Response to interpellation 2023/24:500 on the decommissioning of mosques
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the decommissioning of mosques and the handling of extremism. KD wants to introduce legally sound conditions for state grants in order to be able to deny support to organizations that spread extremism 1 and wants to investigate a ban on foreign funding of religious communities with links to Islamism 1. KD emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between Islam and Islamism, that Muslims have a right to freedom of religion 2 3 as well as strengthening trust in Muslims and reacting against hate crimes. SD considers that the state must close mosques that function as spy centers or spread extremism 4 and wants to demolish those that spread radical Islamist propaganda 5. SD wants the investigation into foreign funding to be carried out promptly 5 and that grants to congregations controlled by, for example, Iran be withdrawn immediately 5. SD argues that the state has a duty to protect citizens by shutting down socially harmful mosques 4. The government has taken and plans measures to counter violent Islamism, including strengthening legislation, providing resources to the police, and investigating foreign funding of organizations with links to extremism 3.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Madam Speaker! Nima Gholam Ali Pour has asked me if I see a need to be able to act against mosques that risk harming society and what such measures would look like in that case. Nima Gholam Ali Pour has also asked me if I will act to enable Sweden to close mosques that risk harming society.
A strong civic life is a central cornerstone of Swedish democracy. At the same time, it is important that organizations that in different ways spread extremist messages or act in opposition to fundamental freedoms and rights according to the Instrument of Government should not receive state support. This applies regardless of whether it concerns religious communities or other civil society organizations.
For the government, it is important that modern and legally secure conditions are introduced for state grants, which enable authorities that assess issues regarding state support to deny or withdraw grants to organizations that conduct activities that risk harming society. It is the government's ambition to be able to return to the Riksdag with proposals in this direction.
The law enforcement authorities can already at this time intervene against persons who are active within organizations and who use these for criminal purposes. The criminalized area has been expanded, among other things through the recently introduced crime of participation in a terrorist organization, which penalizes participating in the activities of a terrorist organization in a way that is intended to promote, strengthen, or support the organization. The Government has also recently presented a new national strategy against violent extremism and terrorism to provide a long-term direction for the work locally, nationally, and internationally.
Another important issue is the proposals that the Commission on the review of support to civil society (Ku 2020:02) submitted in its final report Right recipient - Review and integrity (SOU 2021:99). The Commission proposes that a support function should be established which, in certain cases, can assist authorities with in-depth reviews of activities that apply for or receive public funds. According to the proposal, such an in-depth review shall be carried out if, in a case, there is reason to assume that the activity in question associates with violent extremism or other anti-democratic environments in a way that gives reason to take special measures. This issue is currently being prepared within the Government Offices.
Finally, I want to mention that the government intends to appoint an inquiry which shall, among other things, review bans on foreign funding of, among other things, religious communities with links to Islamism and extremism.
Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD)
Madam Speaker! Religious freedom prevails in Sweden, and Islam is a religion. But that is not what we are to discuss here today, rather we are to discuss the fact that almost all mosques in Sweden have some connection to a foreign power or to the Muslim Brotherhood.
One does not need to be critical of Islam to understand that this is a problem. It is a problem because the countries that sponsor these mosques are trying to influence Swedish society in various ways through the mosques. It is even to the extent that it is often Muslims who are affected by this influence.
According to an article in Dagens Nyheter from 2017, the Turkish authority Diyanet operates nine mosques in Sweden that have state-paid imams from Turkey. In the same article from Dagens Nyheter, an expert in Middle Eastern studies states that Diyanet is used in Europe to control the Turkish diaspora and to disseminate the Turkish government's messages.
It is important that we begin to distinguish between those who use religion as a means of power and those who are covered by freedom of religion. Mosques that function as spy centers and the imams who are responsible for that type of activity are not covered by freedom of religion; rather, it is precisely these mosques and these imams who restrict other people's freedom of religion and, in the long run, threaten their security.
When it comes to such mosques, the state must act in some way. One of the state's most fundamental tasks is to protect its citizens. If we then know that a significant number of these mosques in different ways threaten Swedish citizens, the state has a duty to act against these mosques.
