Press Release
Political Point Scoring at the expense of Muslims

Spring has just arrived and in the dying days of this cold weather, the politicians do not want to leave any doubt that Muslims must be shut out. A new spring and a new wave of politicians' witch hunt is taking shape rapidly just in time for the parliamentary elections in September.

In recent weeks, many politicians and parties in the parliament have made negative expressions regarding Islam and Muslims. The prayer call in Växjö, Burkini ban in Mjölby and the Social Democrats' proposal to ban religious schools are but a few examples.

It is not the first time the Muslims have become targets in this country, and this will not be the last one either, where they previously felt safe and welcome; with the turn of the political tide in the western world, the wave became too strong, even for tolerant Sweden, to resist.

Islam and Muslims have been subjected to attacks by politicians year after year until it has become a commonplace for Sweden's Muslims. The remarkable thing about this witch hunt though is that the same politicians will soon be knocking on the doors of the mosques and begging for Muslims’ votes. The question that begs to be asked is: Will Muslims be taken by the usual lying rhetoric or have they learned any lesson? We see that the same parties who want to make life miserable for the Muslims show a fake tenderness and kindness during their mosque visits when the election approaches. It is these same politicians who have treated Muslims as potential criminals or scapegoats for social problems during the past three years.

It does not escape the Muslims that politicians only care about their own interests. It does not matter what colors they are waving. Whatever is not to their benefit, they stamp upon it to extinguish it, even if it is their own principles and values. Secular democracy is now showing its true face. After the fall of communism and now when Islam is the only alternative for the bankrupt capitalist ideology that does not dare to confront the truth and deal with the real and serious problems that have marred and continue to mar people's existence into human inconceivability. Mental ill health, women's sexual objectification, unfair resource allocation and gang violence are examples of what a society must be able to handle. Politicians, representing the ideology, inability to solve these problems depends on the incapability of ideology that has caused these problems in the first place. In order to hide this inability from the people, they have to occupy the people with something else, a non-existing monster that needs to be fought against by all and any means necessary; and this monster is Islam. Therefore, they choose to attack Islam and Muslims, who carry the solutions to the problems, to conceal their failure, win points for the election, and mislead the people by scaring them to Islam. It is the ideology that generates this individual thinking and is therefore not specific to single politicians. All politicians fall victim to it and the increasing Islamic hostility in the Western world is proof of it.

Secular systems are closed around secularism. Some external influences are not allowed to occur. This, however, does not prevent the secularists from thumping their breasts and taking pride in themselves as the flag bearers of pluralism's.

Muslims are not against debate and discussion but can not be forced to find themselves defending irresponsible statements and accusations. It should be clear that, unlike democratic politicians, the Muslims will never leave their principles and beliefs no matter how heavy the pressure. Therefore, these useless smear campaigns and attempts to get Muslims to yield can end, with that said, we also know that it will not happen at a time when attacks on Islam and Muslims have become political point scorings. No matter how long these accusations continue or increase in their intensity, the Muslims will never abandon their Islam or change it. Instead this will only reveal the hypocrisy and weakness in the secular values.

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Scandinavia