{"id":1829,"date":"2017-06-20T06:44:01","date_gmt":"2017-06-20T06:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/new\/?p=1829"},"modified":"2017-07-13T13:31:26","modified_gmt":"2017-07-13T13:31:26","slug":"sweden-a-qatari-protectorate-by-judith-bergman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/2017\/06\/20\/sweden-a-qatari-protectorate-by-judith-bergman\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweden: A Qatari Protectorate  by Judith Bergman"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<ul class=\"content_preface_bullets\">\n<li>At the opening of the mega-mosque, Malm\u00f6 City Councilor Frida Trollmyr gave a speech in which she continued to use the term &#8220;cultural center&#8221;, never using the word &#8220;mosque&#8221;, as if &#8212; Soviet-style &#8212; the use of certain words could alter reality.\n<ul>\n<li>\n<hr id=\"system-readmore\" class=\"mceItemReadMore\" \/>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The mega-mosque was never supposed to be a mosque, according to the Wakf&#8217;s own application for building permits, but merely a &#8220;cultural center&#8221; (the application talks about &#8220;an activity center for youth and families in Malm\u00f6 with a focus on Roseng\u00e5rd&#8221;).<\/li>\n<li>When the journalist asked Khaled Assi whether his organization was in fact building a mosque, he told her that &#8220;there already is a mosque in Malm\u00f6&#8221; and that the &#8220;cultural center&#8221; would just contain a &#8220;small prayer room&#8221;.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"itemprop_articlebody\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<p>On April 28, the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs of the State of Qatar opened the Umm Al-Mu&#8217;minin Khadijah Mosque in Malm\u00f6, Sweden. Qatar &#8212; the epicenter of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.globalsecurity.org\/military\/world\/gulf\/qatar-muslim-brotherhood.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Muslim Brotherhood<\/a>\u00a0and the base of its\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/al-jazeeras-muslim-brotherhood-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\">proselytizing megaphone<\/a>, Al Jazeera &#8212; paid more than 3 million euros to build the mosque, which is almost 2,000 square meters and accommodates up to 2,000 people, making it the largest mosque in Scandinavia.<\/p>\n<p>One astonishing fact about this new mega-mosque is that, according to Swedish mainstream media, the opening never happened. Not a single Swedish news outlet mentioned the opening. Swedish authorities were also completely silent on the topic. On her Facebook and Twitter accounts, Malm\u00f6&#8217;s Mayor, Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, wrote about the opening of a new office for army recruits in Malm\u00f6 and the Swedish coast guard moving its activities to Malm\u00f6 harbor, but failed to mention the opening of the largest mosque in Scandinavia. The website of Malm\u00f6 municipality was also silent on the topic.<\/p>\n<p>For information on what goes on in Sweden, therefore, one has to turn to Qatar News Agency, which\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.qna.org.qa\/en-us\/News\/17050317520055\/Ministry-of-Awqaf-Opens-Largest-Mosque-in-Scandinavia\" target=\"_blank\">reported<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Director of the Islamic Affairs Department at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Khalid Shaheen Al Ghanim said that the mosque was built and furnished by the State of Qatar at a cost of over 3 million euros, under the supervision of the Ministry of Awqaf and in collaboration with the Wakf of Scandinavia in Malmo, Sweden<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He added that the Umm Al-Mu&#8217;minin Khadijah Mosque is the largest mosque in Scandinavia and is located on the first and second floors of the four-story building of the Wakf of Scandinavia in Sweden. The mosque is equipped with facilities for people with special needs to perform prayers and others for children and women.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The opening ceremony was attended by representatives of Swedish local authorities, representatives of Islamic institutions in Sweden and Denmark, as well as a number of businessmen.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The organization in Sweden behind the mega-mosque is the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wakf.se\" target=\"_blank\">Swedish Wakf<\/a>, better known as the Islamic Community of Malm\u00f6. In its\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wakf.se\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/WAKF-Stadgar.