The Diyanet mosques have already been shut down in Austria as part of a larger campaign against extremism. The idea of shutting down mosques that spread extremism and other socially harmful activities is not something new. There are already European countries that choose to protect their citizens against such mosques. In France, they have also closed over 20 mosques, which I mention in my interpellation, and even there, they are closing the mosques because the state wants to counter extremism and foreign influence from certain Muslim dictatorships.
Countries with a strong tradition of freedom of religion have thus been able to distinguish between, on one hand, mosques that function as a weapon against democracy and, on the other hand, Muslims in general. The former are not covered by freedom of religion, and here the government must prioritize the safety and freedoms of Swedish citizens over the right of foreign mosques to conduct antagonistic activities.
That is exactly why I have asked Social Minister Jakob Forssmed if he intends to act to enable Sweden to close mosques that risk harming society. If we do not introduce such an order, extreme movements and Muslim dictatorships will continue to use mosques as a tool to harm Swedish citizens in various ways, and that is not something the Sverigedemokraterna can tolerate.
Sara Gille (SD)
Madam Speaker! It is good that the government intends to appoint an inquiry to review a potential ban on foreign funding of, among other things, religious communities with links to Islamism and extremism. I would, however, like this to happen promptly. It should not have to be so difficult and protracted to implement a ban on this.
In Sweden, there are a number of examples of both imams and mosques that spread radical Islamist and also anti-Semitic propaganda, and with that, the proportion of citizens who have expressed that they feel insecure has also increased. These are mosques that are often associated with a viewpoint that is anti-democratic.
I absolutely think that the state should dismantle these forms of mosques as they harm our democratic and Western society. I stand completely behind Jimmie Åkesson's opinion that one should map out and demolish these mosques in order to combat Islamism. We do not just need to do it, we must do it. I do, however, understand that it has sparked strong reactions, especially in the Muslim world but also among the red-green Islamist-loyal scum.
In all mosques in Sweden, there is some form of connection to Islamist organizations and religious extremism. That does not mean that all Muslims are Islamists. They are two separate things, and it is important to keep them apart.
This is a problem that does not only exist in Sweden but that we can also see in other countries in Europe. We need to follow France, among others, in this and act against extremism. France is leading the way when it comes to investigating mosques as well as shutting down those who engage in extremism.
Across the country, an LVU campaign has occurred, which is counted as the largest disinformation campaign in Sweden ever. The campaign has led to frightened parents and threatened social workers as well as contributed to an increased terror threat in the country. The campaign has shown that several mosque representatives urge lies instead of cooperation with the social services.
It is extremely important that not least religious leaders stand up against disinformation, which they have not done. The latest available figures from the Agency for Support to Religious Communities show that there are 235 registered Muslim congregations in Sweden linked to state-subsidy-eligible central organizations. Probably there are more Muslim congregations, but these are not registered in a central organization. An exact figure for these types of places of worship is not available. This is not sustainable anywhere.
All over the country, we have mosques where representatives practice religious extremism, and this is allowed to continue. Furthermore, these organizations receive state grants to continue their activities, when we instead should have closed the doors a long time ago. We must act instead of letting them continue with their activities, which are directly harmful to our country. The majority of mosques are controlled by, among others, the regime in Iran, and therefore the grants that the congregations receive from the state must be withdrawn immediately.
Madam Speaker! I would like to ask Minister Jakob Forssmed what possibilities there are to withdraw the support to various religious communities with today's legislation. Does the Minister not believe that Sweden should stop the religious extremism and the Islamization that is taking place all around the country?
Roger Hedlund (SD)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, the interpellor, for the question, and thank you, the Minister, for the answer in this important matter!
In Sweden, we have a serious situation regarding the widespread Islamism. I can say with certainty that it will worsen. That is why this issue is so important, and that is why it is so important that we now, when we have a new government in place with the support of the Sverigedemokraterna, for the first time can actually act on the issue.
