Swedish Court Closes Muslim Schools over Islamist Ideology

A Swedish Administrative Court has closed two independent Muslim schools in Stockholm and Uppsala after security police warned of the spreading of Islamist ideology and possible radicalisation.

The Administrative Court in Stockholm closed the two Muslim schools this week after ruling that neither met the requirements for suitability under the Swedish Education Act.

Both schools have been under scrutiny after the Swedish Security Police (Sapo) warned that students attending the schools were being influenced by Islamist ideology and had the potential to be radicalised, broadcaster SVT reports.

Earlier this year, the Swedish School Inspectorate moved to withdraw permits from both of the schools over the Sapo warning, and due to the foundations that ran the schools having links to similar schools in Gothenburg that also came under scrutiny.

A Somali national working as a principal at one of the Gothenburg schools was prosecuted and convicted of financial crimes after scamming 13 million Swedish kronor (£1.1 million/$1.5 million) from taxpayers and sending the cash to Somalia.

Despite the Swedish School Inspectorate withdrawing the permits from the schools, they were still able to operate after appealing to the Administrative Court. Following the ruling, one of the schools has vowed to further appeal the decision.

The shutdown of the two schools is not without precedent in Sweden. In 2019, for example, the Swedish school Inspectorate shut down another Islamic school in Gothenburg after its former owner, Abdel-Nasser el Nadi, had been arrested by Sapo.

The security police also recommended that he and several others be deported from Sweden, branding them threats to Sweden’s national security.

A poll taken just a year before in 2019 revealed that the vast majority of Swedes, 73 per cent, were in favour of banning religious schools entirely — although some criticised banning schools of faiths such as Christianity, which may teach different values than the schools causing real concerns.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.