Swedish Muslims as election campaign ammunition

At the request of Immigration Minister Nyamko Sabuni the Swedish government has commissioned the Swedish Security Service Säpo to present an analysis on militant Muslims in Sweden. The chairman of the Association of Christian Social Democrats, Peter Weiderud, voices fears on blog portal Newsmill that the subject of Islam is being politicised unnecessarily ahead of next autumn's elections: "There is a risk that Swedish Muslims will become a target in the election campaign. The [right-wing populist] Sweden Democrats have identified the Muslims as a lever for winning xenophobic votes in the Swedish parliament. At the same time the Sweden Democrat's line of argument is so coarse that it provokes a counter-reaction of tolerance - albeit at the price of an increasingly polarised society. Nyamko Sabuni's populist and more subtle request is an attempt to capitalise on this polarisation. It is therefore just as great a threat for Swedish Muslims as the message of the Sweden Democrats, because it labels both Islam and Muslims as unreliable and dangerous."

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