A Statistical Analysis
According to recent reports from the Swedish press, the number of Muslim communities in Sweden that gather around their own place of worship has increased significantly in the past 25 years. In 2000, there were only seven mosques in Sweden, but now their number has increased to almost 4,200. However, experts suggest that the actual number of mosques in Sweden may be higher, as it is not always clear when a building is considered a full-fledged mosque and when it is only a prayer room. An example of a genuine mosque is Masjid Aisha, also known as Aisha, located in the Sankt Eriksgatan street in Stockholm. This mosque has been in operation for about 20 years and is regularly visited by thousands of immigrants who have recently arrived from all over the world. The Friday prayers are conducted in Swedish, English, Urdu and Arabic.
Moreover, numerous new mosques are being built across the country. One such project is currently being realized in the city of Helsingborg (in southern Sweden), where the largest Muslim place of worship in Scandinavia is to be built. However, it will not be as large as the mosque being built in the Sherholmen district of Stockholm, which will be the largest in Northern Europe. The construction of many Swedish mosques is partly or entirely funded by money from Saudi Arabia (every fourth), but also from Iran, Qatar, or Turkey.
Sometimes, local conservatives wake up and make harsh statements. They fear, above all, the fact that the Muslim religious communities in Sweden are largely funded by foreign money from the southern countries. This raises concerns: Why should countries from distant lands invest so much in the Islamization of Sweden?
In this regard, the leader of the far-right party “Swedish Democrats” (the second-largest party in the country), Jimmie Akesson, has already demanded: “We must finally start revoking and demolishing mosques that propagate anti-democratic, anti-Swedish, homophobic, or antisemitic propaganda and misinformation about Swedish society. Minarets, domes, crescents and other paraphernalia, which are Islamic monuments in the cityscape, must be removed.”
The leader of the Swedish Democrats emphasized that radical Islamists would destroy Sweden. Akesson claimed: “The problem is that they impose their religion on others. They do so, among other things, by building religious monuments and high minarets and loudly calling to prayer. We do not consider this reasonable. It is not a human right to come to our country and build monuments of a foreign ideology. Mosques are centers of radicalization and violent propaganda.”
On the other hand, Muslims have learned to use the Swedish propaganda of tolerance and respect for religious feelings to their advantage. For every alarming statement from a member of the Swedish right on the topic of Islamization, there immediately follow accusations of “religious persecution” and “racism.” And this works – not for nothing has Minister-Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson reacted to Akesson’s proposal with a clear, pathos-filled answer:
“In Sweden, we do not tear down religious buildings. In Sweden, we constitutionally protect religious freedom – that is, people can freely practice their religion. This applies to all equally – Christians, Muslims, Jews and other believers.”
However, statistics show that since the year 2000, 133 Christian churches in Sweden have been sold, converted, or destroyed. And in the same time period, only 25 new Christian churches have been built. The Swedish Lutherans themselves, however, seem to take this rather calmly. Markus Dahlberg, head of the department for the promotion of the cultural heritage of the Swedish Church, explained:
“The sale of church buildings is a decision that depends on the needs and financial possibilities of the church communities. It is only natural that one sometimes comes to the conclusion that a building is no longer useful.”
And indeed, there is no one who maintains the churches, as their visitor numbers are declining. In contrast, new Muslim prayer groups are being founded in more and more communities, sometimes in former Christian churches.
The Islamic offensive is a natural process when considering the current birth rate in Sweden. On April 11, the Swedish Statistics Office reported that there have never been so