When the crowds of desperate people at Keleti train station began to grow, many people in Hungary did come to help, bringing food, water and clothing. Thousands more gathered in front of the Parliament building demanding more humane treatment for the newcomers. But as the days unfolded, the authorities remained unmoved. The world watched, aghast, as police officers tried to trick, or forcefully move refugees into camps, some of them far out in the countryside.

Finally and with little fanfare, Hungarian buses appeared late Friday night at Keleti station to take the immigrants, now determined not to cooperate with authorities there, to Austria.

Through all the drama of the Hungarian refugee crisis, the biggest question was this: If Hungary didn't want the refugees, why go to such lengths to detain them? Why not just let them go to Germany, which promised to accept 800,000 asylum seekers?

As an answer, Mr. Orban hid behind European Union protocols, which require member states to register asylum seekers at the country of entry. But the truth is Mr. Orban does not only want to keep these refugees out of Hungary. He wants to keep them out of Europe. If razor wire fences don’t work, perhaps intimidation and detention will.

“Let us not forget, that those arriving have been raised in another religion, and represent a radically different culture. Most of them are not Christians, but Muslims,” Mr. Orban wrote in an article published in Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He went on: “Is it not worrying in itself that European Christianity is now barely able to keep Europe Christian? If we lose sight of this, the idea of Europe could become a minority interest in its own continent.”

If Mr. Orban’s method of dealing with Europe’s refugee crisis was limited to the way he is handling the situation in his own country, it would be worrisome enough. But far more troubling is the possibility that his political views could gain ground elsewhere in Europe.

Buoyed to power in Hungary through his nationalistic messages and policies, Mr. Orban is attempting to bring his star power to a much larger stage. And it’s not a message that reflects the fundamental values behind the European Union.