The cultural left in Sweden is in a state of confusion after a right wing nationalist group organised a gay pride march through a Muslim neighbourhood.

Jan Sjunnesson, former editor-in-chief of Samtiden, the newspaper of the right wing Sweden Democrats, is organising Pride Järva – which he says will feature men kissing – to go through the Stockholm districts of Tensta and Husby. According to some estimates, these areas are up to 75 per cent Muslim.

Organisers said there was no dress code, adding: “You could take the opportunity to tan your belly and legs in the sunny weather.”

However, angry left wing and gay rights activists have taken to Facebook, denouncing the planned pride march as “right wing”, “xenophobic” and “pure racism”.

A counter-demonstration is now planned, with organisers claiming Järva Pride “pits two oppressed groups against one another.”

Taxpayer-funded gay rights group RFSL has distanced itself from the pride march, accusing it of promoting racism and white privilege, while some activists are even calling for the organisers to be arrested for “hate speech”.

Canadian blog Blazingcatfur writes:

Gay pride parades in Europe generally don’t go anywhere near Muslim areas, for obvious reasons. In Nørrebro, Copenhagen (where only 30% of the population are Muslim, as opposed to the more than 75% in the Swedish areas), gay pride parades learned the hard way not to tread within Islamic strongholds. Formerly, there was a large gay pride parade that went through Nørrebrogade (the main high street of the area). Gays would take stones to the head every year from Muslims, so they re-routed.

It adds:

If gays are attacked in an area that’s only 30% Muslim, just imagine what will happen in an area that’s over 75% Muslim. There is a 100% chance that the gays marching through Tensta and Husby will be attacked, maybe even fatally – and, when they’re attacked, feminists and gay rights activists will be siding with the Muslims who are attacking them.

Last year, the Sweden Democrats won 49 seats in the country’s parliament on an anti-immigration, pro-family ticket and are now the third largest party in the country.