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">statutes<\/a>, the Swedish Wakf describes itself as a &#8220;religious and cultural community, registered as an ideal institution&#8221;, and &#8220;politically independent&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The neighbors of the mega-mosque, which was\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sydsvenskan.se\/2010-06-25\/nytt-islamiskt-center-pa-gang\" target=\"_blank\">never supposed to be a mosque<\/a>, according to the Wakf&#8217;s own application for building permits, but merely a &#8220;cultural center&#8221; (the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sydsvenskan.se\/2010-06-25\/nytt-islamiskt-center-pa-gang\" target=\"_blank\">application<\/a>\u00a0talks about &#8220;an activity center for youth and families in Malm\u00f6 with a focus on Roseng\u00e5rd&#8221;),\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sydsvenskan.se\/2010-08-02\/protesterar-mot-islamiskt-centrum\" target=\"_blank\">protested<\/a>\u00a0when they learned of the plans in 2010. The Malm\u00f6 municipality brushed them off. &#8220;It is like any congregational activity, and I find it hard to see that there should be anything to worry about&#8221;,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sydsvenskan.se\/2010-08-02\/protesterar-mot-islamiskt-centrum\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a>\u00a0Dick Johansson, representing Malm\u00f6 municipality, at the time.<\/p>\n<p>As it turns out, there is a great deal to worry about.<\/p>\n<p>Several of the Swedish Wakf&#8217;s members come from the Swedish Islamic Cultural Association, whose spokesman and front figure, Ammar Daoud, was\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sydsvenskan.se\/2006-02-07\/djup-splittring-bland-malmos-muslimer\" target=\"_blank\">described<\/a>\u00a0by Swedish newspaper\u00a0<i>Sydsvenskan<\/i>\u00a0in an article from 2006, as the &#8220;apprentice&#8221; of the Danish imam Abu Laban. Laban, who died in 2007, was known for his\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.trykkefrihed.dk\/abu-labans-vidtstrakte-forbindelser.htm\" target=\"_blank\">jihadist connections<\/a>\u00a0and for\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/ekstrabladet.dk\/nyheder\/samfund\/article4782737.ece?service=tipenven\" target=\"_blank\">instigating riots<\/a>\u00a0in the Muslim world against Denmark after the 2005 publication of the Mohammed cartoons in Denmark&#8217;s\u00a0<i>Jyllands-Posten<\/i>. He led his own Danish Wakf &#8212; Danish Islamic community &#8212; in Copenhagen.<\/p>\n<p>Laban\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.b.dk\/danmark\/eksperter-omstridt-broderskab-knyttet-til-islamisk-trossamfund\" target=\"_blank\">declared<\/a>\u00a0Sayid Qutb, the Muslim Brotherhood&#8217;s chief ideologue, to be his role model, and was a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sydsvenskan.se\/2006-02-07\/djup-splittring-bland-malmos-muslimer\" target=\"_blank\">frequent guest preacher<\/a>\u00a0at one of the basement mosques of the Swedish Cultural Association in Roseng\u00e5rd (a crime-ridden, infamous no-go zone in Malm\u00f6).<\/p>\n<p>Already in 2006, Abu Laban\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sydsvenskan.se\/2006-02-07\/dansk-imam-vill-ha-ny-moske-i-malmo\" target=\"_blank\">told<\/a>\u00a0the daily\u00a0<i>Sydsvenskan<\/i>\u00a0that he wanted to &#8220;help&#8221; his Swedish Muslim friends establish a new mosque. Abu Laban and Ammar Daoud were unhappy with the existing mosque in Malm\u00f6, Islamic Center Mosque, which Abu Laban derisively\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sydsvenskan.se\/2006-02-07\/dansk-imam-vill-ha-ny-moske-i-malmo\" target=\"_blank\">labelled<\/a>\u00a0&#8220;Islam-light&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>In 2010, Khaled Assi, head of the Swedish Wakf (a position he still holds today),\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sydsvenskan.se\/2010-09-06\/mannen-bakom-islamiska-trossamfundet\" target=\"_blank\">told<\/a>\u00a0a Swedish journalist that he was &#8220;inspired&#8221; by Abu Laban and his Wakf in Denmark. When the journalist asked Khaled Assi whether his organization was in fact building a mosque, he\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sydsvenskan.se\/2010-09-06\/mannen-bakom-islamiska-trossamfundet\" target=\"_blank\">told<\/a>\u00a0her that &#8220;there already is a mosque in Malm\u00f6&#8221; and that the &#8220;cultural center&#8221; would just contain a &#8220;small prayer room&#8221;. Asked about the financing of the project, Assi\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sydsvenskan.se\/2010-09-06\/mannen-bakom-islamiska-trossamfundet\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a>\u00a0that the Wakf was &#8220;unassociated with any organization&#8221; and that all financial contributors were &#8220;individuals from Malm\u00f6 and Sk\u00e5ne&#8221;, although they would also approach &#8220;individuals&#8221; abroad.