Islam in Sweden: A Social, Political, or Security Issue?

Document Type : Original Independent Original Article

Author

Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

Abstract

As more Muslims immigrated to Sweden in the 1960s and 1970s, a new issue known as the “question of Islam” gradually emerged for Sweden’s society and policymakers. However, up until the early 2000s, this issue was a social one that pertained to Swedish residents’ everyday lives. Islam in Sweden has evolved into a political issue and, over time, a “security issue” since the turn of the millennium. Why has Islam in Sweden evolved from a social issue to a “political and security issue” is the obvious question that arises. In order to address this question, it will be assumed that the following factors contributed to Islam’s rise as a security concern: the rise in the number of Muslims in Sweden, ideological adherences, the rise of populist and right-wing waves, polarization in Swedish society, changes to “Islam” and their effects on Swedish society, the impact of the international atmosphere (both the impact of states and Islamic groups), glaring contradictions and unidentified visions, an increase in anti-Islamic sentiment in the social atmosphere, and media propaganda are all factors. This applied descriptive-analytical research collected data in a desk study.

Highlights

Introduction

The number of Muslims in Sweden did not increase significantly over the last century, and the first censuses, which are now available, only recorded relatively small numbers. Sweden was regarded as a Protestant Christian nation, and well-known and historic churches like Uppsala Church have traditionally served as symbols of the nation’s unwavering religious commitment. However, as a result of the third industrial revolution and the demand for foreign labor, it became simpler for Muslims from less developed nations to enter Sweden. With the arrival of bigger Muslim populations in Sweden between 1960s and 1970s, a new problem arose that forced Sweden’s society and policymakers to deal with the transformation of Islam from a religion and a lifestyle into an “issue.” However, the arrival of Muslims/workers for a variety of reasons has not caused a social disorder, and it was not until the 1990s that it stopped being a normal and lifestyle issue of Muslims’ daily routines and instead turned into a social issue. This issue affected Swedish citizens’ daily lives in the early decades and up until the 2000s as a social issue. Islam in Sweden has evolved into a political issue and, over time, a “security issue” since the turn of the millennium. Why has Islam in Sweden evolved from a social issue to a “political and security issue” is the obvious question that arises. The following reasons will be used in response to this question as to why Islam has developed into a security concern: ideological ties, right-wing movements, polarization in Swedish society, and the impact of the global atmosphere (both the effects of states and effects of Islamic groups). This applied descriptive-analytical research collected data in a desk study. This study’s objectives are to provide a picture of Muslims in Sweden and investigate the causes and mechanisms behind recent strategic and major shifts in Swedish society’s attitude toward Muslims.

 

Methodology

This applied-developmental descriptive-analytical research collects data in a desk study. The researcher uses a descriptive-analytical and security methodology, which will be covered in the theoretical foundations.

 

Findings

Some variables, including the following, had a more substantial impact than others in terms of the causes for the securityization of Islam in Sweden: The rise in the number of Muslims in Sweden, ideological adherences, the rise of populist and right-wing waves, polarization in Swedish society, changes to “Islam” and their effects on Swedish society, the impact of the international atmosphere (both the impact of states and Islamic groups), glaring contradictions and unidentified visions, an increase in anti-Islamic sentiment in the social atmosphere, and media propaganda are all factors. This study seeks to identify the most crucial aspects of Islam’s securization in Swedish society.

The Nordic countries’ social, cultural, and political patterns and environments have changed as a result of population growth. Sweden is a straight and obvious example of Sweden. According to Sweden’s official figures, only 162,877 legal immigrants entered the country in 2016; of these, 4 out of 5 were from Muslim-majority nations. The number of Muslims in Sweden increased by only 2% between 2011 and 2014, and up until 2015, they made up 7.5% of the overall country’s population. However, as of early 2017, the most cautious estimates have the number of Muslims in Sweden at 14–16%, or between 1.4 and 1.7 million. In other words, Sweden’s Muslim population doubled between 2015 and 2017.

The fact that Islam in Sweden, unlike Islam in France, Finland, and some other European nations, did not experience an organic expansion but rather an unbalanced and heterogeneous growth is another factor contributing to the securitization of Islam in Sweden.

Muslims in Sweden have developed an ideological allegiance as a result of constant analysis of sociopolitical developments of actions and contexts, reciprocal relationships between social structures, political contexts, and confrontation with the roots (life, place of birth, intellectual origin, etc.) that conceal the violence. In reality, there is an unbreakable link between the issues addressed as ideological adherence and ideological extremism in Swedish society. The notion that people are ideologic, feel isolated, and are unable to comprehend or engage in social interaction is fundamental to the problem of extremism and its roots. This suggests that the Swedish social integration tactics have not been successful in removing idealogic humans from their ideological adherences and placing them in their social makeup. In fact, the social system in this situation has not been able to budge from its sensitive and red lines of national cohesiveness and identity, leading to a situation where the sponge models of integration are replaced with glass models (social fragility) (social digestion).

The presence and influence of anti-Islamic forces in Sweden play a crucial role in the securityization of Islam in the country. In fact, there has been a “significant step” in the breadth and depth of such groups’ influence and significance. The two categories of anti-Islamic sentiments in Sweden are anti-Islamic forces and anti-Islamic views. Political groups that are regarded as being on the radical right are becoming more and more prevalent in European politics.

 

Results

In conjunction with the changes in immigration, social and public behavior of the Swedish (either extreme or non-extremist) toward Muslims have been subject to changes. As a result, the Swedish government’s Muslim-related strategies have also evolved. The position of “being a Muslim” has been made worse by strategy changes, particularly those in line with the securitization of Muslims and Islam. In fact, such a status, which is the result of a historical process, leads to more isolation, increased extremism, and aggravation of being a Muslim on the one hand, and to less resilience in society and increased security on the other.

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