Anti-Islam Hungarian village says white nationalists from across Europe are welcome

A village in Hungary that has banned Muslim dress and "homosexual propaganda" aims attract white nationalists from throughout Europe.

The town of Asotthalom is located in a remote part of southern Hungary near the Serbian border, and in November announced it was banning mosque construction, the use of a muezzin at prayer times and the wearing of clothes such as the niqab.

Echoing the language of Russian president and far-right icon Vladimir Putin, the community also announced a ban on "homosexual propaganda."

Now town mayor Laszlo Toroczkai has said the town hopes to attract other Christian Europeans opposed to multiculturalism.

"We primarily welcome people from western Europe - people who wouldn't like to live in a multicultural society," Toroczkai, who is also a deputy leader of the far right Jobbik party, told the BBC. "We wouldn't like to attract Muslims to the village."

"It's very important for the village to preserve its traditions. If large numbers of Muslims arrived here, they would not be able to integrate into the Christian community.

"We can see large Muslim communities in western Europe that haven't been able to integrate – and we don't want to have the same experience here," he says. "I'd like Europe to belong to Europeans, Asia to belong to Asians and Africa to belong to Africans. Simple as that."

Knights Templar International, a white nationalist organisation which counts as members former BNP boss Nick Griffin and former treasurer Jim Dowson, reportedly has close ties to Toroczkai, and has exorted sympathisers to settle in Hungary.

Europe has seen a surge of support for far right parties since the 2015 refugee crisis, in which millions of Middle Eastern and African refugees entered Europe, many passing through Hungary on their way to Germany and northern European countries with open asylum policies.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has adopted a staunchly anti-immigrant stance, building a fence along the border with Serbia to keep refugees out and refusing to take the country's EU quota of those granted asylum. On Tuesday (7 February), Orban announced plans to hold refugees in camps until their asylum applications are processed.

Toroczkai previously released a video where, surrounded by burly men dressed in camouflage, he warned refugees not to attempt to enter Hungary. The town has reportedly set up its own paramilitary style border patrols to complement to government patrols along the border fence.

The Hungarian Islamic Community said in November that that a letter appealing to Orban to take action against Asotthalom and uphold the rights of Hungarian Muslims went unanswered. Lawyers claim the controversial by-laws contravene the Hungarian constitution, and the government is due to rule on them in mid-February.

But for now, Mr Toroczkai said the town would remain "white, European, Christian."