Some EU Nations Go Public: Christian Refugees More Welcomed Than Muslims
The island of Cyprus, along with Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, are joining other European Union nations in saying that because of cultural differences, they prefer to take in Christian migrants of the refugee crisis.
The Times of Israel is reporting that Cyprus Interior Minister Socrates Hasikos has reiterated the position of their preference for Christians for cultural reasons. He believes it's a matter of assimilation, noting that they are a better fit within the culture of the island nation.
Hasikos says, "We have already stated that 260, a maximum of 300, people can be taken in" by the island nation located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
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He added that he preferred for the refugees to be "Orthodox Christians," adding that "everybody [in the EU] should pitch in."
Almost 80 percent of the island identifies as Greek Orthodox.
Slovakia, Estonia, and the Czech Republic also emphasized a preference for Christian refugees, noting that "cultural cohesion" is an important factor for taking in migrants.
"Refugees from a completely different cultural background would not be in a good position in the Czech Republic," declared Czech President Milos Zeman.
Estonia Social Affairs Minister Margus Tsahkna put it more bluntly, explaining that, "After all, we are a country belonging to Christian culture."
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov declared that their country "has nothing against Muslims," but also pointed out that by taking them in "it radically changes the country's demography."
Backlash against Muslim refugees in some European countries is reaching new heights, as politicians try to delicately balance a humanitarian crisis with the desire of their electorate. Anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic political parties have secured gains in recent elections across Europe.
Germany has experienced considerable pushback against plans where Prime Minister Angela Merkel has received criticism from members of her own government, German citizens, and even other European leaders.
A Wall Street Journal editorial from September pointed out criticism of Merkel's plans, saying her country and policies are exacerbating the problem.
"Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban last week blamed Germany's immigration policies and generous welfare system for emboldening more migrants to come to Western Europe — an opinion shared by several Central and Eastern European governments. Europe's migrant crisis was "a German problem," declared Orban.
Brietbart News reported Wednesday that a 24-year-old Muslim Syrian migrant attacked several German women, some of them sexually, in a span of two hours. Several incidents of violent rapes were reported by migrants entering into Sweden in the past few months.
The Christian Post reported Tuesday comments from GOP Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who argued that the U.S. should not take refugees because of the difficulty in identifying their origin and background:
"We are just going to open our doors and we don't have any idea who these people are, but we do know that only one out of five of the so-called Syrian refugees who went into Europe are actually Syrian," Huckabee stressed. "Many of them, we had no idea who they were. They weren't Syrian."
"Are we going to open the door so that ISIS people will come in and we'll give them a place to stay and medical benefits?" Huckabee asked. "My gosh, we are $19 trillion in debt. We can't even afford to take care of Americans. If we are going to do something for the Syrians, let's find out who they really are, and the ones that are in danger, let's help build an encampment for them, but closer to where they live when they don't know the [English] language, the culture."
