Photo credit: Yle
Nine Muslim organizations in Finland have called on the government to take immediate action after reports that the Interior Ministry discriminated against Muslim refugees when preparing this year’s quota allocations.
Helsinki Times reports that in a joint statement released on Monday, the groups backed the findings of the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman, who last week said the ministry’s political leadership favoured asylum seekers from Christian-majority countries while seeking to block those from Muslim-majority nations.
The statement said, “We agree with the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman’s view that the Ministry of the Interior’s policy was not based on humanitarian needs or integration criteria, but solely on religious discrimination.”
The organization urged Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to introduce measures to safeguard equal treatment and control Islamophobia.
