Teller Report

Tidö parties split after Åkesson's mosque initiative

11/25/2023, 3:37:13 PM

Highlights: Swedish Democrats want to stop the construction of new mosques. They also want to demolish existing mosques. The proposal has been met with strong opposition from within the party. The Swedish government is considering the proposal. It is not clear if the proposal will be approved by the party's congress or not. The party says it wants to protect the right of Muslims to practice their religion in Sweden, not just the right to build new mosques in the country, as the proposal suggests. The government is also considering a possible ban on building new mosques outside of Sweden.

The Sweden Democrats want to demolish Swedish mosques, something that was met with strong reactions on Saturday. Now, several representatives of the Tidö parties are criticizing the proposal, which Johan Pehrson calls "un-Swedish".


Jimmie Åkesson wants to stop the construction of new mosques – and demolish already built Islamist symbols and monuments, such as domes, minarets and entire mosque buildings.

"We need to demolish mosque buildings where anti-democratic, anti-Swedish, homophobic, anti-Semitic propaganda or general disinformation about Swedish society is spread," he said at the party's congress on Saturday.

"In Sweden, we don't tear down places of worship"

In an email to TT, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) criticizes Åkesson's move. "In Sweden, we do not demolish places of worship," he writes, adding that those who incite against Muslims harm Sweden and Swedish interests.

"As a society, we must fight back against violent extremism regardless of the grounds – but it must be done within the framework of the democratic state governed by law," he writes.

Government base divided

Liberal Party leader Johan Pehrson also criticized the Sweden Democrats' proposal to demolish mosques, and shows a disagreement within the Tidö parties' government base.

"Regardless of whether you are a Muslim, a Christian or a Jew, you have a self-evident right to practice your religion in safety in Sweden. Talk of confiscating and demolishing mosques is downright un-Swedish," he writes on X, formerly Twitter.

Hear Jimmie Åkesson justify the proposal in the video.