Sweden Launches Project to Study Influence of Radical Islamic Salafism

The Swedish National Defence College has announced a new study that will examine the effects of the radical Islamic ideology Salafism in various cities across the country. 

The new project, which is set to last until 2021, was described by Filip Ahlin, an analyst at the Swedish National Defence College, as a way to “describe the problem and develop knowledge that can lay the foundation for action”, Swedish broadcaster SVT reports. 

Salafism, an extremist hard-line interpretation of Islam, is often linked to terrorism and to groups like the Islamic State and other terror organisations. 

One of the areas selected for the study is the Norrby area in the city of Borås. “Norrby is an area that has had some of the biggest problems. We will take it from there. Then, we have not decided entirely on what other areas we will look at,” Ahlin said. 

The researchers say they will also look at other areas labelled by the police as “vulnerable” or “particularly vulnerable”, areas that are commonly referred to as no-go zones where unemployment and crime are much higher than the national average.

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