Gävle Mosque
Mosque in Gävle, Sweden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Al-Rashideen Mosque, commonly known as the Gävle Mosque is a mosque in Gävle, Sweden, located in the outskirts of the city's old town.[1] The building, originally a church, was purchased in 2008 and renovated with financing from a Qatari foundation. It was attacked with arson in 2016, but the fire was quickly extinguished.
| Gävle Mosque | |
|---|---|
Mosque exterior in 2016 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Islam |
| Sect | Sunni |
| Location | |
| Municipality | Gävle Municipality |
| Country | Sweden |
 Interactive map of Gävle Mosque | |
| Coordinates | 60.668778°N 17.151778°E |
The mosque has been the subject of controversy due to former imam Abo Raad's alleged connections with Islamism. By 2023, it had new leadership, although reporting has suggested a continued relationship with another controversial imam, Fekri Hamad.
History
The building was purchased for use as a Sunni mosque in March 2008 for 5,150,000 SEK from the Methodist Church.[2][3] The project was financed by the Sheik Eid Mohammad Al-Thani Charity Organization from Qatar.[4]
In September 2015, Gävle-based liberal newspaper Gefle Dagblad received a bomb threat after reporting on alleged connections between the mosque and the Islamic State.[5] The person who called in the threat demanded the newspaper remove an article about imam Abo Raad from their website. No bomb was ultimately found.[6]
The mosque was attacked with arson on 29 April 2016. The fire was quickly extinguished.[7][8]
In 2017, Abo Raad's son Raad al-Duhan was convicted of threatening journalist Anna Gullberg, who was then the editor-in-chief of Gefle Dagblad.[9][10]
Abo Raad was taken into custody in April 2018 after SÄPO determined him to be a security threat. In August, he was charged with unlawful coercion after a journalist from Gefle Dagblad reported being forced to delete photographs.[11] That charge was later dropped.[12] The Swedish Migration Agency decided to deport Abo Raad in 2019.[13]
As of 2023, the mosque had acquired different leadership and stated they wanted to "turn over a new leaf."[4] Although the new board said that deported imam Fekri Hamad was prohibited from lecturing, videos showed he was still active in the mosque.[14][15]
