Response to interpellation 2025/26:180 on statements by imams
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD argues that calls for violence can never be accepted and that activities with links to violent extremism or anti-democratic environments should not receive state support 1. KD emphasizes that the government has tightened the democratic requirements for state grants to religious communities and established a support function within CVE to identify and counter extremism 1 2. KD emphasizes the importance of freedom of religion and that religious communities perform important contributions 2. KD has appointed an inquiry to stop foreign funding of activities with links to Islamism and extremism 1 2. KD argues that authorities must know who represents the organizations 2. KD agrees with SD on a regulatory framework for grants so that organizations that practice oppression do not receive state support 3. KD emphasizes that transparency already exists today by applications to the authority being public documents 3. KD argues that the powerful measures now being taken against extremism are important and that problems with foreign influence or surveillance also occur in organizations other than the Muslim civil society 4. KD considers it important to have a rich and vibrant civil society, which includes religious communities that make significant contributions for people through support in different stages of life, worship services, and diaconia 4. KD also argues that it is important for society to draw a clear line against extremism and against those who call for violence 4. KD states that they will continue to do this and that instruments are now being put in place to achieve this 4.
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! Jonas Andersson, SD, has asked me if I have taken any initiatives in light of what has emerged in the media earlier this year regarding an imam in Kristianstad who, in a sermon, urged violence against women. Jonas Andersson has also asked if I intend to take any further initiatives in light of the current incident, as well as if I intend to take any initiatives to prevent state subsidies from being paid out to organizations with links to Islamism, including organizations with links to the Muslim Brotherhood, and if so, which initiatives.
To begin with, I want to say that incitements to violence can never be accepted.
Activities that have links to violence-promoting extremism or other anti-democratic environments shall also not receive state support. Therefore, during the mandate period, the government has, among other things, tightened the democracy requirements for state grants to religious communities and other organizations in civil society. In the Act (2024:487) on state grants to religious communities, which entered into force on January 1 this year, it is regulated that state grants shall not be payable to religious communities that exercise violence, coercion, or threats, or in other ways violate a person's fundamental freedoms and rights. This also applies to leading representatives. Activities that discriminate against persons or groups, or in other ways violate the principle of all people's equal value, defend such actions, or oppose the democratic system of government, shall also be denied state support.
Follow-up and control is a matter for the responsible authority, in this case the Agency for Support to Religious Communities. I have been informed by the agency that they have initiated an investigation, but I cannot as a minister otherwise comment on the individual case. However, I would like to mention in this context that the new regulatory framework enables better control of the religious communities and organizations that receive support from the state, and in the event that actions are discovered that conflict with society's fundamental values, the authorities can also demand reimbursement of already paid support.
In addition to this, the government has appointed an inquiry tasked with considering and proposing rules that prohibit or otherwise counteract foreign financing of religious communities and other activities in Sweden with links to Islamism, extremism, and other anti-democratic interests. The inquiry shall present its proposals on May 29, 2026.
A support function has also been established within the Center against Violent Extremism, CVE, at the Crime Prevention Council to support the work of strengthening and developing the preventive work against violent extremism. The purpose is to assist with in-depth reviews of activities that may be assumed to have links to violent extremism or other anti-democratic environments and in this way prevent public funds from being distributed to such activities.
These initiatives clearly show that the government takes the issue most seriously.
Jonas Andersson (SD)
Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by thanking Jakob Forssmed for being here today and for answering the questions in my interpellation.
There is a more general question in my interpellation concerning the problem of state subsidies going to Islamism in civil society. But what prompted me to write this interpellation is an incident earlier this year in a mosque where the Islamic congregation in Kristianstad is active, where an imam, during the Friday prayer, opened up for the abuse of women. More specifically, the imam spoke on the theme of "disobedient women" about when and how he believes one is allowed to beat his wife.
