Local Muslims wary of Hungary's anti-migrant referendum
Local Muslims wary of Hungary's anti-migrant referendum
Published: 05:34 pm Oct 01, 2016
BUDAPEST: Muslims in Hungary say they are wary of the government's anti-migrant referendum which they say has boosted xenophobic feelings. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said Hungarians have 'no problems' with the local Muslim community, but that any mandatory European Union quotas to relocate asylum seekers, including many Muslims, would destroy Hungary's Christian identity and culture. Orban hopes that rejecting the EU quotas in Sunday's referendum will force Brussels to reconsider the scheme. While Hungarians have been bombarded by the government's anti-migrant campaign, some 30 people took part in a 'Muslims living among us' walking tour of a Budapest neighborhood to show the community's 'human face.' Timea Nagy, a Hungarian Muslim who participated in the three-hour tour, said that 'I'm starting to feel that my own homeland is repudiating me.'