SWEDISH GOVERNMENT PROPOSES IMAM TRAINING

C O N F I D E N T I A L STOCKHOLM 000213

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE PASS TO FARAH PANDITH, EUR/FO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL ECON OIIP KISL KPAO
SUBJECT: SWEDISH GOVERNMENT PROPOSES IMAM TRAINING

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission RSilverman for reason 1.4(c).


1. (C) Minister for Higher Education and Research Lars
Leijonborg told EUR Senior Advisor Farah Pandith at a March 6
meeting that his controversial proposal for the Swedish state
to establish and fund an imam training program was in
response to concerns about radicalization in Sweden's Muslim
community. "The reality is that Muslims in Sweden are forced
to accept imams educated and financed by Saudi Arabia, and
that is part of the radicalization problem in Sweden,"
Leijonborg said. He also said the proposal is a matter of
fairness, citing Sweden's tradition of government funding for
training Christian religious leaders. Leijonborg told
Pandith that the issue was first raised with the Swedish
government by Muslim leaders concerned about the lack of a
training program to sensitize foreign imams to Swedish
culture. Leijonborg said an independent expert will be
appointed by April 2008 to initiate a study of the issue and
provide recommendations to the government.


2. (C) Senior Advisor Pandith said imam training is a
pressing issue across Europe because foreign imams lack the
skills to deal effectively with local needs and the gap is
being filled by extremists. She told Leijonborg that
momentum is building among European leaders to come together
on this issue. Pandith offered to help Swedish authorities
to connect with U.S. institutions addressing similar issues,
including Zaytuna Institute and the Hartford Seminary.
Linking local institutions with credible centers of Islamic
scholarship is vital. Centers such as Al Azhar have that
kind of credibility and gravitas. Countries in Europe need
to find a way to create places like that -- that have the
proper pedigree in terms of scholarship and faculty, Pandith
said. Muslim leaders have told EmbOffs that there are no
imam training centers in Sweden and that 90 percent of imams
in Sweden are from other countries. They are generally
sponsored by the sending country, where they may have
received some training, and once in Sweden often serve in
mosques catering to immigrant communities from the same
country. Most lack any formal training as Islamic scholars
and have no training to familiarize them with Swedish culture
and language. Asked about support from Muslim leaders for
his proposal, Leijonborg said the reaction has been "mostly
positive."


3. (C) COMMENT: The success of the government's imam training
proposal will depend on how the government addresses concerns
from local Muslim leaders. Our Swedish Muslim interlocutors
have expressed strong reservations about the proposal. END
COMMENT.


4. (U) Senior Advisor Pandith cleared on this message.
WOOD