Polish Radicals to Create Public Muslim Databas
The plan, which they have called ‘Muslimwatch,’ has chilling similarities to segregation policies in Poland in the late 1930s, according to a former Polish Imam.
“The initiative by the Polish Defense League (PDL) reminds me of the ‘Ghetto Benches’ before the war. We all know how that ended after 1939. The same could happen here. Someone will think of an Auschwitz for Muslims. It’s dangerous,” said Selim Chazbijewicz, who is a Polish Tatar and the former Imam for the Muslim community in Gdansk.
A report in RT today said that ghetto benches were a type of segregation used in the 1930’s, which forced Jews in a number of universities to sit apart from the other students.
The head of the PDL Dariusz Mazurek, said on his Facebook page that the organization wants to create an online platform, which would contain a database of Polish Muslims. This would include information about where they live, work and photographs.
“Citizens have a right to know where Muslims live. We will be publishing their addresses and their names,” he said.
The PDL, who have are closely linked to the anti-Muslim English Defence League, said that was still being built and will be launched in the near future. The idea is similar to the ‘Redwatch’ website, set up by the far-right British People’s Party to reveal the identities of anti-fascists and socialists.
Chazbijewicz is debating the legality of the proposed ‘Muslimwatch,’ saying he believes it will fall foul of Poland’s data protection laws.
“Such a register would be against the law. Poland is a democratic and secular country. I am sure the PDL will try and implement this, but I hope the response from the authorities will be quick,” the former Gdansk Imam said.
Poland's Muslim community is the smallest with roughly 20,000 and 40,000 living in the country, including 3,000 Tatars. The Polish Tatar population has long been established in Poland, after settling during the Middle Ages.
Source: World Bulletin