According to media reports, the imam is said to have stated that the man should first warn the woman, then refuse to share a bed with her, and finally beat her. The incident received wide media coverage and is relevant to bring up here in the Riksdag because it shows a downside of the Islamization of Sweden.
In particular, the issue is relevant because state subsidies are involved through the Agency for Support to Religious Communities. More precisely, Förenade Islamiska Föreningar i Sverige receives several million kronor a year through the Agency for Support to Religious Communities. The congregation in Kristianstad, where they preach about violence against women, is in turn a member of Förenade Islamiska Föreningar i Sverige, which thus receives state subsidies.
Madam Speaker! Jakob Forssmed mentions that he has received information that an investigation has been initiated on the grounds of what has been stated in the mosque. It is, of course, a step in the right direction.
I understand that the Minister may be limited in commenting on individual matters at agencies, but I still thought I would take the liberty of speaking a bit more about the issue.
It is absolutely crucial that events such as the one in Kristianstad lead to action. That kind of behavior has no place in Sweden and must not come anywhere near the taxpayers' money. We need, with both words and actions, to strike hard against the advancement of Islamism in Sweden.
Jakob Forssmed highlights in his response to my interpellation several of the good things that the Tidö parties have jointly achieved during this mandate period to ensure that state grants to civil society go to what is intended and that Islamists, fraudsters and criminals keep their fingers off the taxpayers' money.
I am thinking then of the bill on democracy conditions for state grants to civil society, where we together ensured that a proposal was decided by the Riksdag that was significantly sharper than the proposal that the previous, Social Democratic government submitted.
I am also thinking of the support function within the Centre against violent extremism, CVE, at the Crime Prevention Council, which has been established to support the work against violent extremism. It is, of course, also something that is very positive.
In these parts, I want to thank the Minister for good cooperation during the mandate period. The Tidö parties have done and continue to do a great deal. But we must constantly keep our guard up. We cannot sit calmly in the boat. We need to be vigilant when Islamists and other destructive forces try to find new ways to exert influence and new ways to appropriate the taxpayers' money.
Madam Speaker! Since I mentioned the democratic conditions for state grants to civil society in my interpellation and the Minister did the same in his response, I thought I would stop there. It is almost a year since the new legislation came into force. What I wonder is how Jakob Forssmed views the results so far. Are the conditions, according to the Minister, as sharp as needed to ensure that no state grants end up in the pockets of Islamists?
For the Sweden Democrats, it is clear in any case that they are not sharp enough if it were to turn out that organizations housing activities where people in mosques call for the abuse of women even come close to state grants.
Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD)
Madam Speaker! The problems with these Muslim organizations in Sweden are many. Many of them have been raised previously with the Minister for Social Affairs, but I must repeat my criticism and once again raise the very obvious problems.
Apart from the scandals surrounding mosques and their constant links to dictatorships and Islamist organizations, there is a recurring lack of transparency.
We can look at Förenade Islamiska Föreningar i Sverige, which is raised in the interpellation. On that organization's website, it does not state who sits on the board or who represents the organization. It does not say a word about which associations are members in this Muslim national organization. It is not that easy to scrutinize this Muslim organization.
This problem is recurring. There are few Muslim organizations that are open about who sits on their boards and which mosques are affiliated with them. One should probably ask why that is, especially considering the connections that almost all mosques have. It is about connections to dictatorships and Islamist organizations.
What is stated on the United Islamic Associations' website is their address. It is exactly the same address that the Stockholm Mosque has and that the Islamic Federation in Sweden, an organization with known links to the Muslim Brotherhood, has.
The fact that a Muslim organization hides behind another Muslim organization is also a recurring theme. It is quite strange. Why can one not stand for who one is? What does one want to hide?
Sveriges Muslimska Förbund is another organization that is considered a state-subsidy-eligible religious community by the Swedish Agency for Support to Religious Communities. Nor does it appear on the website here who sits on the board or which member associations they are. There is not a single name of a representative on Sveriges Muslimska Förbund's website.
