Stockholm

Sweden became a country of immigration during World War II as it took in a large number of refugees from Germany, its Nordic neighbors, and the Baltic States. Many of these refugees returned to their native countries after the war, but a large number remained, among them most of the Balts. In the postwar period, immigration was dominated by laborers from other parts of Scandinavia as well as from Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, Turkey, and other countries. Regulated immigration introduced in the 1970s decreased non-Nordic immigration while increasing Nordic immigration.

Sweden has experienced a great deal of asylum immigration, including from Hungary in 1950s, the former Czechoslovakia in the 1960s, and Chile in the 1970s. But it was from 1972 onwards that asylum immigration came into focus. From the mid- to the late 1980s, asylum seekers from Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Eritrea, Somalia, and Kosovo were welcomed into Sweden. In the 1990s, over 100,000 ex-Yugoslavs, mostly Bosnians, settled in Sweden as refugees.

Stockholm is made up of a diverse mixture of Sweden’s migrant population. 28 percent of residents have immigrant or minority heritage. Languages spoken in Stockholm include Bosnian, Syriac, Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, Finnish, Persian, Spanish, Serbian, and Croatian. There are no official statistics indicating religious allegiance in Sweden. Christianity is the main religion in Stockholm, but Muslims and Jews also form an integral part of the population.

Approximately 50 percent of all Muslims in Sweden live in Stockholm, which is the intellectual and theological center of Islam in Sweden. Consequently, the majority of the Muslim organizations that were set up in Sweden in the 1970s and the 1980s are based in the city. The Muslim population in Stockholm is ethnically diverse and includes Muslims from Turkey, Pakistan, the former Yugoslavia, Albania, Uganda, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, and Eritrea.

The At Home in Europe: Muslims in Stockholm report focuses on the district of Järvafältet, which is a concentration of immigrant-dense suburbs, namely Rinkeby, Kista, Spånga, and Tensta. Known as an example of multiculturalism and diversity, the district’s blend of cultures and people from all over the world has created a vibrant neighborhood.

The focus on Järvafältet allows for a more nuanced understanding of the interaction between residents and policymakers where Muslims form a higher proportion of the population than within the city or state as a whole. A study of the local level also examines whether these demographic circumstances at the district and neighborhood level have encouraged the development of practical solutions to social policies that respond to the needs and views of local Muslim populations.