Swedish Bishop Claims to Have ‘More in Common with Muslims’ Than ‘Right-Wing Christians’

The Bishop of Stockholm, Eva Brunne, poses for a picture at her office in Stockholm, Swede
ONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images
Chris Tomlinson

Controversial Bishop of Stockholm Eva Brunne revealed that she not only has a distaste for right-wing Christians, but claims to have more in common with Muslims.

The Church of Sweden bishop made her comments this week on the People and Faith programme broadcast on Sveriges Radio, stating that she believes that the subject of Christian values has been largely taken over by right-wing populists.

“We all have to think about which people we are and who we are living with. And in fact, we all have the same value. Although we do not speak the same language or pray to God in the same way or look the same, we have the same value, and we shall live in a country together and have the same rights,” she said, in comments reported by Nyheter Idag.

“I say that I sometimes have more in common with Muslims, those I meet, than with the right-wing Christians,” she said and went on to add that Christians have their own extremists, mentioning the Crusades and the witch burnings that took place hundreds of years ago.

“We hear a lot about terrorism and think that it is Muslims who practice this, which it is, but it is nevertheless a small, small minority of all the Muslims we know,” she added.

The first openly lesbian bishop in Sweden, Brunne has caused controversy in the past when she allocated Muslim prayer spaces in Swedish churches in 2015, demanding that crosses and other Christian symbols be removed as well. Brunne defended her decision comparing the spaces to multi-faith prayer rooms found in airports or hospitals.

The Stockholm bishop is not the only member of the church of Sweden to have expressed a fondness for Islam. Last year, Muslims in the city of Växjö lobbied the local government to allow for the public broadcast of the Islamic call to prayer.

While many rejected the idea, Bishop Fredrik Modeus announced his support for it saying: “I welcome the application and look forward to hearing both church bells and prayer announcements in our city.”

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com

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