Nearly 4% of the population of Sweden is Muslim, approximately 300,000 people. There is no dominant ethnic group, but the largest communities are from Iran, Turkey and Bosnia. There are also significant numbers of Iraqis, Palestinians and Albanians. Muslims live in the major city areas as Stockholm (South and North–West of the city), Gothenburg (North, East and South of the city) and Malmoe (City centre, South and East of the city). However, there are quite a few active Muslim communities in the mid-size cities (population of 30.000 to 90.000) of Sweden.

As in the rest of Europe, labor migration was the primary reason for moving to Sweden in the 1960’s and 1970’s, while during the last twenty years, the migration has been more due to family reunion and asylum. For instance, during a period from 1984 to 1993, 48 % of the immigrants (from countries outside the Nordic countries) came as refugees, 46 % came as family and only 6 % for other reasons. From the beginning of the 1980’s we can start talking about a significant Muslim population of Sweden. Before that it was only a small, fairly anonymous minority.

Labor Market

OECD data shows unemployment rates for the foreign born are more than twice as high as for natives. Sweden’s Muslims have unemployment rates 4 to 10 times higher than non-Muslims, depending on ethnicity (Sander et al., 2004). Employment discrimination appears to be a rising concern. Complaints filed with the office of the Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination increased six times between 1997 and 2003. A matched-pair study by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter in September 2004 showed that those with Arabic names are more often rejected by employers despite similar qualifications to native Swedes.

Housing

Sweden has seen significant problems with segregation in neighborhoods in both the larger and medium size cities (Swedish Integration Board, 2003).

Education

The OECD collects data on education from various statistical agencies within the country, the majority of which comes from census data from the year 2000. The OECD classifies educational achievement using the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED): ISCED 0/1/2: Less than upper secondary; ISCED 3/4: Upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary; ISCED 5A: "Academic" tertiary; ISCED 5B: "Vocational" tertiary; ISCED 6: Advanced research programs. 0-2 are considered low, 3-4 as medium, and 5 and above are considered high. This data is not reported by religion, but does have country of origin as reported by the respondent. It is thus possible to construct an approximate picture of the educational achievement of the population in the country with ancestry from predominately Muslim countries. One significant problem is that some countries, such as India and Nigeria, have large Muslim populations but the immigrant population cannot be readily classified as predominately Muslim or non-Muslim. As such, the educational data is split by predominately Muslim origin, predominately non-Muslim origin, and a separate category for those whom classification would not seem justified. Proportions are for all reported data, individuals with no reported ancestry or education are excluded. 

State and Church

Until January 2000, the Swedish Lutheran State Church held a clearly privileged position among the communities. After the separation between the State and the Lutheran church, rules and regulations have been adjusted so that the Lutheran church will be treated as equal to other denominations. The Lutheran Church will probably hold the position of foremost among equals for some time to come.

The Commission for State Grants to Religious Communities (Samarbetsnämnden för statsbidrag till trossamfund - SST) has the task of fostering communication between the state and the different communities in Sweden. The SST gives each community some financial support according to the size, and Islamic groups have received such support. Often this is used to cover administrative costs, but there is also special support available for communities to open up a new field of activity, such as imams visiting the sick or prisoners, Muslim women’s groups and adult education.

There is no effective Muslims participation in politics and no publicly religious Muslims in national politics. There are, however, persons with a Muslim background in the Social Democratic party who are in the Swedish Parliament. Recently among them was a Kurdish woman who sometimes expected to represent Muslims as immigrants in Sweden, a role she claims she does not wish for. On the local level, there are at least two Muslims active in the Christian Democratic Party. Finally, there is a Muslim political party, the Politisk Islamisk Samling (PIS, Political Islamic Union). This is an organization with strictly political aims that was formed in 1999. It is the only formal political gathering among Muslims, but it is quite new and its future existence is highly uncertain.

Muslims in Legislatures

In the Swedish legislature after the 2002 elections, there were four members of Muslim ancestry, Maria Hassan, Yvonne Ruwaida, Sermin Özürküt and Mariam Osman Sherifay.

Muslim Organizations

There are three organizations on a national level that are supported by the government through the Commission for State Grants to Religious Communities. They are all umbrella organizations for local communities and they organize about 75 % of all Muslim communities in Sweden. They are not clearly divided by ethnicity nor by religious affiliation. There are also other national organizations that do not receive support from the government. Among these are a Bosnian organization, a Muslim youth organization and a strictly Shia organization. All co-ordinate local activities, form discussion groups or groups to deal with specific questions like adult education, marriage licenses, burial details or visiting the sick or imprisoned.

