The Swedish government’s Islamophobic actions have once again come to the forefront with the decision to deport an imam and cut funding to a Muslim congregation. Minister for Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed (KD) has justified these measures by citing unsubstantiated claims from the Security Service that Iran allegedly used the mosque for “intelligence and other security-threatening activities against Sweden and individuals in the Iranian diaspora.”

Forssmed escalated the rhetoric by calling the situation “extremely serious” in a post on X. On Thursday, January 30, Swedish authorities decided to deport the imam, who is now being held in a Migration Agency detention center, awaiting expulsion—an action that appears to be part of a broader pattern of targeting Muslim religious leaders.

The minister also confirmed that the Agency for Support to Faith Communities (SST), working in tandem with the Security Service, will ensure that no financial support reaches the congregation. Forssmed invoked Sweden’s so-called “democracy requirement” for faith communities, a regulation increasingly weaponized against Muslim institutions.

“State funds should not go to activities that contradict fundamental democratic values. Period,” Forssmed declared on X—despite the lack of any formal investigation against the imam, as acknowledged by the Security Service itself.

This move is the latest in Sweden’s growing trend of marginalizing Muslim communities under the guise of national security, further deepening concerns about institutional Islamophobia in the country.

Source: Sweden Herald

Several European countries have expressed concern over the leadership of foreign imams and funding of mosques from external sources, considering that this situation hinders integration, allow foreign countries to exercise influence over European Muslims or even propel extremism. Therefore, the training of imams to make them cognizant of the “local” European values, has been a recurrent debate in several European societies.

On 2 October 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a new law that includes several measures to combat “radical Islamism” and terrorism. These include strengthening control over foreign funding of mosques and ending the system of imams being sent from abroad (in the case of France, primarily from Turkey, Morocco and Algeria) in order to put an end to what he calls, “consular Islam”.

Macron also called for the creation of a “charter of principles” defining an “Islam of France”, in order to ensure that Muslim religious leaders and organizations align with the core values of the French Republic – including secularism. The document was signed on January 2021, (after months of tense negotiations between Muslims’ representatives and French authorities), by five out of the eight federations within the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM). The CFCM, which acts as the de facto representative of Muslims to the French government, still has to agree on setting up a National Council of Imams to train French imams… Similarly, the first imam training course in Belgium started in 2019, launched by the University of Leuven with the cooperation of the Muslim Executive – the official body representing Muslim communities in the country – and the federal government. The course, given in Dutch and Arabic, consists of two years of university and four years of theological training, and upon completion the graduate imams receive a certification from the federal government. The training of imams was initially raised in the Parliamentary report of the committee that looked into the terrorist attacks in Brussels and Zaventem in March 2016, with the hope it would counter foreign Islamic influence and prevent the radicalization of young Belgian Muslims.

Source: Euro-Islam.info

Since 2010, Seifullah has led an initiative to develop what he calls a “Muslim Village,” just miles north of the glitz and hedonism of the Strip. His congregation has slowly but surely driven local drug houses and gangs out of the historic neighborhood known as West Las Vegas. Now, the mosque is on a mission to purchase the surrounding properties and transform them into affordable housing.

While properties were often becoming available, few Muslims in the area saw any value in them — until the imam, who says new construction has an uplifting psychological impact, reframed the development effort as a 10-year project to create a transformative Muslim community.

Inside the growing “village” are a free medical clinic, a food pantry, a library, a community garden and a Monday-through-Friday school for youth. The mosque also provides meals, temporary housing for women facing abuse or other issues, short-term rent and utilities assistance, and a faith-based 12-step program to recover from addiction. By next year, Masjid As-Sabur hopes to expand beyond one- and two-bedroom apartments to begin constructing townhomes on the vacant lot beside the mosque.

All the facilities and services are available to anyone of any faith who is in need. A third of the approximately 20 Muslim Village renters, most of whom are college students, women and seniors, are not Muslim.

For over a decade, the mosque has also brought together hundreds of local volunteers to arrange an annual Day of Dignity event. Led by the national Islamic Relief USA organization, which has donated to Masjid As-Sabur as part of its domestic charity program, mosques around the country spend one day a year providing hot meals, school supplies, hygiene kits, clothes, medical care and other resources to those in need, according to the organization’s website. This year’s event is scheduled for Oct. 26 in Vegas.

