Aided by a politically correct culture of “tolerance”, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is secretly building a “parallel” society in Sweden by infiltrating organisations and political parties, a government report has concluded.
Surprisingly, the document takes aim at “political elites” for fostering a doctrine of multiculturalism and silence, which can help and facilitate the nefarious ends of anti-democratic organisation like the Brotherhood.
Somewhat predictably, however, the publication of such claims in Sweden – where open criticism of liberal, multicultural ideals is rare – has caused a row, with critics labelling the report “conspiratorial” and claiming it misrepresents Islam.
Sweden’s Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) published a controversial new report suggesting the Muslim Brotherhood is deliberately creating a “parallel society” within Sweden.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a global Islamist group which ultimately aims to create an Islamic State ruled by sharia rather than secular law.
“Over the years, the MB managed to establish a dominant position in the Muslim part of the state-sponsored civil society through aid from a plethora of organizations.
Many millions of kronor were channeled from Swedish tax-payers into the world’s largest Islamic organization’s Swedish branch,” the report stated, according to a translation by Sputnik, a Russian media outlet.
The report’s author, Magnus Norell, noted the Muslim Brotherhood has been active in Sweden since the 1970s and works to portray itself as the sole representative of the country’s Muslim population.
However, a group of 22 researchers specializing in religious studies co-signed a blog post criticizing the methodology of the report.
They branded the idea that the Muslim Brotherhood is attempting to build a parallel society in Sweden “a conclusion which goes against the collective research,” according to a translation by European media organization The Local.
The MSB responded by calling the report a feasibility study aimed at highlighting areas where further research was needed.
“The feasibility study is not a research report, but a study which can give MSB support to see what need there is for further study and research work in the field. In order for MSB to have a good ability to identify and address influencers and the spreading of misleading information against Sweden we need to work with different types of knowledge,” Anneli Bergholm Söder, the head of operations at MSB said in a press release.
The paper’s authors claim the Brotherhood is working to increase the number of practicing Muslims in Sweden, encouraging tension with Secular society, and targeting political parties, NGOs, academic institutions and other civil society organisations.
They also slam the “established structure of values among the country’s political elite [which] places a high value on ‘acceptance’ and ‘tolerance’ of citizens who are in some sense different from the mainstream”.
In the report, the Islamism of the MB is described as a totalitarian political ideology born out of Islam, a religion.
This can make it “difficult to oppose what on the surface appears to be (a vulnerable minority) religious rights”, it explains.
Critics, therefore, “run the risk of being called ‘racist’ or ‘Islamophobic’ and because of the situation in Swedish society such classifications endanger people’s careers”.
The press was quick to label these claims inflammatory, and 22 academics and “experts” in religion have published a blog post questioning the methodology of the research.
The academics – from many of Sweden’s leading universities – say it is “almost conspiratorial” to suggest criticism of Islamism is difficult in Sweden.
They also insist the claim that the Brotherhood is building a parallel society is refuted in past research.
In response to the blog post, the department has refuted the criticism of their methodology, and the report’s editor, Magnus Norell, told public service broadcaster SVT:
“Had they smoked something before they read it? You just need to read the report. If someone doesn’t accept this, there’s not much I can do about it. It’s proven.”
Controversially in Sweden, the report also links Islamism and poor social integration to immigration.
“Islamists aim to build a parallel social structure competing with the rest of the Swedish society the values of its citizens. In this sense, MB’s activists pose a long-term challenge in terms of the country’s social cohesion”, it states.
Adding: “Migration from Africa and the Middle East is likely to continue in coming years, both in form of relatives and refugees…
“Given that MB’s goal is to increase the number of practising Muslims in Swedish or European territory, there is a great likelihood that a ‘tug of war’ will occur between the majority community and the Islamic community with the MB’s encouragement…”
The authors of the blog post objected to this claim.
“The [report’s] authors seem to conclude that Swedish Islam is a homogeneous phenomenon and that Swedish Muslims are led by the Muslim Brotherhood…” they write.
“It is a conclusion that goes against the overall research, which rather points towards the Muslim community being diverse and there being competition between Muslim groups…”
Founded in 1826, the MB aims to create a global, Sunni Islamic Caliphate by organising Muslims politically.
It is arguably the largest Islamist organisation in the world and has links to the Muslim Council of Britain and many other mainstream European Islamic institution.
The group has been accused of fostering links to militants and is considered a terrorist organisation by the governments of Bahrain, Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
