Ahmadiyya in Sweden

Ahmadiyya is an Islamic community in Sweden, under the leadership of the caliph in London. The earliest history of the Community in the country begins in 1956, during the Second Caliphate, when Kamal Yousuf was appointed as the head of the mission in Sweden. However it was not until 1970 that the Community was first officially registered. Today, there are two purpose-built mosques, one of which is the oldest in the country, and also a number of other Islamic centers, representing an estimated average of 1200 Ahmadi Muslims in the country.

History

The earliest history of the Community in Sweden goes back to the year 1956, when during the Second Caliphate, Kamal Yousuf was directed by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, an Ahmadi Muslim judge based at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, to open an Ahmadiyya mission in Scandinavia. Kamal Yousuf was appointed as the head of the movement in Sweden. Yousuf arrived in Gothenburg on June 14, 1956, before shortly moving to Stockholm.[1]

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Sweden was first officially registered in 1970.[1]

The Community has legal permission to perform religious marriages in the country since 1981.[2]

Early activities

The Nasir Mosque, in Gothenburg, opened in 1976, is the first purpose-built mosque in Sweden

Starting in 1958, the Community published a religious magazine Activ Islam, "Active Islam", edited by an early convert Gunnar H. Eriksson, who adopted the name Saif-ul-Islam Mahmud. The publication was discontinued in 1972 and was revived in 1979. In 1986, the magazine began to be published from Denmark, featuring articles in Danish and other Scandinavian languages as well.[3]

A Swedish convert, Christina Gustavsson, who took the name Qanita Sadiqa, translated the Quran in Swedish in 1988, whose publication, coincided with the Ahmadiyya centenary celebrations.[3]

Journeys by caliphs

The first caliph to visit Sweden was Mirza Nasir Ahmad. He first visited Sweden in 1973, and then again in 1975 to lay the foundation stone of the Nasir Mosque in Gothenburg, on September 27. The mosque was inaugurated a year later on August 17, 1976 by the same caliph.[4][5] The caliph visited Stockholm in 1978 and then for the final time visited the country in 1980. The fourth caliph, Mirza Tahir Ahmad visited the country in 1982, to open an Ahmadiyya mission in Malmö, and then once again in 1986.[2]

Controversies

In September 2017, when schoolchildren from Bulltoftaskolan visited the Ahmadiyya mosque Mahmoodmoskén in Malmö, they were told by the imam that "pigs are homosexuals".[6][7]

Demographics

Mahmood Mosque, Malmö, opened on May 13, 2016

Some of the locations of Ahmadiyya mosques and centers in Sweden. The two mosques in Gothenburg and Malmö are purpose-built.

Estimates for the number of Ahmadi Muslims in Sweden range between 500 and 1,100,[8] which corresponds to an average of 800 people. In particular, there are about 300 Ahmadis in Malmö,[9] and about 50 Ahmadis in Luleå.[10] The majority of the residents are immigrants from Pakistan. However, there are also a small number of Arabs, Africans and Swedish converts. There are four Imams in the country, located in various parts of the country.[8]

Places of worship

There are two purpose built mosques in the country. The Nasir Mosque, opened in 1976, in Gothenburg is the oldest in the country, and is also the location of the national headquarters of the Community.[8] The Mahmoodmoskén was opened in May 2016. There are Ahmadiyya centers is Stockholm and Luleå, in which future mosques have been planned. From 2016, Pakistan-born Rizwan Ahmad Afzal who was previously an imam in Luleå, is the imam of the Mahmood Mosque.[11][12]

See also

• Islam in Sweden

References

Citations

1. Lewis 2015, p. 361
2. "Ahmadiyyat i Sverige" (in Swedish). Retrieved December 20, 2015.
3. Lewis 2015, p. 363
4. Göteborgs-Posten, (in Swedish), September 28, 1975.
5. Göteborgs-Posten, (in Swedish), August 21, 1976.
6. "Skola ställer in moskébesök efter uttalande om "homosexuella grisar"". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
7. "Gaytenoren träffade imamen efter uttalande om homosexuella grisar". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-12-13.
8. Lewis 2015, p. 362
9. "Moskén vid Jägersro börjar ta form" (in Swedish). Retrieved December 19, 2015.
10. "Luleå är en trygg plats för muslimer" (in Swedish). February 3, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
11. "Inviger med fullsatt fredagsbön". Skånska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 2016-05-11. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
12. Radio, Sveriges. "Luleå är en trygg plats för muslimer - P4 Norrbotten". Retrieved 2017-12-13.

Bibliography

• Lewis, James R. (2015). Handbook of Nordic New Religions. Brill.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Official website of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Sweden