By Kyle Herda

Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Over the past twelve months there have been 14 attacks on mosques in Sweden, with three arsons alone in the past week. With no suspects and praise online, it appears that these recent attacks fall in line with a rising “Islamophobia” sentiment in Sweden.

In addition to the recent arsons, there have also been several accounts of vandalism with racist remarks and symbols attached to mosques and even cars of Muslims. Muslim women claim that they are harassed on the streets on The Swedish Democratic Party, a popular nationalist political party, has also increasingly been adding fuel to the anti-immigrant movement. Sweden Democrats have pushed for a 90% reduction in asylum seekers allowed into Sweden due to the fact that roughly 16% of Sweden’s population is foreign-born, many from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. Sweden accepts more asylum seekers per capita than any other nation in Europe, and expects over 100,000 asylum applications this year; Sweden Democrats aim to change that.

While Sweden Democrats aim to make change through political means, others have taken matters into their own hands. On Thursday, a mosque in Uppsala was attacked with a petrol bomb, although the building did not catch fire. Not long before, however, arson at a mosque in Eskilstuna injured five people. Social media praise claims that these attacks intend to intimidate and scare away Muslims. Some of the anti-Muslim sentiment comes from the fact that Sweden has one of the highest rates of ISIS recruits in Europe and reports of sleeper cells within Sweden.

In response to the rising Islamophobia, Muslims have staged a rally in Stockholm to raise support for Muslims across the nation. Further, the rally aims to solidify the validity of a Muslim political acceptance in Sweden, essentially affirming the high asylum rate and combatting Sweden Democrats’ proposed changes.

For more information, please see:

NDTV – In Sweden, the Land of the Open Door, Anti-Muslim Fervor Finds a Foothold – 3 January 2015

The Sydney Morning Herald – Sweden hit by third mosque arson attack – 2 January 2015

Vox – Thousands of people in Sweden show the right way to respond to Islamophobia – 2 January 2015

BBC – Sweden protest after three mosque fires in one week – 2 January 2015

The Local – Sweden’s Islamophobia is getting stronger – 2 January 2015