemning the Swedish Deputy PM, instead it seems to have been inspired on an earlier report from V-Dem criticising India for its worsening democratic traditions.
In a subsequent post, Sanjeev Sanyal revealed that the V-Dem Institute had blocked him, and he included a screenshot to confirm the action. Sanjeev mocked, “So, @vdeminstitute has now blocked me!! So much for freedom and dialogue. This after I asked them a very common-sense question about their home country.”
A survey by V-Dem shows how sovereign governments globally, are perceived through its research and indices, such as The Regimes of the World (RoW). This framework categorises political systems into four types: closed autocracies, electoral autocracies, electoral democracies, and liberal democracies, based on V-Dem’s Democracy Core indices.
Earlier this year, the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute released a report labelling India as one of the “worst autocratisers” globally in recent times. According to the institute, India remained classified as an “electoral autocracy” in 2023. Their report highlighted that 42 countries, including India, are experiencing a trend toward autocratisation.
The institute noted that India, home to 18% of the world’s population, represents about half of the people living in autocratising countries. The report also claimed that the government under Narendra Modi has used laws on sedition, defamation, and counterterrorism to suppress dissent.
So basically, this incident has two sides, first the response of the Swedish authorities to increased migration to Sweden by Muslims and secondly, India’s worsening record of late, regarding the safety of minorities in India.
In both the cases the common denominators are - the Muslims, who could be described as a minority in both the countries. And in both the cases the respective governments need to adopt a more unbiased and non-aggressive attitude towards the minorities in their countries.
Firstly, the current debate has also touched on Sweden's immigration policies. Some argue that stricter rules are needed to ensure better integration. Others feel that Sweden should remain open and welcoming to all cultures. This issue has highlighted the challenges of maintaining a multicultural society. It raises important questions about how to balance cultural diversity with national values.
The outcome of this debate could shape Sweden's future immigration policies. Many people are watching closely to see how this situation will develop. It is clear that the discussion about cultural integration in Sweden is far from over. The reactions from both sides show how complex and sensitive this issue is.
Indeed, the issue is complex, if seen through the lens of building a more inclusive and tolerant society. Apparently, the increasing number of Muslims, or people waring the skull-caps or turbans on Sweden’s streets is increasing. It gives rise to a rather undue fear of Islam and its followers. Instead of engaging with them, they are rather seen as undesirable, outcast non-Europeans, who can’t be Swedish in their perspectives on several contentious issues.
Right, but at least the elected representative of an elected government should have given more time to increase her understanding and perception of Muslims. Because due to such Islamophobic outbursts, the right-wing elements have been on an ascendancy in most of the Scandinavian and European countries, which does not augur well to the future of democracy in those countries.
Secondly, as described earlier, apparently Sanyal’s tweets were in response to the V-Dem’s report describing India as an “electoral autocracy” and fast racing towards become an autocracy.
In this regard, perhaps the Institute based its observations on the increasing number of hate speech and hate crimes against the largest religious minority of the country i.e. Muslims. A vindication of which was given by the Leader of Opposition (LoP), Rahul Gandhi in a statement on 1 September, 2024, when he accused the government of giving free hand to the miscreants involved in mob lynching and those attacking Muslims and people from other minority communities (Christians) in different parts of India.
"These miscreants have got free hand from the BJP government, that is why they have got the courage to do this", Rahul Gandhi said. "Attacks on minorities, especially Muslims, are continuing and the government machinery is watching as a mute spectator", the Congress MP further said.
Rahul Gandhi's condemnation of the Modi government came after a Muslim man was beaten to death in Haryana and an elderly Muslim man was beaten and abused in a train near Nashik in Maharashtra.
The sanguine advice in both the cases, is linked somehow tenuously to the principles of multiculturalism, co-existence and tolerance. These needs to be re-examined worldwide and the far-right Islamophobic sentiments need to be banished from the political debate everywhere, otherwise they’ll once again take the world to its third war or maybe the final apocalypse.
(Asad Mirza is a New Delhi-based senior commentator on international and strategic affairs, and a media consultant.)
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