<\/p>\n<p>At the opening of the mega-mosque of the Wakf on April 28, Malm\u00f6 City Councilor Frida Trollmyr\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WAKF.SE\/videos\/505139352943078\/\" target=\"_blank\">gave a speech<\/a>\u00a0in which she\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/samtiden.nu\/2017\/05\/megamosken-granne-med-kristen-makedonsk-forsamling-kan-bli-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\">continued to use<\/a>\u00a0the term &#8220;cultural center&#8221;, never using the word &#8220;mosque&#8221;, as if &#8212; Soviet style &#8212; the use of certain words could alter reality:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;In many ways, this cultural center is unique but at the same time it is one of many meeting places that has contributed to the diversity that has made Malm\u00f6 into the city it is today. We Malm\u00f6ites know what this diversity entails and all its strength &#8212; it is that which has made Malm\u00f6 into the city it is today.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Trollmyr&#8217;s speech will go down in history as the moment Malm\u00f6 municipality finally submitted completely to Islam.<\/p>\n<p>When the Swedish independent news site,\u00a0<i>Samtiden<\/i>, tried to reach Trollmyr for comment on how the new gender-separated mosque corresponds to Swedish values about gender equality, about Trollmyr&#8217;s views on the financing of mega-mosques by foreign dictatorships, and what this entails for Malm\u00f6 with regards to radicalization, Trollmyr&#8217;s secretary\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/samtiden.nu\/2017\/05\/megamosken-granne-med-kristen-makedonsk-forsamling-kan-bli-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\">informed<\/a>\u00a0<i>Samtiden<\/i>\u00a0that the politician did not have time to answer the questions.<\/p>\n<p>In the former democracy of Sweden, politicians are no longer answerable to the citizens, and can apparently cover up whatever topics they choose, no matter how detrimental to the people who elected them. The mainstream media willingly collude with the authorities by uniformly ignoring the issue.<\/p>\n<p>One would have thought, however, that at least one mainstream Swedish journalist would be interested in uncovering the cover-up of the Swedish authorities. Here are some of the many unanswered questions:<\/p>\n<p>How did a project that the Malm\u00f6 municipality approved as a &#8220;cultural center&#8221; end up as the largest mosque in Scandinavia?<\/p>\n<p>How did an organization, the Swedish Wakf, which is supposed to be &#8220;politically independent&#8221;, and which said it was collecting its financing from local Muslims, end up having its mosque\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.qna.org.qa\/en-us\/News\/17050317520055\/Ministry-of-Awqaf-Opens-Largest-Mosque-in-Scandinavia\" target=\"_blank\">bought and paid for by Qatar<\/a>, the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/worldnews\/middleeast\/iraq\/11140860\/Qatar-and-Saudi-Arabia-have-ignited-time-bomb-by-funding-global-spread-of-radical-Islam.html\" target=\"_blank\">primary exporter<\/a>\u00a0&#8212; along with Saudi Arabia &#8212; of Wahhabism in the world?<\/p>\n<p>When did Sweden become a province of the dictatorship of Qatar, where the presence of Qatari government officials at the opening of a Qatari-funded mosque in a major Swedish city does not elicit the slightest media attention, let alone criticism, as if this kind of occurrence were the most routine order of the day? Instead, the only Swedish reaction is an embarrassingly sycophantic speech by a representative of the Malm\u00f6 municipality.<\/p>\n<p>In short, when did the Swedish population vote to become a Qatari protectorate?<\/p>\n<table class=\"mceItemTable\" style=\"margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 600px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"max-width: 600px; border: 1px solid black;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/pics\/2497.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"451\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 82%; margin: 4px 6px;\">Malm\u00f6, Sweden. (Image source: David Ramos\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<blockquote><p><i>Judith Bergman is a writer, columnist, lawyer and political analyst.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the opening of the mega-mosque, Malm\u00f6 City Councilor Frida Trollmyr gave a speech in which she continued to use the term &#8220;cultural center&#8221;, never using the word &#8220;mosque&#8221;, as if &#8212; Soviet-style &#8212; the use of certain words could alter reality. The mega-mosque was never supposed to be a mosque, according to the Wakf&#8217;s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1829"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1830,"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1829\/revisions\/1830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/egretnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}