Islam in Sweden | Muslims in Sweden

Islam in Sweden

If you ever had a chance of watching the series on Vikings,  or If you ever read about the famous Muslim traveller Ahmed ibn Fadlan or the connection of Vikings with Muslims, then I believe you can connect these dots to understand story of Islam in Sweden, if not then you need to watch this video till the end in which we are discussing history of Islam and Muslims in Sweden.

Geography

Sweden is situated in the Northern part of Europe, and is bordered by, Finland in the east, and Norway in the west. It is located along the gulf of bothnia, and Baltic Sea. Stockholm, is the largest city and the capital of the country, which is located in the eastern coast. Sweden has a very low population away from its main cities, although, it is the third largest country in the European Union. Together with Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland, the region is called Scandinavia, and these five countries are known as Scandinavian countries.

Sweden is the largest country in Scandinavia, with a population of just under ten million. one in every 5th Swedish, is either an immigrant,  or at least has, one immigrant parent. These immigrants mainly come from, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Montenegro, Poland Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia and Finland.

History of Islam in Sweden

Back in the 7th till 11th century, the Vikings were living in this part of the world, which is now known as, the Scandinavian countries. In order to understand the history of Islam in Sweden, we need to first know a little about the Vikings, and how they came in contact with the Muslims.

In fact, the first person who wrote about the Viking was a Muslim. Ahmed ibn Fadlan, Who was the Muslim, Arab traveler of the 10th century, whose eyewitness account about the Vikings became extremely famous. It was his writings, Based on which the famous Novel, Eaters of the Dead, was written and the Hollywood movie, The 13th Warrior was made. During his mission, to find new trade routes in Russia, he met with the people known as Vikings. He describes Vikings as the people having a perfect physical build, white skin, covered with tattoos from head to toes, and that they were tall like Palm trees. However, he also described them as extremely disgusting, vulgar and unsophisticated.

Like Other European countries, it is not possible to calculate the exact number of Muslims living in Sweden, as the official statistics on religious affiliations, were recorded  last time in 1930. According to 1930 census, there were 15 Muslims living in Sweden at that time.x
Like Other European countries, it is not possible to calculate the exact number of Muslims living in Sweden, as the official statistics on religious affiliations, were recorded  last time in 1930. According to 1930 census, there were 15 Muslims living in Sweden at that time.
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The word Vikings, mean a pirate raid, which was most suited for these people, because Vikings were fearsome Warriors, who raided different parts of the world, from Western Europe to Central Asia.

During their raid expeditions, the Vikings came in contact with the Muslim world. In the Muslim world, the Vikings found, the Emporium beyond their imagination, and it was here, that the Muslim and Viking traders, exchange goods, through the barter trade. The commodities traded were, Furs,  Honey, leather, Ivory and fish. The Vikings also took, a lot of silver coins of the Abbasids dynasty, to the Scandinavia, which were later found during the excavation, in Sweden and Norway. Historians also believe that, the Muslim currency dirham, was also used by the Vikings, in their territory during the 10th and 12th century.

The archaeologists have found Vikings link, with Islam, dating back to the 7th century, when the Vikings were trading with the Islamic world. Many Arabic coins originating from the Middle East, have been found in Scandinavian countries. Approximately, 100,000 Dirhams coins have been found in Sweden. These coins were mainly from Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus Isfahan and Tashkent.

Religion in Sweden

Talking about the religion in Sweden. In 1951, freedom of religion law was passed in Sweden, according to which all the citizens would have the right, to practice whatever the religion they like, as long as it does not conflict with the peace of the society, are causing the public offence. It also states that, the individuals have the right to be without any religion. As a result of this, religious belief is restricted to the personal, or the private  domain. Sweden is a relatively secular country, where the church has been separated from the state. It is one of the least religious countries of the world, as according to a survey only 19% of the people of Sweden consider themselves religious, compared to 63% globally.

