During a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, a debate took place on the need to combat rising anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hatred. ECR MEPs Patryk Jaki and Beata Kempa spoke during the debate.
Patryk Jaki noted that all forms of persecution are wrong, but at the same time pointed out that the European Parliament is once again discussing the persecution of Muslims, who, as he stated, are “given preferential treatment, brought to Europe, provided with social benefits, and there are even cases where Europeans are evicted and their apartments are given to Muslims.” As an example, he cited the situation of a 77-year-old resident of Würzburg, whom officials informed that she must vacate her apartment to make way for immigrants.
“Why are you talking about Muslims again, and not about the most persecuted religion in the world, namely Christianity?” the MEP asked. To support this claim, he presented data from the World Persecution Index, according to which 360 million Christians are currently victims of persecution worldwide, and pointed out that they are most often persecuted by followers of Islam. He added that it is difficult to find a situation where the opposite is true, and that this will continue to be the case if Muslims become the majority in Europe. “Why, then, do you care more about the militant religion of Sharia than about your own religion of love, which has created the strength and uniqueness of this continent?” he asked. “You talk very often about women’s rights, so compare women’s rights in Islam with those in civilizations based on the Christian faith,” the Polish politician suggested. Patryk Jaki also stated that the deliberate practice of once again singling out Muslims when discussing persecution, while overlooking Christianity, is symbolic. “It’s high time to put an end to this!” he appealed.
Beata Kempa emphasized that she is opposed to extremism, hatred, and anyone suffering acts of violence of any kind. She noted, however, that such acts generally stem from a lack of education.
The MEP recalled that last month she presented an exhibition at the European Parliament commemorating the Ulm family. “A Polish family murdered by the Germans, including a mother in her ninth month of pregnancy, six small children, and her husband. Simply because they were protecting Jews from the atrocities of war, because they wanted to save them from extermination,” she said. The Polish politician said that such cases must be highlighted, but it is also important to emphasize that they were Christians. “Today, we must also speak out against Christianophobia in Europe and around the world,” —she argued, noting that, according to data from the OSCE’s latest annual report on hate crimes, there were 792 cases of anti-Christian hate in 34 European countries last year.
