In the fall of 2024, the Swedish Parliamentary Investigation Service published a report indicating that Islamist organizations received close to 2 billion SEK (over 174 million EUR) in funding.
A total of 14 different state agencies provided financial support to Islamist organizations in Sweden—over the course of many years.
The Ibn Rushd Study Association was the largest Islamist beneficiary to receive Swedish taxpayer money, benefiting from multiple state sources. This continued despite repeated warnings from various authorities and organisations about fraudulent funding practices, financing of extremism, and the spread of antisemitic and homophobic messages linked to Ibn Rushd, the Norwegian news outlet Document writes, as pointed out by the international V4NA news agency.
Among the speakers and lecturers invited by Ibn Rushd was Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a prominent "thinker" associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, who was known for his support of suicide bombings.
In 2023, the Folkbildningsradet—the Swedish council responsible for distributing funds to study associations and folk high schools—investigated Ibn Rushd. As a result, the organisation lost its state funding the following year. Ibn Rushd is now being dissolved, but many questions remain unanswered:
How did this happen? What was the money spent on, and who made the decisions?
A key point in the report is the close relationship between Sweden's Social Democrats and Islamist organisations. Back in 2002, the Social Democratic Party’s Tro & Solidaritet (Faith & Solidarity) group made an agreement with the Swedish Muslim Council, promising greater Muslim influence in politics and government. Critics argue that this paved the way for organizations like Ibn Rushd to become major recipients of government funding.
Maria Graner, a former Social Democrat and ex-secretary general of Folkbildningsradet, previously defended Ibn Rushd against criticism. In 2020, she dismissed accusations that the funds were being used to support extremism and criminal networks, instead calling the organization valuable to society.
Cover photo: Illustration (Source: Pexels)
