Prince Charles: Anti-immigrant populism echoes ‘dark days of the 1930s’

Britain’s Prince Charles says the new wave of anti-immigrant populism worldwide has parallels with the “dark days of the 1930s.”

“We are now seeing the rise of many populist groups around the world that are increasingly aggressive towards those who adhere to a minority faith,” he said of discrimination against the world’s refugees on BBC 4 Radio’s “Thought for the Day” Thursday. “All of this has deeply disturbing echoes of the dark days of the 1930s.”

“I was born in 1948, just after the end of World War II, in which my parents’ generation had fought and died in a battle against intolerance, a monstrous extremism and an inhuman attempt to exterminate the Jewish population of Europe,” added Charles, the heir to the United Kingdom’s throne.

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“That nearly 70 years later we should still be seeing such evil persecution is to me beyond all belief. We owe it to those suffered and died so horribly not to repeat the horrors of the past.”

Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, cited both Christian and Muslim tradition to call for tolerance toward refugees.

“Normally as Christians we think of the birth of our lord Jesus Christ,” he said. “I wonder, though, if we might remember how the story of the Nativity unfolds, with the family fleeing to escape violent persecution.

“We might also remember that when [Islam’s] Prophet Mohammed migrated from Mecca to Medina, he did so because he too was seeking the freedom for himself and his followers to worship,” he added.

His comments come in a year that saw victories for candidates and groups pushing for tighter controls on immigration and amid a massive refugee crisis sparked by the war in Syria.

President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on reducing illegal immigration, tougher border security and more stringent vetting of migrants. Trump on Wednesday said a string of attacks in Europe this week show he is “right” about restricting Muslim immigration to the U.S.The president-elect floated a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S. during his campaign.

And in Britain this June, the public voted for “Brexit,” amid growing concerns about immigration.