The problem here is that these Muslim organizations actually get to receive tax money. As a Muslim organization, one can create a website and not say anything about who is behind the organization. It is permitted. But if one wants to hide from the public, one should not be allowed to receive tax money.
I also do not think we would be particularly surprised by all the extreme statements that appear here and there in various mosques if the Muslim organizations were more open about who sits on their boards. Every time one of them has stepped forward, one has immediately seen the connections to some Islamist organization or to some Islamist dictatorship in the Middle East.
It is precisely these connections that these Muslim organizations hide when they are not transparent towards the public. It is nothing less than a scandal that such organizations with such connections, which in this way hide from the public, continue to be granted tax funds.
Sara Gille (SD)
Madam Speaker! The Minister says that incitements to violence should never be accepted. Yet, that is precisely what has happened in Sweden.
This is a worldview where the woman is expected to obey the man and where some imams even use the Quran as an argument that a man has the right to beat his wife if she does not do as he says. Such ideas do not belong here in Sweden. They will never be able to coexist with a society built on freedom, law, and equality.
What has now been revealed in this mosque are the same mechanisms that we have seen in Iran, in Afghanistan, in Qatar and in large parts of the Middle East, where religious law is used as a way to oppress women. Those who believe that these values miraculously disappear when they move into Swedish premises simply do not understand what we are talking about. We have had mosques where preachers have legitimized violence, where women's freedom has been restricted and where Islamism has been allowed to take space under the radar while the state has continued to pay out its support.
When the Minister refers to a stronger democratic requirement regulation and to the authority's ongoing investigation, he misses the central point: Sweden has built up a system where religious communities are regarded as neutral actors despite several of them being driven by values that stand in direct conflict with Swedish law and with the principles that hold our society together.
Madam Speaker! There is research from Brå, the Swedish Security Service, the EU's counter-terrorism agency, and several European governments describing how Islamist organizations systematically use Western countries to obtain financial support and an organizational platform. The Muslim Brotherhood is perhaps the most well-known example. Their strategy is based on slow infiltration through associations, schools, and religious communities.
Madam Speaker! These are official analyses produced by security services. The problem is larger than individual individuals. It is about Islamist norms that, in their most extreme form, legitimize violence, violate women's freedom, and challenge the foundations of democracy. The state should not promote religious environments that spread anti-women teachings. Grants must be frozen at the first indication, and foreign funding must be stopped immediately.
Madam Speaker! We want to see total transparency, complete mapping of networks and swift, tangible sanctions. Sweden must not be a haven for ideologies that oppress women and divide societies.
I would like to ask the Minister if the Minister can guarantee that the state will never again finance environments that spread Sharia-based interpretations where men are urged to exercise violence.
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Jonas Andersson, for the interpellation and for the opportunity to discuss these important issues!
I also belonged to those who reacted very strongly publicly to these statements. This type of statements from imams, preachers or others should naturally not occur in religious environments in Sweden. We must, of course, under no circumstances accept it.
I am also pleased with the tightenings that we between the Tidö parties are in complete agreement on: a new, sharper regulatory framework for grant giving, which has also led to several organizations that previously received support now being denied it because they do not meet the requirements that are set. It is very important that these become sharp tools that actually work. We will, of course, follow up to ensure that is also the case.
It is important that we have support for religious communities. This is also something we agree on among the Tidö parties, because it is an important part of religious freedom to be able to practice it in a good and reasonable way. It is also about being able to get support for important activities both for the individual members and for society as a whole. A religious community makes significant, good, and important contributions. This is, of course, something we follow.
In that context, I want, in addition to the sharp democratic conditions, to particularly highlight not least the support function at CVE. It aims to become better at identifying what Sara Gille and others pointed out here. If there are signs that Islamist extremism or other types of extremism act in different ways, we also need to sharpen our tools to have the possibility to counter this.
