Attack on Two Iranian Christian Converts
A reporter from the Persian-Speaking Christians News Network reported from Finland that on Sunday, March 6, two Iranian Christian converts were injured in an attack by extremist Muslims at the Helsinki refugee camp.
The attack took place at a refugee camp near the city of Helsinki and was carried out by several non-Iranian extremist Muslims. After starting a quarrel, the attackers assaulted the two Iranian Christian converts with knives.
According to the report, both Persian-speaking Christians sustained injuries to their hands. The condition of both Iranian Christians is reported to be good.
In an interview conducted by the Persian-Speaking Christians News Network reporter with the injured Christians, the incident occurred at the refugee camp following the participation of the two Christian converts in a church service. One of the attacked converts stated in the interview: “On Sunday, after the church service, we were eating food when several Iraqi Kurds and Syrian Arabs approached us and aggressively objected to us eating non-halal meat. As we were explaining, suddenly one of them attacked me with a knife. After the knife struck my hand, he attempted to stab my neck when my Christian companion used his hand to block the blow, and his fingers were also wounded. Of course, we had previously faced harassment from these people because of our Christian faith.”
The intervention of camp security personnel prevented the continuation of the altercation. Helsinki police, after arriving at the refugee camp, reviewed security camera footage and detained all individuals involved in the attack. The two Christian converts were returned to their camp after receiving initial medical treatment and questioning. The attacker was transferred from the Helsinki police station to another refugee camp in northern Finland, and it is likely he will be deported to his country of origin. The attacker’s companions remain in police custody and have denied their involvement in the dispute.
In the past two months, this is the third reported incident of Muslims attacking Christians in Finnish refugee camps. Numerous reports have been submitted to the Finnish Immigration Authority regarding “preventing Christians from entering the camp dining hall by extremist Muslims, creating harassment for Christians for attending church services, and insulting and humiliating Christians.”
Asylum seekers to Finland by the end of 2015 have increased approximately tenfold compared to previous years. The acceptance of this number of asylum seekers by Finland’s Ministry of Migration has been met with protests from right-wing party representatives and various reactions from the public and civil society groups.