I come from Gävle municipality, where we have a mosque that for some years now has been closely monitored by our local media. Gefle Dagblad has delivered several articles and presented evidence showing that Gävle's mosque practices the extreme interpretation of Islam called Salafism. It is thus the same interpretation of Islam that the terrorist organizations al-Qaeda and the Islamic State follow.
Gefle Dagblad has, in an exemplary manner, looked more closely at the mosque, highlighted the evidence for the citizens in our entire country and shown what Gävle's mosque has done during the time it has operated. This mosque has, therefore, praised the aforementioned terrorist organizations.
The mosque's imam has been sentenced to deportation as the Security Service considered that the person posed a threat to national security, and the person also left Sweden in 2022. This is just one of many examples of the problems we see arising in our mosques around the country.
It is therefore important, Madam Speaker, that we design tools based on the current situation we see in Sweden but also based on the future situation that we will see. We will face a worse situation with the spread of Islamism and its consequences.
We need to have tools to be able to act against these mosques, where extremism that harms our Swedish society is spread. These tools need to be designed partly based on how the situation looks today, and partly based on how the situation will look moving forward. We therefore need to have powerful tools to be able to act against the spread of Islamism.
We need to be able to act against these mosques and shut them down, just as has been done in many other places, for example in France where, as the interpellor so well pointed out, they have shut down a couple of dozen. This is not something new. It is only new in Sweden.
Madam Speaker! I thank the interpellator again for raising this important issue and for the fact that Jimmie Åkesson has also raised the issue on the agenda so that we have had the opportunity to debate and discuss the measures that we in Sweden now need to take so that Islamism does not spread and so that mosques do not continue to be a forum for spreading extremism and a number of different things that harm Swedish society.
We must act here, and we actually have the opportunity to act today because for the first time we have a government that understands the issues and that is not naive in the way that the previous Social Democratic government has shown great evidence of.
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, the interpellor, for the questions! I have answered them in principle, but I can try to clarify a bit further or elaborate on the text a bit more.
I share the view that we need better tools to approach extremism, violence-promoting Islamism, and other types of religious expressions where one, which one should not be able to do, hides behind religion when conducting espionage or engaging in extremism.
I do not, however, agree with some of the sweeping and very far-reaching statements that came from a couple of the members, but I agree that we need better tools to tackle extremism in different ways. Now we are acquiring that with a new and better regulatory framework so that we can stop contributions to organizations - religious and others - that do not live up to the requirements we set for basic values in society. This is important.
We will also appoint an inquiry to review how foreign funding of organizations with links to extremism and Islamism can be stopped. In addition, we have the support function that is being prepared, which will be important for obtaining more tools to stop extremist activity.
I would, however, like to emphasize that different countries have slightly different legal traditions when it comes to how one handles this type of problem. In Sweden, we have the tradition and the stance that it is the individuals that one targets, i.e., those individuals who commit various crimes or conduct an activity in a way that is not compatible with our fundamental values. It is they who, so to speak, receive the punishment.
The legislation has also been tightened. The penalties have been tightened. New crimes have been added. We have also strengthened the resources for the police and the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) so that they can prosecute crimes in an even more effective way. There is also a cooperation between the Agency for Support to Religious Communities and Säpo so that they can identify extremist, violence-oriented Islamism.
I want to emphasize that it is extremely important to distinguish between Islam and ordinary Muslims and Islamism, and that Muslims, just like everyone else, have the right to freedom of religion, the right to express themselves in public, and the right to display their symbols publicly. This is an important part of the freedom of religion that belongs to everyone.
Now we are acquiring better tools to prevent and stop extremism in different ways.
Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD)
Madam Speaker! That there unfortunately are quite a few mosques carrying out different types of socially harmful activities is an ongoing problem, and the examples are many. This week, Uppdrag granskning revealed that several representatives for different mosques have urged parents not to tell the truth to social services. They argued that it would lead to social services taking the children. Here we have, therefore, several mosques spreading mistrust towards social services, whose task is to support the parents and the children.
Five mosques in the review urged not to tell the truth to the social services. I am not surprised, because this follows a pattern of mosques counteracting integration. And it is an ideological issue - one of the Muslim Brotherhood's heaviest calls to Muslims is that Muslims should not mix with Jews and Christians. It is therefore not strange that we have mosques that actively counteract integration.
