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156 KRISZTINA BARCSA — ANDRÁS MÁTÉ-TÓTH — SÁRA HEIDL
expressed his deep agreement with Viktor Orbán and his measures in 2015. He saw
the migration processes as a directed invasion and underlined that the terrorists
had already infiltrated Europe, and that photos and videos can bear witness to it."
The leader of the Faith Church, Sándor Németh, held a similar position during
both periods. He saw these processes as an offensive invasion and called refugees
an "uncontrolled crowd" in 2016. In his opinion, the irresponsibility of Western
politicians was the cause of "dissatisfied masses" who are arriving in Europe.
Gábor Iványi, leader of the Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship, made strong
statements with a dominant humanitarian narrative in both periods. He expressed his
agreement openly with Pope Francis, with the video announcement made by Miklés
Beer and Tamäs Fabiny, and with the measurements of the EU between 2015 and 2017.
The Hungarian Krishna Consciousness Society published a statement on their
website, where they noted that providing assistance to those who were in trouble,
regardless of their skin color, nation or religion, isa humanitarian and moral imperative,
because they consider all living creatures as souls. They also proved these words
through their active involvement in the aid programs that assisted the refugees.’'
CONCLUSIONS
Overall, it can be seen that the humanitarian narrative was dominant in the
statements. In the second period between 2016 and 2017, as the situation and opinions
became more nuanced, the reflections on the public discussions increased, while the
presence of the securitisation narrative decreased. In the case of religious leaders,
the ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ formula appeared primarily in relation to populism. Usually the
refugees/Muslims versus the Hungarians/Christians/Jewish Communities/etc. were
contrasted in these cases. Migrants usually appeared as a threat in these discourses,
linked with directed invasion. This narrative was often linked further to the view
that European Christianity/the religiosity of individuals is weak and needs to be
strengthened. In such cases, agreement with the Hungarian government and its
measures was often expressed openly. We summarize the standpoints of religious
leaders in the following table, and show the presence of populism based on the
dominant narrative they used.
50 "Az iszlám terjesztése a migránsok célja". Mno.hu, 2015. http://mno.hu/magyar_nemzet_bel¬
foldi_hirei/aziszlam-terjesztese-a-migransok-celja-1304680 (Accessed 6 March 2016.)
"Menekültek étkeztetése — Két tranzit zónában segítünk". Krisna.bu, 2015. http://krisna.
hu/2015/menekulteketkeztetese/ (Accessed 6 March 2016.)
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