E-mail to a Swedish contact

Here's an e-mail that I just sent to an acquaintance of mine, Alan, who last time I checked lives in Stockholm. He's an American who married a Swede and has decided to make Stockholm home.

I sent the e-mail mainly to learn the truth about the race relations in Sweden.

Hi Alan,

Hope this finds you well. We haven't been in touch for quite some time, have we? Did I tell you about that story that I wrote about what makes Swedish people beautiful? Well it was very well received among my friends and relatives (they were asking whether Maria really existed!). Maybe it wasn't journalism in the classic sense but most of them said they learnt something about Sweden from that story and I would say thanks in large part to your very elaborate comment on the subject! :)

I am still with NST and Allan is still with The Star. The past one year has been pretty interesting for both of us; ever since we came back from Stockholm, Allan has had a break-up with his girlfriend and I am at the final stages of getting a divorce. We both think the chicks in Sweden had something to do with this! Ah but don't worry so much about it. It's probably for the better. In any case, we're happy to be back in the market. ;)

Are you still living in Stockholm?

After almost a year, I'm happy to report that I am still very much in love with Sweden. My eyes light up every time that country is mentioned. Can you relate to this? I have been reading a lot about Sweden and have even toyed with the idea of learning Swedish! My friends call me crazy. Love is abstract and it's true. My preoccupation with Sweden is difficult to explain. It's actually a lot of things coming together and not just about those beautiful blonde babes. I can relate to the cool Nordic temperament, for example, and I love the ideas of democratization of design and social insurance and the preoccupation with road safety. Not to mention that as aMuslim, it heartens me to no end that Sweden shares some of the same values with Islam, such as those about moderation, equality, alcohol and prostitution. I am not exaggerating when I say I have become more humane after having gone on that Stockholm trip! :)

At the same time, I've also read about violence that are getting rampant in the streets which are apparently perpetrated by immigrant youths (read:Muslims). They say Malmo is on the verge of being taken over by these immigrants, that the police no longer have control over some parts of the city and that Swedes themselves have become a minority in their own land. Is this true? It seems as though Sweden's ambition to become the world's most multicultural society has come back to bite it on its hands and I'm really concerned about this. Based on your experience, how are the race relations over there? Do you know any Swedish Muslim? Do you see hope in the future? I really hope you can advise me on this. It's just for my personal knowledge although I'm not discounting any good story idea that might come out of this. Malaysia is a multicultural society too, after all.

Warm regards,
Ridzwan