It is precisely what we do through this support function, through the work at CVE overall and not least also through the investigation we have now commissioned, which is to deliver its proposals on stopping foreign financing of activities that have links to Islamist extremism, other violent extremism, or anti-democratic environments. These are urgent changes we are now implementing, and it is good that we can carry this out in broad agreement.
When it comes to representatives and to what extent one is present on websites, it is clear that it is partly up to the organizations to choose what they publish, but in contacts with the authority, one naturally needs to state who the representatives are.
It is clear that there can be different reasons for not publishing it. I do not question that it could be in the way that is stated here, but there can also be security reasons and other things that make one not want to publish everyone's names in different contexts. We know, unfortunately, that attacks occur against people within the Muslim civil society in Sweden.
There are mosques and others that are subjected to attacks. It has happened this year. I have had reasons to call congregations that have been subjected to attacks. In that light, there may be reasons why one does not want to publish names. One probably has to be a bit cautious before demanding that everyone who exists in certain environments must also publish their names on the web. On the other hand, it is very important that the authorities in the contacts know who represents different organizations. There should be no doubt whatsoever about that.
Jonas Andersson (SD)
Madam Speaker! I thank Jakob Forssmed for the answer. I would like to once again thank him for the good cooperation we have had during the parliamentary term regarding these issues.
I would like to provide a little more background regarding this matter of United Islamic Associations in Sweden, which the congregation in Kristianstad belongs to – where they, in fact, opened up for the abuse of women.
I will also say that, moreover, it is so crazy that the fight against Islamism has had to become such a big issue in Sweden. I am thinking, for example, of the elderly – those who grew up in the 50s and 60s. I do not think those people, in their wildest imagination, could have imagined that these types of issues would become so big.
But to return to the subject: United Islamic Associations in Sweden receive a million-kronor grant from the Agency for support to religious communities. My home municipality is Linköping. We are currently having an extensive debate about a mosque construction in the city, which SD in particular has opposed, but KD has also opposed it in various parts locally.
A decisive reason for this is that it is completely obvious that the foundation collecting money has sought financial support from foreign states. They write in their own management reports that they have been to foreign embassies and done so. This is also something that the local press has reported on. As we know, foreign states in this context do not refer to Western democracies, but rather it generally concerns dictatorships in other parts of the world.
It is the Islamic Association in Linköping that has intended to conduct activities in this mosque. Guess which parent organization it has! It is, of course, United Islamic Associations in Sweden – which the congregation in Kristianstad is also a member of. One is, judging by everything, involved and enables foreign-funded mosques in our cities. There are thus further irregularities linked to United Islamic Associations in Sweden.
Madam Speaker! Förenade Islamiska Föreningar i Sverige has previously been highlighted in the media for various Islamist connections, including through elected officials it has. For example, the association's former chairman Mohamed Temsamani, who also held a mandate in Miljöpartiet, has been rewritten in the media for connections to the Islamist network Muslim Brotherhood.
Temsamani had, in fact, practiced for the Freedom and Justice Party in Egypt a number of years ago. It is a party that is very closely linked to precisely the Muslim Brotherhood. He has also been noted for having stepped out in defense of the former Housing Minister Mehmet Kaplan, who had to resign due to just those Islamist connections.
That civil society organizations funded with state grants in the millions have links to the Muslim Brotherhood is unfortunately actually nothing new. An organization that has long been pointed out by researchers for just that type of connection was the study association Ibn Rushd, which until quite recently received approximately 30 million kronor per year in state grants through the Folkbildningsrådet.
A success for the Tidö parties this mandate period is that we have tightened control and follow-up regarding the state grant for folk education to such an extent that it has actually led to the fact that Ibn Rushd no longer receives any state grants. They subsequently announced that they are winding down their operations.
Madam Speaker! The question is when the state subsidies to all other organizations with links to Islamism and the Muslim Brotherhood are withdrawn, just as for Ibn Rushd. It is high time that the state subsidy to Förenade Islamiska Föreningar i Sverige is also stopped. It is quite obvious that they have Islamist links, and what has emerged here is, of course, extremely serious. That we agree on. But it is also only the tip of the iceberg.
