Sweden’s deputy prime minister is pushing for a total public ban on burqas and niqabs, years after the conservative Sweden Democrats (SD) argued for the same.
Ebba Busch, leader of the Christian Democrats (KD), said over the weekend that “Islam must adapt in Sweden.”
You can be a proud Swedish Muslim, Christian, Jew, atheist, but there are fundamental Swedish values that must apply to us all.
Busch was interviewed by Swedish daily Aftonbladet, which cited her as describing the coverings as “an expression of a strict interpretation of Islam practiced in totalitarian states such as Iran and Afghanistan” that is “completely incompatible with Swedish values.”
SD MEP Charlie Weimers similarly argued in 2021 that there is “no more potent symbol of distancing from Western culture and assimilation than the burqa and niqab,” adding, “The garments not only alienate those who wear them but also erode the social fabric.”
Musab Rashid, an imam in Sweden, said on Sunday that a ban on the burqa would mean “there is no difference between you and those who force women to wear a burqa.” Writer Owe Nilsson also asked:
So we’re going to introduce clothing police like in Iran. Should there be a special force for that, or should the parking attendants handle it? Or the police, they don’t have anything to do anyway. And the punishment, fines, prison or whipping?
Busch dismissed such arguments as “the type of very naive liberalism, or lax social policy, that has brought Sweden to the situation we are in today.”
With a failed integration [system] that currently means that approximately a quarter of a million young people in Sweden are estimated to be living under circumstances similar to honor oppression.
The coverings are already banned—either fully or partially—in Austria, Belgium, France, Switzerland and elsewhere across Europe. Busch’s proposal prompted Norwegian associate professor Terje Knutsen to say a ban should be considered in his country too.
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
