After years of political struggle, plans for a large mosque in Linköping are now moving another step towards reality. On Tuesday, the incoming coalition led by the Social Democrats, Left Party, Centre Party, and Linköpingslistan pushed through a decision for the zoning plan to proceed to public review. The Sweden Democrats (SD) accuse the red-green parties of fast-tracking the mosque project. At the same time, municipal officials want to tighten control over the organizations behind the project and take a deeper look at how the mosque’s construction will be financed.

The plans for a larger mosque in Linköping are far from new. The Islamic Association in Linköping, IFIL, was established back in 1992 and has since carried out religious activities in the city.

According to the association itself, the congregation has since grown by more than 500 percent. Today, activities take place in a rented facility of about 150 square meters.

Daily prayers, Friday prayers, Quran and Arabic lessons, as well as activities for children, youth, and families are all held there.
The association states that overcrowding has become so severe that during Friday prayers and holidays, visitors have sometimes had to pray outdoors, and larger venues have had to be rented for celebrations such as Eid.

In order to establish a permanent mosque, the Linköping Mosque Foundation (LIMS) was formed. The foundation has stated that it was established to jointly build, own, and manage the mosque alongside the Islamic Association.

The connection between the organizations is formal – the LIMS board is elected at the Islamic Association’s annual meeting. The plans took a concrete step forward in February 2021 when the mosque foundation submitted a proposal to build a mosque and community center at Kåparp near Lambohov.

In September of that year, the Urban Development Committee gave a positive zoning notice. The municipality required, among other things, a framework agreement and that the foundation disclose how the planning and the construction itself would be financed.

The municipality deemed that these conditions were met in autumn 2022, and in December that year it was decided that work on the zoning plan would start.

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The Mosque: “Great Joy”

Linköping Mosque Foundation and the Islamic Association welcomed the news. On their website, they described the decision as “a great joy for Muslims in Linköping” after what they called a complicated and difficult process.

At the same time, it was clear that full financing had not yet been secured. After the decision, the organizations wrote that they would now begin working to “raise more money for the project” and urged Muslims to contribute.

The foundation’s vision is broader than just a prayer venue. The project is described as a mosque and Islamic cultural center with education, youth and family activities, and the capacity to receive schools and other visitors.

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The center, according to the foundation, is intended to be open to society at large and function as a “bridge builder” to counter ignorance about Islam.
The current municipal plan allows for a building with a ridge height of 11 meters and a total height of 13 meters.

According to the municipality, the proposals so far include no minaret. Any future calls to prayer would require a separate police permit.

SD: “Rammed Through” a Fast-Track

SD group leader Jörgen Ring reacted strongly to the decision. In a post after the meeting, he described the handling as the new coalition having “rammed through” a committee initiative to give the mosque construction a fast-track through the administration.

According to Ring, this was done despite objections from municipal officials against departing from the usual routines.

He also went beyond criticism of the process itself, writing that the approach fuels disdain for politicians and “suspicions of corruption.”
“If the decision to build a mosque was made this quickly, how fast then could the Islamization of Linköping happen?” Ring writes.

READ ALSO: SD and Moderates in joint effort to stop Linköping’s first mosque – Greens outraged

Samnytt is seeking Jörgen Ring for comments, including clarification on which procedures he believes were bypassed and what underlies his corruption claims.

The Administration: No Demonstrated Islamist Ties

Already on June 17, SD councilor Rolf Edmark submitted a committee initiative demanding that planning work be stopped and that the municipality not sell or otherwise transfer the relevant land to Linköping Mosque Foundation.

SD pointed to the Islamic Association in Linköping, claiming that through the United Islamic Associations in Sweden, the organization has ties to Islamism and links to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The party also raised concerns about financing and referred to the mosque foundation’s own management reports, where, according to SD, it is stated that support has been sought from other states.

However, the municipal administration has reached a different conclusion on these connections. In a document dated October 5, it is stated that the administration has been in touch with the municipality’s central security unit, which reviewed the Linköping Mosque Foundation.

The review, according to the document, found no evidence of links to either Islamism or the Muslim Brotherhood.

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The administration also writes that so far, no signs of “significant foreign financing” or any direct connection to security threats or Islamism have come to light. Therefore, SD’s committee initiative was recommended to be rejected.

Similar questions about possible Islamist ties have previously been raised by SD in local politics.

When the party’s motion was considered in 2023, Chris Dahlqvist (SD) among others claimed links to the Muslim Brotherhood and that the organization behind the project had sought financing from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

New Scrutiny Demanded for All Income

But the municipal service report does not mean the issue of financing has been laid to rest. On the contrary, the administration notes that the mosque foundation’s website includes IBAN and BIC codes that enable international transfers.

Moreover, the administration assesses that any land transaction with the foundation would differ from the municipality’s usual property sales, in part because the project lacks a commercial purpose. Therefore, checks must be more comprehensive than usual.

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Before a final approval can be made, officials therefore want to see an updated and more detailed review of all accounts and income from the past five years, for both the foundation and the association behind the project.

The foundation must also provide a financing plan showing where the money is expected to come from, when it will be received, and how much of the funding must be in place before construction can start.

The municipality also wants to know if there are monthly donors or commitments of future gifts. The review should also address whether the foundation receives or plans to seek state/public funding.

The municipality moreover wishes to reach a specific agreement with the foundation for continued financial audits. The administration estimates this review will take about two months.

Even if this is satisfactorily completed, officials stress that this does not automatically mean any land will be sold or leased to the foundation. Continued checks on income and financing plans are suggested as a condition even after that.

READ ALSO: Green Party top wants giant mosque in Linköping

The Mosque Issue Split S and M

The mosque debate has at the same time had consequences that go far beyond the zoning plan itself. The Social Democrats and Moderates governed Linköping together during the previous mandate period, but after the 2026 election the parties parted ways.

During negotiations for a new governing coalition, the Moderates’ Niklas Borg noted that the parties’ “completely opposing views on the mosque issue” were an additional obstacle to continued cooperation.

Instead, the Social Democrats negotiated a coalition with the Left Party, Centre Party, and Linköpingslistan. These four parties now have a majority in the city council, municipal executive board, and committees.

One of the first high-profile issues for the new coalition has thus become the mosque.

SD Has Tried to Stop the Project for Years

The conflict dates back at least to 2021, when the urban development committee decided to start changing the zoning plan to make the mosque possible.

The following year, SD demanded that the plans be halted. The party already then cited suspected Islamist links, financing issues, and the risk the mosque would contribute to segregation and parallel societies.

In 2026, the party returned with a new committee initiative. There, SD demanded two concrete measures: to stop the planning for Lambohov 2:20 and for the municipality not to sell or otherwise transfer land in the area to the Linköping Mosque Foundation.

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The administration recommended rejecting that initiative. Now, instead, the zoning plan moves forward – but with the financing issue still open and with demands from the municipality’s own officials for a much deeper financial review before the process can reach its conclusion.

Samnytt is also seeking SD politicians Chris Dahlqvist and MP Jonas Andersson, who have previously been involved in the matter, for comments.