Stockholm: Go-ahead for new mosque

Stockholm: Go-ahead for new mosque


Local politicians are in agreement that a mosque should be built in Rinkeby, a suburb in western Stockholm.


The Muslim population in Rinkeby, an area where many immigrants have congregated, has long requested the construction of a mosque, and Stockholm has now identified a suitable location.


Representatives of six Swedish political parties published a joint editorial in Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper on Saturday in support of the new house of worship.


The six politicians hope that a mosque might stimulate the local economy and increase security in the area, pointing to the mosque built in Södermalm in the 1990s as an example of a similar success story. They also emphasize it is important for the parties to maintain a broad coalition to stand behind the mosque construction in order to combat prejudice.


“The mosque will be built on the site where the former administrative building for Rinkeby stood. During the spring, the City of Stockholm...will earmark this site as a location for the Swedish Islamic Association (Islamiska förbundet) to build a mosque. It is a positive addition to Rinkeby and to Stockholm,” they wrote in DN.


Source: The Local (English)