Michael Ejercito
2018-06-14 11:21:35 UTC
Sweden: "It's Fun to Build a Mosque"
by Judith Bergman
June 14, 2018 at 5:00 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12495/sweden-mosques-islam
The desire of Swedish authorities that the content of the Muslim call to
prayer, also known as the Adhan, can be ignored and that the issue is only
of noise levels is symptomatic of the way Swedish authorities in general
approach the increasing Islamization of Sweden: that is continually to deny
or ignore the scope of the problem.
In 1993, when the Catholic Church wanted to build a tower for ringing church
bells in Växjö, the municipality advised the church to refrain, as the
neighbors had complained that they would be bothered by church bells.
Rinkeby subway station was recently categorized as too dangerous for subway
personnel to work there, unless escorted by the police, due to the security
risk created by stone-throwing and hostile gangs.
Some Muslims in Sweden want to be able to broadcast public calls to prayer
throughout the country. They have already succeeded in obtaining permission
for this in three cities -- Botkyrka, Karlskrona and Växjö. "We want to have
calls to prayer in more places. There are many Muslims who are Swedish
citizens, who have the same rights as everyone else" said Avdi Islami, Press
Officer of the Växjö Muslim Foundation, after the police recently gave
permission for the Växjö mosque to make a roughly 4-minute-long prayer call
every Friday around noon.
A March poll of 1,000 Swedes showed that a majority of Swedes -- 60
percent -- are against public Muslim calls to prayer.
"We do not consider the contents of the loudspeaker broadcast, but [only]
the potential noise that it makes," said Magnus Rothoff, unit commander of
the southern Swedish police region, in explaining the decision-making
process of the police.
"Therefore, we chose to refer it to the municipality's environmental
management, where there is expertise on the [noise] level that should apply.
Then we came to the conclusion that we are not disturbed to the extent that
one can make a different decision than to approve."
The municipality also did not consider the content of the call to prayer.
The desire of Swedish authorities that the content of the Muslim call to
prayer, also known as the Adhan, can be ignored and that the issue is only
of noise levels is symptomatic of the way Swedish authorities in general
approach the increasing Islamization of Sweden: that is continually to deny
or ignore the scope of the problem.
The content of the Adhan prayer, from a Western point of view, is deeply
problematic. Its purpose is not only a neutral call to prayer -- such as
church bells, which consist only of musical notes. Here is the translation
of the prayer:
"Allah is the greatest (Allahu akbar). I testify that there is no God but
Allah (Ashhadu anna la ila ill Allah). I testify that Mohammed is Allah's
Prophet (Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul Allah). Come to prayer (Hayya alas
salah). Come to security/salvation. Allah is the greatest (Allahu akbar).
There is no God but Allah (La ilah ill Allah)".
"Allahu akbar" means "Allah is greatest" or "Allah is greater " --
presumably meaning than other deities.
In 1993, when the Catholic Church wanted to build a tower for ringing church
bells in Växjö, the municipality advised the church to refrain, as the
neighbors had complained that they would be bothered by church bells.
As recent decisions by Swedish authorities in Växjö and Karlskrona have
undoubtedly created a legal precedent, however, Avdi Islami's wish to have
calls to prayer from mosques all over Sweden is likely to succeed. The
Swedish authorities, therefore, are themselves creating the conditions for
further Islamization.
Apart from wanting to spread the call to prayer to mosques all over Sweden,
new mosques continue to be planned and built. In Rinkeby, a suburb of
Stockholm, the construction of the Rinkeby Mosque is about to begin. With 18
domes and at an estimated 5,000 square meters --1500 of which are dedicated
to the mosque, and the rest to a restaurant, classrooms and a library -- the
mosque will be among Scandinavia's largest, comparable to the Malmö mega
mosque, which opened in April 2017. The Rinkeby mosque, designed by the
Swedish architect Johan Celsing, will be constructed by NCC, a major
construction company in Sweden. The firm estimates that the complex should
be ready in 2020 at a cost of around 100 million Swedish kroner ($11.4
million). "It's going to be fun to build a mosque, from a construction point
of view," said Fredrik Anheim, Head of Division at NCC Building.
