Snorri says government is increasingly hard to take seriously

Mid-Center Party MP Snorri Másson questioned why Justice Minister Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir had not taken more targeted steps to prevent extremist Islamic ideas from gaining a foothold in Iceland, according to mbl.is.

His comments followed the minister’s remarks in an interview with mbl.is. Pakistani religious leader Muhammad Taqi Usmani, who has defended the death penalty for apostasy and punishments including amputation and stoning under Islamic law, gave a religious lecture at a gathering at the Grand Mosque on Bústaðavegur in Reykjavík last Wednesday. The minister said Usmani’s message was contrary to the fundamental values of Icelandic society.

Snorri said it was odd for a minister to speak as though she were an outside observer when responsibility for the policy area rested with her. He argued that the ministry had not made sufficient changes despite widespread calls to close the asylum system in its current form, restrict arrivals from outside the European Economic Area in line with the Mid-Center Party’s proposals, send home people who should not be in Iceland and do not contribute to society, revoke residence permits obtained on false grounds, and rewrite what he called failed immigration laws.

“Instead, there are showy measures, while essentially the same approach as under previous governments remains in place,” Snorri wrote on Facebook, referring to an immigration action plan presented to parliament earlier this month.

He also criticised Samfylkingin MP Ása Berglind Hjálmarsdóttir, saying she had threatened people who planned to criticise the government’s immigration policy. Snorri referred to remarks Ása made in parliament that such criticism could be interpreted as a violation of the hate-speech provisions in the General Penal Code. “While the minister says certain views have no place here, her allies threaten to prosecute those who want to oppose their spread in Iceland. It is becoming increasingly difficult to take this government seriously,” he wrote.