Myndighet samarbetade med radikala imamer – trots varningssignaler

During the pandemic, the Authority for Support to Faith Communities (SST) enlisted the help of religious leaders to spread information about COVID-19. An investigation by Kvartal reveals that several of the imams who participated have been identified with connections to extremist environments – and that the authority neither reacted nor withdrew the videos.

When the coronavirus struck in 2020, the Authority for Support to Faith Communities (SST) was tasked by the government to disseminate information to religious groups. To build trust, they chose to collaborate with prominent imams in Arabic- and Persian-speaking language groups. The result was about twenty films that were published on the authority’s YouTube channel – the message was simple: follow the recommendations and get vaccinated.

However, several of those who spoke for the state, when scrutinized, turned out to be anything but uncontroversial. Kvartal can show that three out of five imams who participated have been identified by the Security Service (Säpo) or exposed for antidemocratic and radical statements. Despite this, the videos are still available on the authority’s channel.

Imam deported after Säpo investigation

One of the most prominent participants is Mohsen Hakimollahi, former leader of the Imam Ali Center in Järfälla – the largest Shia Muslim congregation in the Nordic region. He appears in several videos on the SST’s channel where he informs about the pandemic in Persian.

At the same time, reports began to circulate that the center was being exploited by the Iranian caliphate dictatorship’s intelligence service. The Security Service later confirmed that representatives of the center had been in contact with Iranian security actors and that the operations had been used as a base for intelligence work in Sweden. In connection with this, the government decided to deport Hakimollahi.

Despite Säpo’s information, the organization he represented, the Islamic Shia Communities in Sweden, continued to receive million grants from SST financed with Swedish taxpayers’ money. Only after new democratic requirements were introduced, the association was denied further support.

Malmö imam urged media boycott

Even the well-known Malmö imam Salahuddin Barakat participated in the campaign. In one of the clips, produced in collaboration with the Skåne Municipal Association, he urges people to get vaccinated and refers to the Quran.

Barakat has often been highlighted as a moderate bridge-builder, but his own statements paint a different picture. He has condemned homosexuality, accused Swedish media of spreading “fake news,” and advocated for Muslims to isolate themselves from the majority society.

Even after Barakat’s views were scrutinized and he was confronted with them, he confirmed that he stands by his statements.

Antisemitic fatwa in Stockholm mosque

In two additional campaign videos for COVID vaccination by SST, Khaled Ad-Dib, the head imam of the Stockholm mosque and representative of the United Islamic Associations in Sweden (FIFS), can be seen. Shortly after the videos were published, it was revealed that Ad-Dib shared an antisemitic fatwa on Facebook.

Gothenburg mosque. Photo: Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Stockholm mosque has been the subject of investigations for many years after inviting hate preachers, selling antisemitic material, and having recurring connections to the network of the Muslim Brotherhood. Despite this, SST assesses that the organization still meets the democratic requirements and therefore continues to provide state support through Swedish taxpayers.

“The authority gives them legitimacy”

Aje Carlbom, associate professor at Malmö University and researcher on Islamism, tells Kvartal that he is not surprised by the authority’s choice of partners. According to him, it reflects a recurring naivety within Swedish authorities when it comes to these kinds of religious actors.

He argues that homophobic and antisemitic views are not uncommon among religious leaders in these environments, but that authorities often settle for a superficial image. There is a fear of appearing suspicious of Islam.

Activists know how to speak to sound democratic, Carlbom says – they say the right things about equality and human rights, but in practice, they stand for values that are incompatible with Swedish norms.

It becomes a kind of veneer of Swedish values that hides an Islamic ideological agenda, says Carlbom. He warns that campaigns like these risk legitimizing the very individuals and movements that oppose democratic principles.

Carlbom points out that in practice, it is difficult to find imams with a liberal attitude, as most theologically educated individuals share a traditional Muslim view. At the same time, he says, there are many cultural Muslims in Sweden with more open and less fundamentalist interpretations – but they rarely have a voice in these contexts.

“Would have done differently today”

Isak Reichel, current director of the Authority for Support to Faith Communities, was not working there when the campaign was conducted. He tells Kvartal that at the time, the authority was not aware of any connections to the Iranian security service.

The authority also collaborated with the Public Health Agency, Säpo, and MSB in the work – without any of these objecting to the religious representatives.

If we had the information we have today, we would of course have acted differently, Reichel assures, but does not say why better background checks were not carried out on the individuals selected for the campaign or why problematic Muslim communities continue to receive funding.

Reichel also admits that the authority, through its omissions, contributed to legitimizing the relevant imams and their values, but emphasizes that the purpose was to reach groups where trust in the state is low. He does not delve further into the underlying integration aspects of this.

However, the videos are still available on SST’s YouTube channel. Reichel says they will be removed when the authority is disbanded at the turn of the year, and justifies the decision to leave them up by stating that “nothing controversial is said in the actual videos,” despite having just admitted that the individuals conveying the message are being legitimized.

Naivety despite known risks

According to assessors, the case shows how state institutions continue to struggle with handling religious actors with dual agendas. At the time the campaign was launched, there was already extensive reporting on Muslim radicalization in Sweden and Iranian influence within certain congregations. Despite this, there was a lack of vigilance and a willingness to control.

Aje Carlbom argues that the problem is structural: a fear of being perceived as Islamophobic leads authorities to turn a blind eye rather than investigate. The result is that the state itself contributes to strengthening the most conservative forces within Swedish Muslim environments – at the expense of those who actually stand for democratic values.

From the turn of the year, SST will be disbanded as an independent authority and will come under the same umbrella as the grant-giving Agency for Youth and Civil Society Issues (MUCF).