Government Follows Sweden Democrats' Line – Scraps the Term 'Islamophobia'

After themselves having been frequent users of the controversial and much-criticized term, the government now seems to have belatedly realized that, by using “islamophobia,” they have acted as useful idiots for Islamists.

In an interpellation submitted in March to Minister for Migration Maria Malmer Stenergard (M), Richard Jomshof (SD) questions the use of the term.

The Sweden Democrat points out how Islamists over the past decades have slowly but surely advanced their positions, and how a liberal immigration policy has enabled them to establish themselves across virtually the entire western world, where they are now systematically working to dismantle our democracies.

One of the weapons Islamists use is the criticized concept of “islamophobia.” By labeling people as “islamophobes,” these anti-democrats try to silence legitimate criticism of Islam and ongoing Islamization. The term is also used to attack liberal Muslims who, for example, fight for women’s rights and pursue democratic reforms.

At the same time, we see how politicians, political parties, journalists, and others have chosen to swallow the Islamist bait. The current Swedish government is no exception. As recently as March 15, we saw the Ministry for Foreign Affairs write on social media that, among other things, Sweden is actively working to ‘combat various forms of racism, including islamophobia.’ Thus, one chooses to link racism to legitimate criticism of Islam, thereby serving the agenda of Islamists, which is naturally problematic.

Jomshof wonders how it can be that the government continues to use this criticized and problematic term and asks Maria Malmer Stenergard if she intends to do anything about it.

To Be Phased Out

In her response, the Minister for Migration says she shares the view that the term ‘islamophobia’ is problematic and that the government’s preferred term is ‘anti-Muslim racism.’ However, since ‘islamophobia’ is used in an international context, which is the context the Foreign Ministry operates in, she does not see that as a problem in itself.

In the action plan against racism adopted by the government in December 2024, the term ‘anti-Muslim racism’ replaces ‘islamophobia.’ According to Malmer Stenergard, there are reasons for this transition:

The term ‘islamophobia’ has, among other things, been criticized because the word ‘phobia’ brings to mind individual irrational fears rather than discrimination, exclusion, and racism. The concept has also been questioned for giving the impression that it is only about views on Islam as a religion and not about attitudes toward Muslims. When ‘anti-Muslim racism’ is used in this action plan, it does not refer to criticism of religion, but to hostility directed at people because they are, or are believed to be, Muslims.

The government will now work to remove the term ‘islamophobia’ even in international contexts, something they consider is best accomplished by rallying the EU around changed terminology. Therefore, they are now also pushing to replace the term ‘islamophobia’ with what is called in English ‘anti-Muslim racism’ or ‘anti-Muslim hatred.’

The debate: