“Pay no attention that mujahid behind al-raya! That black flag is simply a religious symbol, representing the Islamic faith. It has nothing to do with violence and hatred. It stands for peace, tolerance, and interfaith understanding.”

This, in essence, is what Imam Sejdulija Huskic would have you believe about the black flag of jihad — al-raya — flying over a Bosnian association in Gothenburg, Sweden. His words are classical kitman, or sacred misdirection. But how many Swedes are actually fooled by them?

The imam spoke to Expressen after the media discovered the black flag and reported it. Despite his soothing words and apparent unconcern, however, the newspaper noted that “just hours after GT.se published article on it, the flag was taken down. At 2 pm it was missing.”

The imam spoke to the paper in English. Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading and annotating this video excerpt from the news report:

Tobias Svensson, who blogs at Tobbes Medieblogg, has not been suckered by Imam Huskic’s bland reassurances:

The premises apparently belong to a Bosnian association, but the newspaper is having difficulty getting any answers about why this black flag was hanging there. Imam Sejdulija Huskic seems to present some customary kitman when he explains that the flag is merely religious, and adds:

“There is no reason for concern. I can not understand why people are linking it with Al Qaeda.”

Mr. Svensson adds:

“A flag is not a big problem in itself . The problem is that we are continuously cramming our country with people who obviously support both Salafism and terrorism.”

I wonder what Sweden’s new archbishop Antje Jackelén thinks of all this brouhaha…?

For a complete listing of previous enrichment news, see The Cultural Enrichment Archives.

Hat tip: LN.