Islam is an anti-democratic, pro-violence, misogynistic religion/ideology founded by the warlord, mass murderer, slave trader and bandit Muhammad.
That’s what the Sweden Democrat member of parliament, chairman of the justice committee, wrote Richard Jomshof community service in X a couple of weeks ago.
Another member of the Diet of Sweden Democrats, chairman of the Swedish delegation to the European Security and Cooperation Organization OSCE Björn Söder shuddered again in X at the beginning of August. He wrote like this:
Both the Speaker of the Diet and the Prime Minister justify pedophilia! Scary. It is completely unacceptable! (Source Expo 3.8.2023)
Söder spread pictures in X, on the basis of which he connected the Pride festival of sexual and gender minorities with pedophilia. However, the photos were not from Stockholm Pride, shows that researches racist groups and the extreme right Expo report.
Prime minister Ulf Kristersson and Speaker of the Diet Andreas Norlén got into Söder’s firing line because Kristersson had allowed rainbow flags to be hung on the balcony of his official residence and Norlén had promised to give the opening speech of Pride.
Söder has since deleted most of his posts.
The statements of the Sweden Democrats are reminiscent Riikka Purran of black verses and turkish monkey – and of Wille Rydmanwhich would rather ban people wearing scarves than those scarves.
Can the situation of the Sweden Democrats and basic Finns be compared? Researching right-wing populism in the Nordic countries and Europe Ann-Cathrine Jungar from Södertörn University in Huddinge and a media researcher Anu Koivunen They are responsible for the University of Turku.
Similar, but different
Basic Finns and Sweden Democrats are united by ideological similarity, states Ann-Cathrine Jungar. The parties are right-wing populists and anti-immigration. They want to protect their own nation, history, culture and language against others, and “those others” are often Muslims. There are Islamophobic and Islam-critical positions in both parties.
The parties are separated by their roots, and how other parties have reacted to them. Basic Finns have wanted to be seen as a continuation of the centre-populist Finnish Rural Party. It got its “moment” Timo Soinin as a pilot in 2011.
– The party has always been accepted. It has never been isolated. Party leader Timo Soini and other parties also wanted to consider it a different party. It was Finnish populism that could not be compared to other right-wing populists in Europe, Jungar tells by phone.
He notes that at the same time Jussi Halla-aho earned an international reputation as a critic of Islam – and he was convicted in Finland of inciting against a national group. Halla-aho’s sentence was based on, among other things, the claim of Islam as a pedophile religion.
After the breakup of Basic Finns in 2017, the party has more clearly joined the tradition of European right-wing populism than before.
The Sweden Democrats have their roots in the extreme right, and other parties refused to cooperate with it for a long time.
Party leader Jimmie Åkesson has worked for almost 20 years to make the party governable. The party has been purged, members have been fired, for example, because of racism, the youth organization has been distanced from it when it has been too radical, Jungar lists.
– The parties have had to deal with their extremist views in a different way. The closer they have gotten to power, the more difficult it has become, says Jungar.
Both parties are now in power: Basic Finns as the government party, Sweden Democrats as the government’s support party. Their support is in the same category, and they are the third largest parties in their country in support measurements.
In ‘s most recent survey, the support of basic Finns was 20.2 percent, the Sweden Democrats’ support in SVT’s survey was 18.1 percent.
A challenge to the political consensus
Media researcher Anu Koivunen points out that at the core of right-wing populist parties is the desire to challenge the political consensus. He sees the recent “commotions” in Finland and Sweden as a sign that the politicians of the basic Finns and Sweden Democrats have continued it.
– Such behavior and double communication are at the core of these parties. That is their central policy. That is what appeals to many of these parties. They are not new gestures, says Koivunen.
By double communication, he means that one message is conveyed to one’s own supporters, and another to the general public.
Dissertation researcher Theodora Helimäki from the University of Helsinki used In an interview with MTV3 Riikka Purra’s description of Muslim women as black sacks as an example of double communication. To his own supporters, Purra vetisti racist slur – to the general public, he explained his statement as a defense of women’s rights.
– In Finland, showing the middle finger has become a part of ministers’ communication due to government responsibility, in Sweden, efforts have been made to curb it in order to achieve government eligibility. The dynamics exist in both countries, but there has been a significant difference here, Koivunen estimates.
Jomshof’s criticism more open
Parliament representative Richard Jomshof’s statements about Islam have been a source of criticism in Sweden for a long time. A couple of years ago, Jomshof called Islam a disgusting ideology and religion in SVT’s argument.
In retrospect, Jomshof claimed his statement was a slip: he didn’t mean to talk about Islam, but about Islamism. Investigating racist groups and the extreme right Expo has shownthat the “slips” of Jomshof – and other Sweden Democrats – were already frequent at that time.
Ann-Cathrine Jungar points out that Jomshof’s criticism of Islam has become more open over the past year. Jungar believes that the rise of the Sweden Democrats to the support party of the government has contributed to the fact that Jomshof no longer needs to appear completely politically correct.
– We want to show our supporters that the party has not become a mere pale copy even more, says Jungar.
Statements are difficult for the government
For the Swedish government, Jomshof’s statements are embarrassing in a situation where Turkey has not accepted the country’s NATO membership, the burning of Korans has angered several Muslim countries, and the security police Säpo warns of a deteriorating security situation.
Media researcher Anu Koivunen considers Jomshof’s statements to be examples of exactly how the Sweden Democrats challenge the political consensus, even though the party is committed to promoting Sweden’s NATO membership.
– The Prime Minister’s appeal to curb rhetoric and shut up is an invitation to a politician coming from a right-wing populist culture to defy the call and use the situation for politicking, says Koivunen.
He points out that Jomshof at the same time positioned himself as a defender of Swedish core values, the constitution and freedom of speech. Koivunen believes that it is a carefully thought out strategy.
Both Sweden Democrats and Basic Finns can test the limits of political speech, because the countries’ governments depend on their support.
– In the results of the last election, the Sweden Democrats is the largest right-wing party, and it has a strategically important position for the government. Then you can play a little harder. The risks of exclusion are small, says Ann-Cathrine Jungar.
– Kristersson is a prisoner of the Sweden Democrats in the same way that Orpo is of basic Finns, says Koivunen.
There are also demands for resignations from the governing parties
Sweden’s opposition has demanded Jomshof’s resignation as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, but criticism of Islam statements has also come from government parties.
– His tweeting is inappropriate in this situation. It is clear that he wants to provoke with his language, the Liberal MP Joar Forssell says the newspaper in Dagens Nyheter (DN).
– It’s stupid. No, that’s beyond stupid. It is completely intentional – a planned and calculated act on his part, says the Liberal MP Carl B Hamilton.
The opposition’s tone has been somewhat more serious.
– Richard Jomshof continues his hate propaganda against Islam. He has become a security risk in the position he holds, vice-chairman of the foreign policy committee, of the Social Democrats Morgan Johansson downloaded on Swedish television.
Jomshof’s resignation is also required in two online addresses, of which second has collected more than 20,000 signatures, second only a few dozen.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has also been demanded to fire Jomshof. He has replied that neither the government nor the prime minister can dictate the activities of the Diet.
– I don’t interfere with who the committee chairs are in the Diet, Kristersson announced at a press conference at the beginning of August.
However, he urged everyone, including Jomshof, to avoid speaking disparagingly of other people, religions or countries.
No concrete initiatives to separate Jomshof have been made in the Diet during the summer break.
Instead, Björn Söder’s days at the top of the Sweden Democrats may be numbered. Several party members evaluated newspaper Aftonbladetthat Söder, who became known for his homophobia, went too far this time, and cannot continue in the party government.