The Center for Security Policy hosted a panel discussion yesterday that ended with far-right Austrian activist Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff reading a version of Martin Niemöller’s famous anti-Nazi “First they came for…” poem adapted to be about opposing Muslim refugees.
The organization streamed the discussion on “Free Speech Under Fire: The Red-Green Axis’ Unrestricted Warfare in OSCE and Beyond” on Facebook.
Sabaditsch-Wolff said that the modified poem had been posted around Warsaw during a Polish independence day march earlier this month that featured far-right and fascist groups chanting slogans like “Pure Poland, white Poland!” The poem, she said, was “translated by a Polish member of our team.”
When the refugees came, I didn’t protest—they were poor refugees
When they established mosques, I didn’t protest—they had a right to pray
When they introduced halal food in schools, I didn’t protest—they can only eat what the Quran allows them to
When they carried out attacks, I didn’t protest—it’s only a small group of radicals which doesn’t represent true Islam
When they raped women, I didn’t protest—rapes occur in every culture and religion and they have nothing to do with Islam
When they demanded Sharia zones, I didn’t protest—they need their own space and we live in a free country
When their MPs took their seats in parliament, I didn’t protest—they’re almost half the population now, and they have a right to be represented
And when they introduced Sharia law, it was too late to protest
