SD senior figure Richard Jomshof’s new book Kafir – an Arabic word meaning “infidel” – has gone straight to the top of the sales charts. The book discusses Islam, Islamism, and Islamization. Already in the preface, Jomshof offers thanks to the “Islamophobes” who are fighting against ongoing Islamization. He also thanks SD leader Jimmie Åkesson, whose publisher Asp & Lycke is releasing the book.
For Jomshof, the book release is the result of several years of work. As one of the Sweden Democrats’ most outspoken critics of Islam, he has long pursued the issue through political motions, interpellations, and opinion pieces.
Now he has gathered his arguments and materials into a more comprehensive presentation. Jomshof claims that there has long been a void in the Swedish debate. According to him, there has been a lack of a book that collects questions about Islam’s historical development, the religion’s sources, and political Islamism in a single work.
The first part of Kafir focuses primarily on the early history of Islam. Jomshof goes through, among other things, the life of Muhammad, the first caliphates, and the emergence of the religion. He also describes how he has worked with the religious and historical sources that form the basis of his arguments.
READ MORE: SD senior figure releases book on Islam: “The threat is existential”
According to Jomshof, the book is meant to be the first part of a larger project. In an interview with Samnytt in May, the SD senior figure stated that another book is planned.
Has Studied the Subject Deeply
The work has not only been about historical texts. Jomshof says he has also looked at opinion surveys from Europe and Muslim countries.
Among the questions he raises are views on democracy, freedom of religion, violence, and the possibility of leaving Islam. He uses these surveys as part of his reasoning about how religion, political ideas, and societal development can be interconnected.
“Everyone thinks democracy will always exist. No, I’m not so sure about that. If things go really badly, a generation will look back at this time as a parenthesis in our history,” Jomshof said to Samnytt in May.
A central part of Jomshof’s argument is the relationship between Islam and Islamism. He questions the clear distinction that is often made between the religion and the political ideology that has developed around it.
“The Greatest Threat”
Jomshof describes Islamism as a threat to Western societies and compares it to other totalitarian ideologies that Europe faced during the 20th century.
“This is an existential threat to us. I usually say it is the greatest threat the Western democratic world has ever faced,” the SD senior figure has told Samnytt.
The difference is that Islamism cannot just be considered an external threat. He argues that it is already established within European societies, which according to his analysis makes it more complicated to handle.
His reasoning is also linked to mass immigration. Jomshof claims the development may have far-reaching consequences for democratic systems and describes it as an existential problem for the Western world.
“I try in the final part of the book, as openly and clearly as I can, to explain what we should do. But these are also things we have raised before. No more mosques, shutting down or demolishing mosques with Islamist connections, deportation of imams and Islamists who preach misogyny, antisemitism, and messages against our democracy—they must go,” Jomshof said and continued:
“No more tax money for these organizations. We have, to some extent, managed to stop this through the Tidö Agreement. But it still exists. We can do much more. I describe a clear approach in the book.”
Wants to Distinguish Between People and Ideas
At the same time, Jomshof emphasized in the May interview with Samnytt that his criticism is directed at ideas and ideologies rather than people as a group. He said he repeatedly faces accusations of treating Muslims as a homogeneous group, something he himself rejects.
“Many Muslims cannot help where they were born. If you and I were born in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, or Afghanistan, it’s clear that we would be shaped by our upbringing.”
According to Jomshof, it is important to differentiate between individuals and the religious or political ideas being discussed.
READ MORE: SD senior figure releases book on Islam: “The threat is existential”
He is also critical of the use of the word “Islamophobia.” Jomshof refers to the government’s previous ambition to change how the concept is used in the work against racism, but argues that the term still has a strong position in public debate.
While the M-led government has launched campaigns to “combat Islamophobia,” SD senior figure Richard Jomshof has chosen a different path with the release of his book. In the preface, Jomshof thanks both the Sweden Democrats’ party leader for publishing the book and all “Islamophobes” fighting against ongoing Islamization.
With Kafir, released on Tuesday, Jomshof thus takes his many years of political argumentation and criticism of Islam into book form.
“I want a discussion. I want a debate. I want to try to wake people up—what is happening?” Jomshof previously told Samnytt.
Where to Find the Book
The book was released in stores on Tuesday and has since quickly climbed the sales charts. At Bokus, it has already claimed the top spot.
For those who want to buy the book, it is available at Bokus and Akademibokhandeln among others.
Don’t miss Samnytt’s interviews with Jomshof: