Bearded Swedish charity men mistaken for ISIS terrorists

Police visited the ruined castle of Brahehus, Sweden, on Saturday when a club of bearded men posing for a photoshoot with a black flag was mistaken for the Islamic State group.

One of the club members, Andreas Fransson, said that a motorist told the police about the gathering of some IS terrorists. Fransson said that the men belonged to a club called “Bearded Villains” which does charity work.

“We belong to a club that is part of an association created in the United States, called the Bearded Villains and which fights against injustice, homophobia, racism and oppression,” AFP reported him saying.

Fransson noted that the club’s flag has two crossed sabres on a black background, which is likely to be confused with the flag of the ISIS militant group. “The flag gets passed from club to club around the world and we take pictures with the flag to show our community,” he added. He had a conversation with The Independent and said that they had been waiting for the club’s flag for a long time, and finally arranged for this photoshoot after several efforts.

The two officers who came to take action against the bearded men had a good laugh after they realised what had actually happened, Fransson said. Fransson later talked about the incident on Facebook, noting that they never planned the run-in with the officers.

Co-leader of the Swedish club John Ekeblad told Sweden’s Metro newspaper that this was an incident to laugh at but at the same time, it brings to light the complications that bearded men could face. “ It’s one of the foundations of our brotherhood, that you should not judge others before you know the facts. It’s the same with beards – each and every day you hear someone say you are a terrorist, ” he said.

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