According to Haaretz;
Swedish nationalists are planning a gay 'pride' march through Muslim-majority districts in the country's capital, according to media reports and a dedicated Facebook page.
The march, called 'Pride Järva,' is scheduled to take place on July 29, and will pass through Tensta and Husby, majority-Muslim districts in Stockholm's north. (Järva is the name of an adjacent area.) Husby was the center of the 2013 Stockholm riots, which began in response to allegations of police brutality.
According to the event's Facebook page, the march will include public “kissing."
The organizer of the march, Jan Sjunnesson, is the former editor of the far-right Sweden Democrats' newspaper, the Samtiden. The Sweden Democrats are known for their anti-immigration policies, and came out strongly in support of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten when it published cartoons derogatively depicting the Prophet Mohammed in 2005.
'Expression of pure racism'
The scheduled march has been criticized as provocative and racist by those on the left, with angry comments appearing on the event's Facebook page. Two residents of the Jarva area, Noah Nord and Emelie Mårtensson, claim that 'Jarva Pride' “pits two oppressed groups against each other,” and have organized a counter-demonstration.
One person to defend the march is evolutionary biologist and outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins, who slammed criticism of the event as emblematic of "the pathetic Left.
Now, I'm frustrated that the Swedish political establishment is viewing this as a "racist" and "provocative event." If anything, it really goes to show how hypocritical the Swedish left can be. After all, respecting gay rights is an integral part of Swedish values, and being from a neighborhood where this isn't respected shouldn't exempt you from seeing a gay pride parade, nor should it exempt you from refusals to integrate.
I'll be clear, and say that the immigrants and muslims in Sweden who decide to both respect Swedish values and their religious values should be commended to the fullest, as they are fully integrated into Swedish society. So, in case some accusations fly, I'm not ripping on muslims or any other group, since some in Sweden are integrated and upstanding, great citizens of Sweden. However, events that show immigrant communities about what Sweden is all about should be viewed with commendation, not condemnation.
Really, it's just madness that people are attacking this.