Muslim Population in Sweden

According to a 2014 report, there were 150,000 to 200,000 Muslims in Sweden.  the other sources set the figure at around 6% (almost 600,000) of the total Swedish population. A 2017 Pew Research report documents the Muslim population at 8.1% of the total population of Sweden of 10 million (approximately 810,000). Majority of the Muslims are living in the three major cities of Sweden that includes the Stockholm, goteborg and malmo. Hence, Islamic presence in Sweden is essentially an urban phenomenon. The primary reason for the Muslims to stay in the major cities was essentially the economic reasons as it is relatively easy to find a job in these parts of the country. However, Muslims have settled in other parts of the Sweden also where the employment opportunities were available. Muslim community in Sweden is heterogeneous and comprise a large number of religious, ethnic, and political groups.

The arrival of Muslim immigrants in Sweden can be divided into three periods. During the first period, Muslims arrived in 1960s as workers. In the second phase, their relatives and family members also migrated to Sweden in 1970s. The third period includes those Muslim immigrants which were Asylum seekers from war affected countries including, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Lebanon, Palestine and Bosnia. Before the arrival of the refugees from the these countries, Turk ethnicity was dominant Muslim community; however, after the arrival of the refugees, the Muslim community in Sweden became heterogeneous.

Islam spread in Sweden, mainly due to the immigration and labour workers and to a certain extent due to conversion. Turkish Speaking Tatars From Estonia in Finland were the first muslim immigrants which came in Sweden just after the World War 2. Later on in 1960 young Muslims labours from Turkey, Albania, Yugoslavia, and Pakistan came to Sweden to work in the rapidly growing Swedish industry.

Majority of the Muslims in Sweden belongs to Sunni sect, however, according to the statistics of 1990 there were about 60,000 Shia's in sweden.

Mosques in Sweden

Although there are number of mosques in Sweden purposely build for the Muslims to pray however there exact number is not known. Apart from these purpose-built mosques there are a large number of prayer places spread around the country known as the basement mosques or prayer halls where the Muslims offer their prayers in the absence of these regular mosques. These prayer halls are situated in flats, basements and industrial buildings  at various locations. In some parts of the country, mosques are allowed to broadcast Adhan the call to prayers on loudspeaker 5 times a day.

Muslims living in Sweden feel more attached to their country in comparison to the rest of European countries. during a survey which was carried out cross 15 EU States Sweden was ranked second highest only behind Finland where the Muslims felt more attached with the country they were living in. Due to the large number of Muslims living in Sweden, Islam has become the second largest religion in Sweden after Christianity.

Children education

Religion is a compulsory subject in the Swedish School system but religion is taught in a balanced and neutral way and Islam is presented as just one religion among the many. In addition to the traditional Islamic education which takes place in the mosques in the form of Friday sermons and the teaching of Quran, the Islamic education in the independent private school is the distinctive characteristics of Islamic religious education in Sweden. Number of colleges and Universities offer different courses in history of religions and Islam in Middle East.  There are a number of researchers undertaking the academic study on Islam and Muslims.

There are about 50 Muslim graveyards in Sweden and Muslims are allowed to undertake the burial practices in accordance with the teachings of Islam. Hence the Muslims living in or close to the big cities have no difficulty in finding the burial sites that is prescribed in Islamic way.

The Muslim festivals are not recognised by the Swedish state, and the Muslims need to apply for leave to celebrate their festivals.

Halal slaughtering is not permitted by law in Sweden since 1937. It is mainly because the method of slaughtering is considered as one of the animal rights rather than a religious issue. Nevertheless, one doesn't feel any difficulty in finding the halal food in Sweden because of the ease of access to the imported meat.

Wearing of any dress code including that of the Muslim dress is allowed however there has been a debate on Muslim women wearing Hijab and niqab. According to research Muslim women who wear Hijab and niqab have lesser chances of getting a job.

Muslims political participation

Party needs to get 4% of the voters support in order to set in the Swedish parliament.

Muslim Council of Sweden

Muslim Council of Sweden is a mother organisation formed in 1990 and has a total of around hundred thousand members. it has 9 member organisations. the purpose of this organisation is to generate the fund for the construction of mosques and Islamic schools in Sweden.  it also represents the Muslims in Swedish politics and Society.

Conclusion

Islam in Sweden is not a new phenomenon in the history of the country however the Muslims have arrived in this part of the world at the end of the Second World War in the as workers and as immigrants in late 60s and early 70s. In order to meet the requirements of the new Muslim generation born and raised in Sweden a number of Islamic organisations have been established.