Slovakia draws the lines on immigrants: Christians welcome, Muslims aren’t

The government of Slovakia has said it will take in struggling migrants from Syria and other countries under a European Union scheme to share the burden of 40,000 new arrivals to the continent, but stipulated it will only be taking Christians, and not Muslims.

Members of the Turkish coast guards help a Syrian migrant family to disembark near the Aegean port city of Izmir, Aug. 11. / Osman Orsal / Reuters
Members of the Turkish coast guards help a Syrian migrant family to disembark near the Aegean port city of Izmir, Aug. 11. / Osman Orsal / Reuters

“We want to help Europe with the migration issue. We could take 800 Muslims but we don’t have any mosques in Slovakia so how can Muslims be integrated if they are not going to like it here?” interior ministry spokesman Ivan Metik said, arguing that the policy is not discriminatory.

“We want to really help Europe with this migration wave, but … we are only a transit country and the people don’t want to stay in Slovakia,” he added. BBC News reported that the migrant crisis in the EU reached record highs of 107,500 in July, with more and more people coming in, fleeing instability and poverty.

Over 240,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean this year, reaching the shores of Greece and Italy before being reallocated to other countries. … Slovakia is predominantly a Roman Catholic country, according to the CIA Factbook, with non-Christian faiths making up only a minority of the 5.5 million population.

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