Islam
Under Scrutiny by Ex-Muslims
Sweden: Politicians Call for Foreign Language Ban in Schools
04 Jan, 2006
- Two local Liberal Party politicians in Malmö, Sweden’s third largest city, want to ban the use of languages other than Swedish in school classrooms. Allan Widman, one of the politicians, said “In Malmö we have a very unique situation: we are close to the point where a majority of pupils have a foreign background, which is to say that either they or their parents come from a country outside Sweden,” Some schools in Malmö have as few as 5 percent ethnic Swedes in their classrooms.
- The proposal to ban foreign languages in schools first emerged in the run up to the election campaign. According to Widman, there was little debate at the time. But now that the proposal is on the table opinion is divided. “When I first came up with it, I thought it was a rather obvious rule to have. But over the last 24 hours I have been surprised by how controversial it seems,” he said.
- In 2005, all-Arabic preschool classes were introduced in Malmö. According to the school authorities it is easier for children to learn Swedish once they have learned the language of their parents.
- Within a decade or two Malmö is likely to become the first Scandinavian city with a Muslim majority. The city is also the crime capital of Sweden. It has nine times as many reported robberies per capita as Copenhagen, Denmark. The victims are almost always indigenous Swedes. The wave of robberies the city of Malmö has witnessed during this past year is part of a “war against Swedes.” This is the explanation given by young robbers with immigrant background on why they are only robbing native Swedes. “When we are in the city and robbing, we are waging a war against the Swedes.”
Fjordman is based in Norway. He contributes in Brussels Journal,
Gates of Vienna and Faith Freedom International amongst other
Websites. His personal blog (currently inactive):
www.fjordman.blogspot.com