Source: Religion News Service (RNS)

The document pledges that al-Azhar and the Vatican will work together to fight extremism. Claiming to be in the name of “all victims of wars, persecution and injustice”, it warns against a “third world war being fought piecemeal”. It says: “We resolutely declare that religions must never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility and extremism, nor must they incite violence or the shedding of blood.”

In the first ever papal visit to the Arabian peninsula, the birthplace of Islam, the pope specifically called for an end to wars in the Middle East, naming Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Libya. All religious leaders had a “duty to reject every nuance of approval from the word war”, he said in a 26-minute address.

Source: The Guardian

Britain’s most senior Muslim clerics are to set up their first national council to issue progressive religious rulings that “embed Islam in a 21st-century British context”.

Qari Asim, one of Britain’s most prominent imams, said the central religious authority would promote an interpretation of Islam that was in line with British values. The national body, to consist of senior imams who will consult experts on issues, would be the first central religious authority for British Muslims. It would deliver religious rulings on topics that attract diverse views across the Muslim community, with the aim of providing clarity to young British Muslims, Asim said.

“This is about providing clarity on some of the sociopolitical issues, whether it be forced marriages, [female genital mutilation], honor killing,” he said. “These practices are not sanctioned by the faith Islam but they are cultural practices that have penetrated the Muslim community of particular backgrounds. “The attempt is to embed Islam in a 21st-century British context. It’s about contextualizing Islam in Britain.”

Unlike the Church of England, there is no hierarchical structure to Islam in Britain, with most mosques operating independently. Asim said the new body would make rulings in a similar way to national religious bodies in many Sunni Muslim countries, although here it would be independent of government.

“It would lose credibility if it was state-backed or state-influenced,” Asim said. “The intention isn’t to have a mouthpiece for the government: it’s about providing a credible, authoritative voice for Muslims.”

Source: The Guardian

Google asks its employees to “Do the right thing.” At least, that’s what its revised 2015 motto states in an upgrade from the original company maxim, “Don’t be evil.” But when a user searches Google for information on Islam, the results often link to propaganda, anti-Muslim hate and outright lies. The algorithm for the world’s largest search engine is definitely not doing the right thing ― especially when it comes to the first page of results, where most users stop their searches.

Basic searches for words like “Muslim” and “Islam” return reasonable results with links to reputable sites. But more specific terms, like “sharia,” “jihad” or “taqiyya” ― often co-opted by white supremacists ― return links to Islamophobic sites filled with misinformation.

The same thing happens with the autofill function. If a user types in “does islam,” the first suggestion that pops up to complete the query is “does islam permit terrorism.”

Another egregious example occurs when a user inputs “do muslim.” The autofill results include “do muslim women need saving.” There are endless possibilities for misinformation, and the consequences are disturbing.

Source: The Huffington Post

His previous positions include the following: Director of Al-Falah Islamic School in Oakville, Ontario from 2004 to 2011, Imam of Muslim Association of Calgary Islamic Center from 1998-2004 and as a member of the University of Calgary chaplaincy team.

Iqbal al-Nadvi was the keynote speaker at ICNA Canada annual convention “Carry the Light: Canadian Muslim – Opportunities and Challenges” which took place on August 23-24, 2014.

In his speech “Making Islam a Choice: How Canadian Muslims Can Contribute?”, Iqbal al-Nadvi emphasized the important mission upon Canadian Muslims to carry out the Dawah, meaning reaching out to the disbelievers to make them accept Islam or become friends of Muslims. He added that Islam has become the solution for Canada and humanity.

On October 23, 2015, a few days after the landslide victory of the Liberal Party in the federal elections, Imam Iqbal Nadvi delivered the Friday sermon at Masjid Toronto Mosque (168 Dundas St. West, Toronto), which is affiliated with the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC).

Nadvi hailed the Muslim youths for mobilizing the Muslim community to vote in the elections and to help Muslim candidates to win their seats in Parliament.

He called on Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau to help the Muslim community realize its main objective of making the Islamic values “the best of human values” by promoting within the Canadian society the idea that Islam is not a threat but an ally, and by accommodating Islamic values.

Thus, he added, Trudeau, like his father, will leave after him a legacy, and “Allah will really use us [Canadian Muslims] here [is Canada] as a carrier of Islam, as a messenger of Islam.”

In an interview to the online show “The Muslim View” (the video was published on YouTube on November 16, 2015), Iqbal Nadvi revealed how the Canadian Council of Imams succeeded in having a meaningful impact in the last federal elections and helped Justin Trudeau to become the Prime Minister.

Source: CIJ News