Every year, the Waste Ombudsman (SlösO) and the Taxpayers’ Association appoint what they consider to be the worst waste of taxpayer money for the year. Recently, the heavily criticized state grants to the antidemocratic and Islamist ‘study association’ Ibn Rushd were stopped. However, the flow of taxpayer money to the organization still qualifies as the year’s waste, according to Waste Ombudsman Philip Syrén and the Swedish people.

“The taxpayer-funded extremism is the worst waste of our common money this year“, writes SlösO Philip Syrén in an op-ed in Expressen. For the past decade, they have presented the winner of the ‘Worst Waste of the Year’ competition every January.

READ ALSO: Vote for the worst waste of taxpayer money

In 2024, the worthless wind turbines in Gävleborg, negligence in welfare, and the EU’s corona fund were surpassed by the grant money to the Islamist ‘study association’ Ibn Rushd as the waste of taxpayers’ money that most Swedes consider to be the worst.

Allowed to spread hate and antisemitism for several years

It has been widely known for several years that Ibn Rushd spread Muslim hate messages, yet substantial sums of Swedish taxpayers’ money continued to flow to the organization so that, behind a facade of providing education, it could continue to propagate values that contradict Sweden and spread antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Ibn Rushd has connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, and there have also been suspicions of terrorist connections. These have been denied by the organization but not dismissed.

However, last year, the decision-makers finally realized the situation, and the tax grants to Ibn Rushd were withdrawn. This resulted in the organization announcing that it is shutting down its operations. This was to the great joy of the vast majority of Swedes but accompanied by complaints from radical actors in the so-called immigrant Muslim civil society.

Doubtful if the decision-makers have learned their lesson

However, Syrén is skeptical about whether the belated decision should be interpreted as the country’s politicians and officials having learned something, will not repeat the same mistakes in the future, and are now taking a broader perspective on the waste of taxpayer money. “It’s as if the facts are running off the indifferent political class like water off a duck’s back“, writes the Waste Ombudsman.

READ ALSO: After the grant stop – Ibn Rushd shuts down

According to Syrén, the state grants to Ibn Rushd are just the tip of the iceberg of tax waste in Swedish society. He is also unimpressed by the Tidö government’s initiative to establish a payment authority tasked with plugging the leaks in the welfare systems.

“Just a drop in the ocean”

The four parties in the government coalition have mentioned 800 million kronor as the amount they hope the new authority will be able to stop in terms of fraud and misuse of taxpayer money. Even if the hope is fulfilled, which is far from certain, it is still, according to Syrén, “just a drop in the ocean” considering that around 15 billion kronor is estimated to be paid out incorrectly every year, just through the welfare systems.

“The waste is a cancer that has spread through all parts of the societal body, and the measures proposed from a political perspective are just a band-aid solution“, concludes the Waste Ombudsman. He calls for action at a completely different and higher level of ambition than the current one, where it seems that they are satisfied if tax waste decreases by a few percent.