Le Monde - About the increase in attacks on Muslims in Sweden
According to Le Monde newspaper, in recent years, the number of attacks against Muslims aimed at reducing universal human dignity has increased in Sweden. Such incidents are widespread across the country, ranging from attacks on mosques and abuse of hijab-wearing women to making anti-Islamic remarks at work or in the community.
Journalist Anne-Françoise Hivert, who reported from Skovde, described an incident in which wild boar meat was thrown into the Skovde mosque, which opened in 2023. The criminal was unaware that his act was recorded by video surveillance cameras installed by the Bosnian Islamic Association.
"Unfortunately, we are used to such things," said Mirza Babovich (66), a union worker. He recalled instances where anti-Islamic symbols were painted on the old prayer hall, pig remains were dumped on the construction site, and windows were broken.
Imam Samajo Sahat said that he had complained to the police about another negative incident that happened a few days before the pan-European elections, which were accompanied by anti-Islamic rhetoric in Europe, but he did not inform the press about it in order not to publicize such cases and not to arouse in the minds of others to commit them. However, the local press found out about it and covered it widely.
In Sweden, anti-Islam rhetoric is also widely emphasized by high-ranking politicians. In particular, far-right party leader Jimmy Akesson said in November 2023 that he wants to destroy mosques, ban the construction of new ones and control Islamic communities. His deputy, Richard Jomshoff, compared all Islamic symbols in public places to Nazi symbols and called for their ban.
Representatives of the far-right party, which is part of the ruling coalition, continue to condemn the "Islamization of Sweden" on social networks, saying that "Swedes want to become a minority in their own country." Jimmy Akesson says Muslims are "the biggest threat to Sweden". Other groups have started to use the same rhetoric in the run-up to the European elections.
Christian Democratic Party leader and second-in-command Eba Bush said Sweden has a "big problem with the rise of Islam" and that Muslims are "ready to stone women who don't wear hijab and throw homosexuals off skyscrapers."
Such comments have shocked Volvo factory worker Masud Babic, 47, who is angry that Muslims continue to be portrayed as potential "criminals or terrorists". She said she stopped posting photos of her daughters at mosque events on social media, fearing discrimination at school or when looking for work.
Samajo Sahat, who escaped from Sarajevo during the war in 1995 , says that he does not know Sweden and calls it "a completely different country". The imam, who also works at Skovde Hospital, accuses political leaders of legitimizing the abuse and intimidation of Muslims.
According to the latest figures from the Crime Prevention Council, there were 234 complaints of anti-Islamic acts in 2022. However, according to analyst Lisa Wallen, these numbers do not represent the true situation, because few people dare to complain. He said that 160,000 refugees , mostly from the Middle East, were the "last straw".
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