Sweden
Population: 10,54 millions
National Security Service: Säkerhetspolisen (Säpo)
National threat level: 4 "High" on a 5-step scale (Last update: August 17, 2023)
Last Islamist terrorist attack: 2017 Stockholm truck attack (April 7, 2017)
Sweden stood out as a safe haven for Islamist militants since the 70's when first pioneers from the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) settled in this country to avoid repression in the Muslim world. Throughout the 90's, more radical individuals from Tunisia and other North African countries, such as Moroccan citizen Mohamed Moumou, flowed towards Sweden to use this country as a rear base to conduct operations abroad. Consequently, Sweden is the Nordic country which is the most infiltrated by Islamist and Jihadist networks alike. It is from Sweden that the MB Islamic Association in Sweden ensures administrative direction of its Norwegian and Finnish wings. The Brandbergen mosque near Stockholm was the main local hub of Jihadi-Salafism before its closure in 2008.
Having the most considerable Muslim minority among the Nordic countries, Sweden is a case study in terms of Islamic societal pressure and political violence where notorious attacks such as the 2010 Stockholm bombings and the 2017 Stockholm truck attack took place. Moreover, 300 foreign fighters departed from Sweden to the so-called Caliphate in Syria and Iraq throughout the 2010's, not as much as France or Tunisia, but still higher than all Nordic countries. Roughly 15 women and 20 children came back from Syria between 2020 and 2022, notably the infamous Swedish convert Lina Laina Ishaq who is the first case of trial in Sweden for crimes committed against Yazidis. However in March 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made it clear that Sweden would no longer take any action to repatriate their nationals who still remain over there.
Despite such vulnerability towards Islamism, reactions of Swedish stakeholders to come up with a relevant anti-terror legislation were slow and hampered by multiple impediments. Terrorist-related crimes are covered by Chapter 2, Section 3 of the Criminal Code. Not only the stringency of Swedish legislation regarding terrorism was way behind Denmark or Norway, but it had to be given an impetus under the pressure of Türkiye in 2022 as a prerequisite for NATO adhesion. Terrorism financing was banned in 2020 while participation and membership among terrorist organizations were finally criminalized in 2023.
Signs of rising awareness were nonetheless displayed by authorities especially with the closure of Islamic schools reportedly spreading radical interpretations of Islam in 2021 and 2022. However, the Swedes who joined the Islamic State could not be prosecuted properly and thoroughly, and they were poorly monitored upon their return as well. Even though notorious efforts were undertaken by Swedish authorities to charge more suspects with terrorism offences, a scandal shook the country in October 2023 when it was revealed that a high proportion of returnees from the Islamic State resumed professional life close to children in educational areas. Considering those persisting flaws, Sweden is often depicted as the "soft underbelly" of the Nordics.
The security context in Sweden is even more challenging since 2023 following the Quran burnings in June 2023 by demonstrators that marked Sweden for violent attacks by Islamist organizations, and the war in Gaza which had a spillover effect unequaled among the Nordics. Even though Swedish citizens were killed in Brussels in October 2023, no notorious Islamist terrorist attacks were committed on Swedish soil in the 2020's so far. Recent attacks against Israeli interests were carried out and foiled in 2024. However, it was implied by Swedish authorities that they were actually committed by criminal agents operating as proxies for the Islamic Republic of Iran.