Integrating Muslims into Europe is ‘impossible’, says Czech president

Zeman, a 71-year-old leftwinger and the first-ever directly elected president of the Czech Republic, has repeatedly spoken out against the surge of migrant and refugee arrivals in Europe.

 

Earlier this month, Zeman claimed the influx was masterminded by Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, saying the Islamist group was using money from several states to finance it in a bid to “gradually control Europe”.

 

Late last year, Zeman called the surge in refugee numbers “an organised invasion”, urging young men from Iraq and Syria to “take up arms” against the Islamic State (IS) group instead of running away.

 

More than one million migrants reached Europe in 2015, most of them refugees fleeing war and violence in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

 

But few asylum seekers have chosen to stay in the largely secular Czech Republic, an EU and NATO member of 10.5 million people, with the majority heading to wealthier Germany and other western states.

 

The Czech government has pledged to accept refugees under an EU quota scheme to place 160,000 asylum seekers throughout the bloc, despite prime minister Bohuslav Sobotka saying it is doomed to failure given refugees’ determination to head to Germany and other favoured countries.

 

On Sunday, Pope Francis welcomed 5,000 migrant worshippers at a special mass at St Peter’s to mark the world day of migrants and refugees, urging them to treasure their culture and values as they start their new lives.

 

Read More: Integrating Muslims into Europe is ‘impossible’, says Czech president | World news | The Guardian

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