The question is whether these are mosques or whether they are political centers for realizing an Islamist agenda. I would argue that many mosques today work to realize an Islamist agenda. When it comes to the incident with social services, that is, that mosques have urged parents not to tell the truth to social services, it is something that primarily affects Muslim children, who do not receive the support from social services to which they are entitled. It is important to point out this: If one does not shut down these mosques, one has not done the Muslims a favor. Muslims are affected in different ways by these mosques.
This is neither the first nor the last scandal that a number of mosques have been involved in. There will be more scandals as long as these mosques with links to extremist movements and Muslim dictatorships are allowed to conduct their activities. These mosques will never conduct a sound operation, because they fundamentally have a political agenda with clearly worldly interests - not a religious agenda.
In this context, it is also important to see that there were mosques in Sweden that recruited terrorists who would participate in one of the most horrific genocides that have occurred during my lifetime. In the report Swedish Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq, published by the Swedish Defence University, examples are given of how leaders within various mosques both here in Sweden and around Europe have recruited terrorists to the Islamic State. These have then traveled to Syria and Iraq and fought and probably also participated in the atrocities. Such mosques should absolutely be closed given the suffering they have contributed to. Therefore, we need an order to be able to close mosques if they conduct socially harmful activities.
Madam Speaker! If it is tolerance for different religions and a general support for freedom of religion that is being sought, I can say that the activities that many of these mosques carry out do not strengthen tolerance for Islam. It is not, therefore, the case that one promotes tolerance by not closing down these mosques. By not closing down the mosques, one undermines the trust and support for freedom of religion.
Sara Gille (SD)
Madam Speaker! Is it not simply a matter of closing down the mosques that risk harming society? One could think so.
We have, for example, Fittja Mosque, which is funded by Diyanet, a Turkish authority that is directly under the dictator Erdogan and which maps out opponents of the Turkish regime abroad. Another example is Stockholm Mosque on Södermalm, which is run by the Islamic Association and is sponsored from the Middle East. The mosque has stated connections to the Muslim Brotherhood. Furthermore, it has occurred that anti-Semitic imams have been invited to the mosque. This has also occurred in other places; one example is an imam who for two years spread his anti-Semitic views from his mosque in Malmö.
Does the Minister and the Government really believe that this should be allowed to continue? If not, it should be in the Minister's interest to shut down radical mosques as soon as possible, which the Government actually can do if it wants to. As I mentioned in my previous speech, France is the country at the forefront regarding the closure of mosques that conduct radical Islamist propaganda. Sweden should do the same – and also refuse residence permits to imams who are sent here by a foreign country. They have no business being here.
Just yesterday, Säpo carried out an operation against a premises belonging to an Islamist association in Tyresö. Three violence-seeking Islamists were arrested, suspected of preparation for terrorist crimes and aggravated weapons offenses as a number of automatic weapons were seized. We shall not allow any form of radical Islamist or antisemitic propaganda here in Sweden.
Exactly what measures does the Minister intend to take to prevent radical Islamism and antisemitism from spreading in mosques?
Roger Hedlund (SD)
Madam Speaker! When I listen to the Minister for Social Affairs' answers to the interpellation's questions regarding the actions against mosques in Sweden, I see that we share the view that we need tools to act against Islamism, antisemitism, and the extreme values that are being spread in society today.
The Minister presents a series of measures and a new national strategy against violence-promoting extremism and terrorism. He also intends to appoint an inquiry to ban foreign funding of religious communities with links to Islamism and extremism. He is also preparing an inquiry report titled Rätt mottagare - granskning och integritet, where the inquiry proposes a support function for authorities so that they can review activities receiving public funds and be able to act against them if forms of extremism are discovered.
It is good tools that the government presents and that the minister puts forward in the interpellation answer. We share the views that we must act against terrorism, extremism, and Islamism. We need to be able to stand up against the extreme values that are spread in Swedish society, and then we need more tools.