The Förenade Islamiska Församlingar i Sverige (FIFS, United Islamic Communities in Sweden) was formed in 1974 to fill the need among the Muslim communities for an umbrella organization. This need was engendered by the state support structure, which presupposes a national organization to distribute economic support to the different local communities. Thus FIFS organized all kinds of Muslim communities, including Shia and Sunni of multiple ethnicities. The only exceptions are the Ahmadiyyas, who maintain a separate organization.

There is also the Sveriges Förenade Muslimska Församlingar (SMuF, United Muslim Communities of Sweden) which split from FIFS over internal conflicts in 1982. This organization primarily represents Sunnis of Arabic language background, but also does serve some Shia communities. In 1990, another split occurred and IKUS was formed. The Islamiska Kulturcenterunionen (IKUS, Union of Islamic Centres of Culture) tends to represent the Suleymani, but also co-ordinates quite a few Somali communities. In IKUS there are no Shia communities.

Also in 1990, the Sveriges Muslimska Råd (SMR - The Muslim Council of Sweden) was formed by FIFS and SMuF to help in their relations with the Swedish majority society. The most active person in SMR is Mahmoud Aldebe who has held the chairmanship of SMuF for quite a while. The SMR can be seen as his project. The specific missions of the SMR are the creation of mosques and Islamic schools, inform non-Muslims about Islam and to take an active part in public debate.

From an ideological point of view, the leaders of FIFS, SMuF and SMR are considered close to the Muslim Brotherhood and some have been closely connected to Rabita. They reject the support of the Saudis. The leaders of IKUS tend to lean towards a revivalist Turkish Islam that accepts Sufism as a form of intellectual piety. Milli Görus only has local groups and does not seem to have a strong influence.

Islamic Education

Sweden supports free Islamic schools with up to 85 % of the funding for public schools. These schools have to follow the national curriculum but are allowed to add their own curriculum. All of the Muslim schools are free schools. The first Muslim free school was opened during the autumn 1993 and more than twenty are currently active.

A documentary in the spring of 2003 critiquing the educational practices of the free schools generated extensive debate. The National Agency for Education investigated the situation and found little evidence of misbehavior, but some of mismanagement. It responded by increasing its oversight of the schools.

A Swedish Islamic Academy has been established for the training of imams.

Security, Immigration and Anti Terrorism Issues

The Swedish government has adopted a number of new anti-terrorism and immigration provisions over the last few years which have been criticized by local and international groups for insufficient due process and possible contravention of the non-refoulement principle.

Bias and Discrimination

After the September 11th attacks, there was an increase in anti-Muslim incidents. Most were verbal, but some assaults, vandalism and arson were also reported. A study shortly after the attacks on the United States showed a majority of Muslims had experienced discrimination or threats.

The office of the Swedish Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination registered 741 allegations of discrimination in 2003. 393 were related to employment and the labor market, 57 to housing, 63 to the law enforcement system, and 55 to service generally. This number shows a dramatic increase, nearly doubling in the past few years.

Islamic Practice

There are at least 150 Muslim prayer rooms in Sweden, and five official mosques. The oldest of the “proper” mosques, located in Malmo, was almost completely destroyed by arson in 2003. No perpetrator has been identified.

There are about 10 Muslim cemeteries in Sweden and Islamic burial practice is not impeded. Halal slaughter without pre-stunning the animal is not permitted, but it is legal to import halal slaughtered meat from other countries in the European Union. If pre-stunning is accepted (and most Muslim public voices in Sweden seem to accept it), halal slaughter is legal, and during the autumn of 2001 the first all Islamic slaughter-house was opened.

The wearing of the hijab has come under discussion in Sweden, but the government has not restricted its use. However, the state has allowed schools to regulate dress which covers the face of students. In a prominent case in 2002, Nadia Gabriel, a Swedish woman of Palestinian origin, was named to host a program on multiculturalism on Swedish public TV. The administration of public TV blocked her appointment because of her wearing of the headscarf. Although it eventually backed down from this decision, the program was cancelled shortly thereafter.

Media Coverage and Intellectual Discourse

Although there have been some complaints about representations of Islam on Swedish media, the representatives of the major Muslim organizations seem to agree that coverage has been more balanced than in other European countries.

There are and have been very few publications by or on Muslims. There are only two journals in existence at present: Salaam and Minaret. There are other publications but they are for internal use in different communities. There are some Muslims who use the local radio broadcasting system. None has reached any prominence, apart from one in the Stockholm area: Radio Islam. However, this is more an anti-Semitic propagation channel than an Islamic channel. They have been sentenced for crimes against the racial agitation code on a couple of occasions.

Political Discourse

Major Swedish political parties condemned intolerance after September 11th. However, a fringe far-right party, the Swedish Democrats, has engaged in anti-Muslim rhetoric

Source : http://www.arabia.pl/english/content/view/22/16/