Religious groups worry about premises safety

Some members of religious communities noted that their sense of security is undermined because of the prejudices, fears, threats, and different kinds of hate speech they have experienced, according to a government report.

The Ministry of the Interior on Friday published the report on the perceived security threats raised by different religious communities in Finland concerning their religious premises, said the ministry in a press release.

The report also lists proposals for improving the safety and security of such premises.

On 20 July 2020, the Ministry of the Interior set up a working group tasked with identifying security threats to the premises of religious communities. The survey was carried out online on all religious communities operating in Finland. A total of 309 responses were received.

The responses showed that roughly three in four respondents (74%) feel that their religious premises are safe.

“Yet there are noteworthy differences between different religious groups. Almost 93 per cent of Christian respondents felt safe in the vicinity of their church and other religious premises. However, only 69 per cent of Muslim respondents and only one-third of Jewish respondents felt safe near their respective religious premises,” said the chairperson of the working group, Tarja Mankkinen, who is the head of development at the Ministry of the Interior.

The respondents indicate that their lost sense of security was due to factors such as troublemakers or other disturbing behaviours in the vicinity of the religious premises, inadequate transport arrangements, poor lighting or lack of lighting outside such premises, and vandalism, including defacement of walls or other property damage.

“Almost half of the respondents felt that hate speech on the Internet affects their sense of security. Half of the respondents also pointed out that because of online hate speech they no longer visit their own religious premises as often as they used to,” said Mankkinen.

The survey also revealed that one in five respondents has encountered violence or a threat of violence inside or in the vicinity of their religious premises. In particular, violence has been experienced by members of Finland’s Jewish communities, representing 40 per cent of the respondents.

The survey also mapped out ways to improve the safety and security of the premises of religious communities.

“The users of religious premises wished that their communities would have in place clear safety plans, crisis plans, and rescue plans. They also want to have training on security issues,” said Mankkinen.

The respondents moreover felt that the security of the premises could be improved, e.g., by installing video surveillance or door entry alarm systems or hiring security guards, keeping the doors locked, avoiding being alone, drawing up clear safety guidelines and escape routes, and by reporting about and intervening in unsafe situations.

The results of the survey were analysed by Jana Turk, a doctoral student at the University of Helsinki. The analysis is statistically representative for the Christian and Islamic communities, but not for the Jewish community because of its inadequate response rate.

Issues and concerns related to the security of the premises of religious communities have emerged internationally in recent years as a result of terrorist attacks against them.

As for Finland, the threat has at least been made public in the annual report of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service.