"For eight years, we have been trying to get funding, but now we are as
close as you can get," said Ibrahim Bouraleh, Vice President of the Rinkeby
Mosque Collection Foundation, who refutes claims that the mosque is being
funded by foreign donors. The foundation, however, has only collected 3
million out of the 100 million Swedish kroner needed, so the question
arises, who indeed is funding the project?
The organization behind the mosque is the Islamic Association of Järva
(Islamiska förbundet i Järva), part of the Islamic Association in Sweden
(Islamiska Förbundet i Sverige, IFSI), considered an organizational front
for the Muslim Brotherhood. As IFSI clearly states (at the bottom of the
linked page and in its statutes), it is a member of the Federation of
Islamic Organisations in Europe (FIOE), which is generally acknowledged as
an umbrella organization for local Muslim Brotherhood groups from all over
Europe.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in 2005, then-president of
FIOE, Ahmet al-Rawi, said, when asked about ties with the Muslim
Brotherhood, "We are interlinked with them with a common point of view. We
have a good close relationship."
The area of the future mega mosque, Rinkeby, is considered an "especially
vulnerable area" -- known as a no-go zone -- defined by the police as an
area "characterized by a social problem and criminal presence that leads to
a widespread unwillingness to participate in the judicial process and
difficulties for the police to fulfill its mission. The situation is
considered acute".
Rinkeby subway station was recently categorized as too dangerous for subway
personnel to work there, unless escorted by the police, due to the security
risk created by stone-throwing and hostile gangs.
Rinkeby subway station, in Stockholm, Sweden, was recently categorized as
too dangerous for subway personnel to work there, unless escorted by the
police, due to the security risk created by stone-throwing and hostile
gangs. (Image source: Tricia Wang/Flickr)
In December 2017, Lise Tamm, Head of the National Unit against International
and Organized Crime, said, "Rinkeby is almost like a war zone. When the
police work there, they work as the military defense would".
Sweden's Islamization of itself barrels on.
Judith Bergman is a columnist, lawyer and political analyst.
---
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by Judith Bergman
June 14, 2018 at 5:00 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12495/sweden-mosques-islam
The desire of Swedish authorities that the content of the Muslim call to
prayer, also known as the Adhan, can be ignored and that the issue is only
of noise levels is symptomatic of the way Swedish authorities in general
approach the increasing Islamization of Sweden: that is continually to deny
or ignore the scope of the problem.
In 1993, when the Catholic Church wanted to build a tower for ringing church
bells in Växjö, the municipality advised the church to refrain, as the
neighbors had complained that they would be bothered by church bells.
Rinkeby subway station was recently categorized as too dangerous for subway
personnel to work there, unless escorted by the police, due to the security
risk created by stone-throwing and hostile gangs.
Some Muslims in Sweden want to be able to broadcast public calls to prayer
throughout the country. They have already succeeded in obtaining permission
for this in three cities -- Botkyrka, Karlskrona and Växjö. "We want to have
calls to prayer in more places. There are many Muslims who are Swedish
citizens, who have the same rights as everyone else" said Avdi Islami, Press
Officer of the Växjö Muslim Foundation, after the police recently gave
permission for the Växjö mosque to make a roughly 4-minute-long prayer call
every Friday around noon.
A March poll of 1,000 Swedes showed that a majority of Swedes -- 60
percent -- are against public Muslim calls to prayer.
"We do not consider the contents of the loudspeaker broadcast, but [only]
the potential noise that it makes," said Magnus Rothoff, unit commander of
the southern Swedish police region, in explaining the decision-making
process of the police.
"Therefore, we chose to refer it to the municipality's environmental
management, where there is expertise on the [noise] level that should apply.
Then we came to the conclusion that we are not disturbed to the extent that
one can make a different decision than to approve."
The municipality also did not consider the content of the call to prayer.
The desire of Swedish authorities that the content of the Muslim call to
prayer, also known as the Adhan, can be ignored and that the issue is only
of noise levels is symptomatic of the way Swedish authorities in general
approach the increasing Islamization of Sweden: that is continually to deny
or ignore the scope of the problem.