The Sweden Democrats have long motioned in the Riksdag to investigate the Muslim Brotherhood's establishment in Sweden and regarding other proposals to counter the fact that this type of Islamist network should take root in civil society in Sweden.
I intended to ask Jakob Forssmed how he views the Muslim Brotherhood's activities in Sweden. What does the Minister want to do further to put a stop to this Islamist network?
Nima Gholam Ali Pour (SD)
Madam Speaker! I want to begin by saying that I do not agree with the Minister that religious communities that receive tax funds should be able to hide from the public. One should at least be able to state which member congregations they are so that people can actually scrutinize these organizations and see the connections that the previous speaker spoke about, among other things.
The Muslim organizations that now do not really want to tell who they are, but who still receive tax funds, have not always been so closed. Those who are a bit older will remember the concept of the Muslim civil society. It was Muslim organizations that receive grants today – minus Ibn Rushd, which has been shut down.
At that time, however, they were open about who they were. It was a different time, when there wasn't as much knowledge about the Islamist ideology. It was common for politicians to visit mosques and meet these Islamists. We had the Islamist Mehmet Kaplan as a minister in a red-green government for a while. He had his background in the Muslim civil society.
The Muslim civil society disappeared as a concept when scandal after scandal showed that the organizations that the Muslim civil society consisted of derived their ideology from the Muslim Brotherhood. But the same organizations that constituted the Muslim civil society still exist today. They are parts of umbrella organizations – religious communities, as they now call themselves – and receive grants from the Agency for Support to Religious Communities.
This would be clarified if organizations such as Förenade Islamiska Föreningar i Sverige or Sveriges Muslimska Förbund stated who sits on their boards and which are their member associations. They are, in fact, hiding this.
Sara Gille (SD)
Madam Speaker! The Minister emphasizes that the state shall not support organizations that violate people's freedom and rights. But the reality looks different; it shows that precisely such environments have actually been able to grow in Sweden for a long time. It is about religious norm systems where the subordination of women is central, where violence against women is justified, and where Islamist ideas are given space with religion as a cover.
Madam Speaker! To urge men to beat women is not only criminal but also an expression of a worldview that has no place in a modern society. It is also a worldview that we have seen recurring in mosques, Muslim associations, and schools where conservative Islamic norms prevail. Countries such as France and Austria have already taken significantly tougher measures against Islamist environments, precisely because the ideology is organized, strategic, and incompatible with Western values.
Reactions must be immediate: Freeze all funds! Freeze all grants and close the door! Tighten the regulations so much that these environments can no longer use Swedish welfare as a source of funding! It is not harder than that. When does the government intend to introduce an immediate stop for all grants to religious environments where religiously motivated violations of women occur, and when will the Swedish people see real consequences for imams and organizations that legitimize violence?
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Madam Speaker! I thank you again for the interpellation debate.
As I have now explained several times, I have no other opinion than that this type of request is not acceptable.
I can also state that we are, therefore, in agreement with the Sweden Democrats regarding a regulatory framework for how the grants shall be given and on what grounds. We are also in agreement that the issue needs to be handled in the way we do in Sweden, i.e., in a legally secure and good way, so that organizations or congregations that engage in different types of oppression or violations of people do not receive state support. That is what our work, which we agree with the Sweden Democrats and the other Tidö parties on and for which there is also broad support in Sweden's Riksdag, aims for.
Regarding some other questions that have arisen in the interpellation debate, I want to say that I am not familiar with the conditions in Linköping in any greater detail, which makes it difficult for me to engage in a discussion about it. On the other hand, one can say on a general level that this is the reason why we have commissioned the investigation into the funding of, for example, organizations, construction projects, or other things that come from foreign state powers and go towards activities that could be Islamist extremism or other extremism.
