Far-right poliicians and Islamophobes of varying hues commonly blame Muslims for banning traditional Christmas parties at school. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. Those wanting to remove Christmas parties are Finns who believe that religion should not play a role in our schools since we are officially a secular state.
What happens when most of the students of the schools aren’t Christians and you insist that the Christmas party must go on? What does it say about our respect for other religions and cultures? Is it a power trip? Does it send a warning that we call the cultural and religious shots in Finnish society?
The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church is by far the biggest in Finland with 72.6% (4.004 million) of the population belonging to that faith. The second- and third-biggest religions in the country are the Islamic faith and the Finnish Orthodox Church with 1.3% (70,000) and 1.1% (61,690), respectively.
One question we could ask is why do we keep under a magnifying glass a congregation that accounts for only 1.3% of the population? The answer, I believe, is obvious: Islamophobia that lives another day thanks to denial and misinformation.
Why the open hostility if Finland is a country that guarantees religious freedom? Why is there so much hostility?
White Finnish privilege #55
A good example of white Finnish privilege is organizing Christmas parties at schools and by denying other religions the same public spaces. While Finland states publicly that the adaption of newcomers to Finland is a two-way process (Integration), it is in practice a one-way process (assimilation).
Disagree? Wasn’t President Sauli Niinistö quoted as saying in YLE, just before presidential election day that the only “public” spaces that foreigners have are the four walls of their homes?
Source: Yle News
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He said:
“I read in a newspaper of an Iraqi who had lived a long time in Finland and he said tha this [his culure] isn’t any problem. When I go home, to the store, anywhere, I behave like a Finn as in this society following the rule of the [cultural] game. But when I come home, I have Iraqi culture – truly impressive. And together with acquaintances can very well practice [my culture] but the starting point is that Finland’s values are respected, democracy, gender equality.”
What is wrong with what President Niinistö said in the above statement? Apart from being against the spirit of our laws, it assumes that people from other cultures aren’t as “enlightened” as Finns because they don’t know what is a democracy, and gender equality.
That is an assumption by the president. and if he didn’t know, people constantly learn new things. What hinders them from learning new waves is suspicion and prejudiced assumptions.
Instead of excluding and painting cultures with a single brush, why not try something more effective means like inclusion and respect?
A good start would be to give other cultures and religions their rightful public space. And to accept the fact that there is an ever-growing culturally and ethnically diverse society that includes everyone irrespective of their background.
See also:
- Defining white Finnish privilege #1: I have it and you don’t
- Defining white Finnish privilege #2: Third culture children versus “pupil with immigrant background”
- Defining white Finnish privilege #3 No history, no doctrine, no heroes and no martyrs
- Defining white Finnish privilege #4 Holding the short end of the stick
- Defining white Finnish privilege #5 It’s ok to be a racist
- Defining white Finnish privilege #6 Not having a voice and the media
- Defining white Finnish privilege #7 A definitive guide
- Defining white Finnish privilege #8 Underrated and less intelligent
- Defining white Finnish privilege #9 Mohammad Ali’s insight
- Defining white Finnish privilege #10 I can victimize and make up any story I like about migrants because I’m white
- Defining white Finnish privilege #11: Case Teuvo Hakkarainen
- Defining white Finnish privilege #12: Case Tom Packalén
- Defining white Finnish privilege #13: Case Matti Putkonen
- Defining white Finnish privilege #14: Losing sight of the real issue
- Defining white Finnish privilege #15: Case Halla-ago on the PS
- Defining white Finnish privilege #16: Rosa Emilia Clay and my history versus yours
- Defining white Finnish privilege #17: The Perussuomalaiset and our civil rights
- Defining white Finnish privilege #18: Labeling others according to your prejudice
- Defining white Finnish privilege #19: My rape statistics about your group
- Defining white Finnish privilege #20: Labeling Others to strengthen “us” and “them.”
- Defining white Finnish privilege #21: Who can be a Finn?
- Defining white Finnish privilege #22: From racist, fascist to a politician without memory
- Defining white Finnish privilege #23: Greater police powers to monitor migrants and minorities
- Defining white Finnish privilege #24: Becoming a heartless accomplice in wars and people’s suffering
- Defining white Finnish privilege #25: This land is my land, this isn’t your land
- Defining white Finnish privilege #26: Are you an ethnic Finn?
- Defining white Finnish privilege #27: White versus Other media
- Defining white Finnish privilege #28: Are you an ethnic Finn (Part 2)?
- Defining white Finnish privilege #29: Your family is worth less than mine
- White Finnish privilege #30: Whitewashing and racializing the news
- White Finnish privilege #31: The Soldiers of Odin and the Finnish media
- White Finnish privilege #32: The white Finnish police and “them”
- White Finnish privilege #33: Appropriating our narrative to maintain the status quo, amass more power and privilege
- White Finnish privilege #34: Building a political career on privilege and nativist nationalism
- White Finnish privilege #35: Case Sampo Terho and the ministry of (dis)culture
- White Finnish privilege #36: Hate speech and censorship
- White Finnish privilege #37: The master of near-everything
- Defining white Finnish privilege #38: Cultural appropriation and racism are quaint discussion topics between white Finns
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #39: The Hollywood ending of racism that will never happen in Finland
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #40: To whitewash or to disenfranchise
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #41: An Islamophobic politician and gender equality
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #42: Labeling and shaming
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #43: White versus dark skin
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #44: Defending Nazis’ rights to march is ok as long we agree on the common enemy
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #45: Do blondes have more fun?
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #46: Teuvo Hakkarainen = white racism and sexism
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #47: President Sauli Niinistö’s “culture inside four walls”
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #48: Allow me to smear your religion so mine can shine
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #49: When white privilege backfires
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #50: Caving in to white narratives
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #51: The police are the defenders of white power and privilege
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #52: Having no privilege is dangerous
- Exposing white Finnish privilege #53: Plan Finland’s unplanned pregnancy campaign #ProtectBlackGirlsToo #Whatofme
- Exposing white FInnish privilege #54: Disguising your racism, bigotry, and prejudices effectively