The content of the Adhan prayer, from a Western point of view, is deeply
problematic. Its purpose is not only a neutral call to prayer -- such as
church bells, which consist only of musical notes. Here is the translation
of the prayer:
"Allah is the greatest (Allahu akbar). I testify that there is no God but
Allah (Ashhadu anna la ila ill Allah). I testify that Mohammed is Allah's
Prophet (Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul Allah). Come to prayer (Hayya alas
salah). Come to security/salvation. Allah is the greatest (Allahu akbar).
There is no God but Allah (La ilah ill Allah)".
"Allahu akbar" means "Allah is greatest" or "Allah is greater " --
presumably meaning than other deities.
In 1993, when the Catholic Church wanted to build a tower for ringing church
bells in Växjö, the municipality advised the church to refrain, as the
neighbors had complained that they would be bothered by church bells.
As recent decisions by Swedish authorities in Växjö and Karlskrona have
undoubtedly created a legal precedent, however, Avdi Islami's wish to have
calls to prayer from mosques all over Sweden is likely to succeed. The
Swedish authorities, therefore, are themselves creating the conditions for
further Islamization.
Apart from wanting to spread the call to prayer to mosques all over Sweden,
new mosques continue to be planned and built. In Rinkeby, a suburb of
Stockholm, the construction of the Rinkeby Mosque is about to begin. With 18
domes and at an estimated 5,000 square meters --1500 of which are dedicated
to the mosque, and the rest to a restaurant, classrooms and a library -- the
mosque will be among Scandinavia's largest, comparable to the Malmö mega
mosque, which opened in April 2017. The Rinkeby mosque, designed by the
Swedish architect Johan Celsing, will be constructed by NCC, a major
construction company in Sweden. The firm estimates that the complex should
be ready in 2020 at a cost of around 100 million Swedish kroner ($11.4
million). "It's going to be fun to build a mosque, from a construction point
of view," said Fredrik Anheim, Head of Division at NCC Building.
"For eight years, we have been trying to get funding, but now we are as
close as you can get," said Ibrahim Bouraleh, Vice President of the Rinkeby
Mosque Collection Foundation, who refutes claims that the mosque is being
funded by foreign donors. The foundation, however, has only collected 3
million out of the 100 million Swedish kroner needed, so the question
arises, who indeed is funding the project?
The organization behind the mosque is the Islamic Association of Järva
(Islamiska förbundet i Järva), part of the Islamic Association in Sweden
(Islamiska Förbundet i Sverige, IFSI), considered an organizational front
for the Muslim Brotherhood. As IFSI clearly states (at the bottom of the
linked page and in its statutes), it is a member of the Federation of
Islamic Organisations in Europe (FIOE), which is generally acknowledged as
an umbrella organization for local Muslim Brotherhood groups from all over
Europe.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in 2005, then-president of
FIOE, Ahmet al-Rawi, said, when asked about ties with the Muslim
Brotherhood, "We are interlinked with them with a common point of view. We
have a good close relationship."
The area of the future mega mosque, Rinkeby, is considered an "especially
vulnerable area" -- known as a no-go zone -- defined by the police as an
area "characterized by a social problem and criminal presence that leads to
a widespread unwillingness to participate in the judicial process and
difficulties for the police to fulfill its mission. The situation is
considered acute".
Rinkeby subway station was recently categorized as too dangerous for subway
personnel to work there, unless escorted by the police, due to the security
risk created by stone-throwing and hostile gangs.
Rinkeby subway station, in Stockholm, Sweden, was recently categorized as
too dangerous for subway personnel to work there, unless escorted by the
police, due to the security risk created by stone-throwing and hostile
gangs. (Image source: Tricia Wang/Flickr)
In December 2017, Lise Tamm, Head of the National Unit against International
and Organized Crime, said, "Rinkeby is almost like a war zone. When the
police work there, they work as the military defense would".
Sweden's Islamization of itself barrels on.
Judith Bergman is a columnist, lawyer and political analyst.
---
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