We also know that this is closely linked to freedom of religion. It is not that that type of money always comes without any requirements, but it could be that requirements are set, for example, on what should be said in these mosques and in other ways control people's freedom of religion. That is serious in itself, and it is also a background to why this investigation has been commissioned.
I believe that Member Nima Gholam Ali Pour may have misunderstood me slightly. It is of course the case that one needs to be open and transparent in contact with the authorities and thus with the public. That is also something one needs to be already today, according to the regulatory framework. Yes, that is how it is; one needs to submit to the authority which congregations and associations are part of the religious community in question. That application also becomes a public document, so the transparency already exists today through the regulatory framework that applies and which we agree on.
What I said was that it might be difficult to regulate exactly what should be written on different organizations' websites – especially when it concerns personal data, which I understood the member wanted to see. But in contact with the authorities, transparency shall apply regarding which congregations it concerns, and that is also the case today.
Jonas Andersson (SD)
Madam Speaker! I would like to once again thank Jakob Forssmed for the answer.
Something I perhaps do not think has come forward sufficiently clearly regarding the incident in Kristianstad where an imam incited violence against women is that what he has said, in other words, is not his own invention. What he has said about how one is allowed to hit women is something that stands in a sura, that is to say, in a part of the Quran. I do not intend to start reciting passages from Islam's scripture here in the chamber, but it is still worth having it said so that one understands what this is rooted in.
Against that background, it is perhaps not so unlikely that statements such as the one in Kristianstad can occur from time to time in Sweden. That the idea that violence against women is okay is spread in this way is another aspect of the problem with the Islamization of Sweden.
The organizations that receive state grants from the Agency for Support to Religious Communities have links to a number of different religious beliefs – that is how it is – and problems can understandably occur here and there. No one is entirely without fault. But, Madam Speaker, I still want to assert that the Muslim civil society, which receives state grants, stands out when it comes to questionable practices and a specific problematic issue.
It could be about what I was touching upon earlier, that is to say, foreign financing of mosque constructions. Many mosque constructions that are underway in Sweden have this connection. It could also be about connections to Islamist networks – we were touching upon the Muslim Brotherhood here earlier. Furthermore, it could be about various anti-democratic statements, such as opening up for precisely female genital mutilation. It could also be about demands for separate legislation in Sweden, i.e., sharia, which the Swedish Muslim Association already opened up for many years ago.
Therefore, I conclude by asking what Jakob Forssmed's assessment is of why it is specifically regarding the Muslim civil society that we see so many democratic problems of this kind. And what does the Minister want to do about that matter?
Socialministern Jakob Forssmed (KD)
Mr. Speaker! Regarding measures against various forms of extremism, including Islamist extremism, I have accounted for all the measures we are now taking. These are powerful measures that provide us with tools that we have not had in Sweden previously, and I am pleased that we have been able to develop them in broad agreement. It is, of course, the case that incitements to violence have no place in Sweden. We take these issues most seriously, and we should see them in the light of the changes we are now implementing.
Jonas Andersson mentioned various examples showing that these conditions and requirements are needed. This applies to Muslim organizations, but there are also examples of other organizations where we have seen quite large problems. We have had problems with the Russian Orthodox Church in Sweden, and there have also been problems surrounding a number of other organizations that one, for example, has been able to suspect states use to be able to monitor people or in different ways violate their freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and freedom of belief. We have seen this when it concerns a number of organizations that have now been denied grants, for example, Shia communities in Sweden that Iran has pointed out as organizations that have conducted espionage against people in various ways.
It is important to have a rich and vibrant civil society. This applies in particular to religious communities, which make significant contributions for people – both members and non-members – when it comes to providing support at different stages of life and regarding worship services, diaconia, and other matters. But it is also important for us as a society that we draw a clear line against extremism and, in particular, against those who incite violence in various ways. We shall continue to do that, and now we must have instruments in place to manage it.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.