A politician in Sweden has sparked a scandal by blurting that Halal meat is imbued with ‘magical powers’ and can turn you into a Muslim, swedish news media reported earlier yesterday.
“You become a Muslim if you eat Halal meat,” Michael Ohman, the head of the nationalist party’s Heby wing told the Sala Allehanda newspaper of Sweden.
According to foreign media reports, the nationalist Sweden Democrat party, which has around 20 percent support amongst the population, also wants to ban halal meat in schools.
The report said that when asked by a reporter if he (Ohman) meant to say that Halal meat had magical powers, Ohman responded by saying, “Yes. This is precisely what we have warned of. They sneak Halal in everywhere.”
Ohman, who is a member of the Swedish Democrats from the small town of Heby, which is 115 kilometers northwest of the capital Stockholm, also mentioned he wants to see halal meat outlawed in local schools because he believes it is against the country’s animal welfare laws.
However, a Swedish political scientist told RT, a news agency that the move to condemn halal practices is unlikely to garner widespread support, as the majority of the population “generally support plurality,” and there is a widespread acceptance of Muslim values.