Leaders of the Jewish and Muslim communities continued to raise concern about the long-standing ban against certain types of animal slaughter, which they said prevented them from killing the animals in a religiously-prescribed manner. Because the animals could not be slaughtered in a religiously approved manner domestically, members of these communities imported meat at higher prices. Government officials stated the provision allowing simultaneous stunning and slaughter of animals was meant to accommodate religious slaughter.
On March 31, the Supreme Court issued two preliminary decisions regarding male circumcision. The Court ruled that circumcision would not be considered an offense if it were in the child’s best interest, both parents consented to the procedure, and the circumcision was performed with great attention to detail. In its rulings, the Supreme Court strongly criticized the lack of clear legal guidelines surrounding male circumcision.
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health guidelines discouraged circumcision of males, including through dialogue with religious communities, and continued to withhold public healthcare funding for such procedures. In its guidelines, the ministry stated that non-medical circumcision of boys should only be performed by licensed physicians, that a child’s guardians should be informed of the risks and irreversibility of the procedure, and that it should not be carried out on boys old enough to understand the procedure without their consent. Religious communities, including members of Muslim and Jewish communities, expressed disagreement with the guidelines and said they were having discussions about the issue with the government.
According to the Ministry of Justice, there were 52 objectors to both military and alternative civilian service during the year, 10 of whom were imprisoned. The ministry did not indicate how many of these individuals objected to service for religious reasons. Forty-two objectors were allowed to serve their sentence at home but were required to wear electronic ankle monitors and follow a daily program approved as part of an individual enforcement plan. According to media and Ministry of Defense reports, the government exempted 100 to 150 Jehovah’s Witnesses from military service.
The government allocated 114 million euros ($120 million) to the ELC and 2.5 million euros ($2.8 million) to the Orthodox Church during the year in place of the corporate tax revenue payments. The government allocated a total of 532,000 euros ($560,600) among the 23 registered religious communities who applied for and received government funding (excluding the ELC and Orthodox Church), compared to 200,000 euros ($210,800) allocated in 2015. Registered religious communities could apply for separate funding for refurbishment projects for premises of registered religious communities, but the government granted no such funding during the year.
A government action plan to foster social inclusion entitled “Meaningful in Finland” included as one of its themes measures to strengthen interfaith dialogue through government grants. The Ministry of Education and Culture allocated approximately 80,000 euros ($84,300) for other interfaith dialogue initiatives.
Muslim religious leaders and Helsinki law enforcement officials continued to meet in an ongoing dialogue to try to overcome rifts within the Muslim community, and to build trust between Muslim communities and law enforcement. Representatives of various religious communities, including the Muslim community, continued to engage in dialogue with government authorities on ways to counter violent extremism as part of preventive policing efforts.
On May 21, at a Ministry for Foreign Affairs-hosted religious freedom seminar, Foreign Minister Timo Soini highlighted his concern about “increasing instances of religious intolerance, discrimination, and violence in many countries.” He called on governments and religious leaders to counter the trend by protecting religious minorities and continuing to promote religious freedom and understanding between communities.
There were incidents in which politicians made discriminatory remarks on social media aimed at Muslims. On July 19, Finns Party youth leader Sebastian Tynkkynen wrote on his Facebook account that the state must stop a “phenomenon of Islamification,” stating that the “fewer Muslims we have, the safer.” He added that “Islam needs to be ripped out of Finland,” and that although the state may not limit freedom of speech, it should “start up the reverse vending machine at full swing and empty Finland of those people who have no reason to be in our country.” On August 8, following a complaint from a member of the public, police in Oulu started a preliminary investigation into whether Tynkkynen incited racial hatred on social media. Tynkkynen resigned as Finns Party youth leader on July 12. On November 11, public broadcaster YLE reported that a deputy state prosecutor charged Tynkkynen with incitement of ethnic and religious hatred, and “breaching religious peace.”
On March 21, YLE reported the chair of the Tampere Finns Party chapter and Tampere city council member Terhi Kiemunki wrote a Facebook post after seeing children dressed in hijabs participating in an Easter event, stating “Is this some kind of integration [program] where Muslim children go around giving Easter blessings? Or does Allah also have some kind of anniversary today?” After being criticized for her comments, Kiemunki issued an apology on Facebook and requested a police investigation into whether her original Facebook post violated the law.
On September 27, Minister of the Interior Paula Risikko hosted a meeting for representatives of Christian, Jewish, and Shia and Sunni Muslim groups to “promote peaceful coexistence.” The groups signed a joint declaration to combat hate speech and advance cooperation.
The government is a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.