(Anadolu) Despite many being among the best-performing schools in the country, the Swedish government continues to close down Islamic academic institutions in a bid to push “anti-Islamic rhetoric” and “stop privatization” in education.
Earlier this year, the Nordic country’s then-Educational Minister Lena Axelsson Kjellblum told a press conference that her government had introduced a bill aiming to “prohibit the establishment of so-called independent religious schools.”
The bill essentially prevents the schools from expanding by increasing the number of their students or opening new branches from 2024 onwards.
Only Islamic schools have been targeted by the legislation so far, triggering an outcry from Muslim organizations, researchers, and schools, arguing that the decision to shut down Islamic schools was not based on poor academic results or other teaching shortcomings, but rather had political, anti-Islamic motives.