We must look forward in time and not just think about how it feels and looks in society here and now. We must think about what development Sweden could face, and we need to develop the tools today instead of at a later stage. The tools need to exist now so that we can act now, not later. It is now we need the tools, because we will see a worsened situation in Sweden.
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Madam Speaker! I have accounted for the measures that the government has taken or will take to create further opportunities to counter violence-promoting Islamism or other extremism, regardless of in what form it appears.
Sweden has a fundamental tradition of acting against persons who in different ways conduct such activities and, naturally, also of creating better tools to prevent public funds from going to that type of activity. Some are already in place, and others are in progress and will be presented in the near future. I think that is very good.
I would like to say in this context that, for example, the LVU campaign has to a very large extent been orchestrated from abroad - state-supported. It would be appropriate if, in this debate, one wanted to highlight all the Muslim leaders who have gone against the campaign. This is well-described, for example, in a report from the Swedish Defence University, where Magnus Ranstorp et al. point this out and how important it is in this context - such as what these leaders have had to endure from the state actors supported from abroad.
I think it would be appropriate if the debaters highlighted these leaders, as they have made significant contributions. The same applies to how important it is to have a dialogue with ordinary Muslims in Sweden in different ways to strengthen trust and confidence - and so that we can work together against these Islamist elements.
It is also very important to react against what ordinary Muslims in Sweden are subjected to. When they come to the mosque, they can be subjected to different types of hate crimes, harassment, and insults. It is very important that we curb this and act against it in different ways to uphold Muslims' opportunity to practice their religion in Sweden.
I agree that a considerable number of Muslims in Sweden are also being subjected to the work that different types of regimes and organizations carry out from abroad to control Muslims in Sweden. This is not something that we can accept, but we must in different ways strengthen freedom and freedom of religion in our country.
I have already accounted for a long series of measures that we from the government's side have either already taken or plan to take to obtain better tools to act in various ways against extremism and Islamism, including violent Islamism. We are, of course, determined to complete this work.
Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD)
Madam Speaker! The intention is not that freedom of religion should be some kind of protection for those who want to harm other people, but in the case of the mosques, this is precisely what it has become. The mosques act in a socially harmful way and then refer to freedom of religion when they are to be held accountable. This will not be accepted by the general public for much longer.
There is a narrative that the Swedish state is and has been intolerant towards new religious movements. There is evidence for this, especially when it concerns how the free churches were treated. I am aware of this narrative, but it does not apply to mosques that have funding from very powerful states in the Middle East or mosques that are linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
This is about political issues and, in some cases, about geopolitical issues. It is not about religious issues or about freedom of religion. When it comes to these mosques, the Swedish state must show intolerance just as the state shows intolerance towards crime or other activities harmful to society. The alternative is that we let these mosques continue to harm people in various ways here in Sweden and restrict the freedoms of Swedish citizens.
The next time recruitment for the Islamic State takes place in some mosque here in Sweden, shouldn't the state then have tools to shut down mosques that recruit terrorists and murderers? They should, shouldn't they? That a terror center calls itself a mosque does not mean that it should be protected by freedom of religion.
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Madam Speaker! I thank Nima Gholam Ali Pour for the interpellation.
I have explained that the government takes extremism and violence-promoting Islamism very seriously. We have a strategy to work better together against this and to acquire additional tools to stop contributions that can go to extremist organizations in various ways. We are strengthening the legislation and adding new criminal classifications to make it easier to prosecute individuals. We are allocating resources to the Swedish Security Service and the police to counter this. We also intend to appoint an inquiry into foreign funding of various types of organizations with links to extremism or Islamism.
All this the government is doing, and it is very important. I share the view that we need to acquire better tools to curb different types of extremism that can hide under a religious cloak or that in other ways can have connections to violence-seeking Islamism or the like.
This is important. At the same time, it is very important to distinguish between, on one hand, Islam and Muslims' right to freedom of religion and, on the other hand, Islamism. It is further about Muslims' right to be visible in public contexts and to have appropriate premises for the religious practice that all people have a right to.
We have also received a number of recommendations from the UN special rapporteur on this, who has visited Sweden, on how we can strengthen freedom of religion for different groups in society.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.