Swedish far-right party’s rhetoric on Muslims taken to UN

A Swedish political party has submitted evidence to three UN Special Procedures, urging them to take action over what it describes as Islamophobic rhetoric from the Sweden Democrats (SD), the country’s nationalist, right-wing populist party. The submission warns that such rhetoric could undermine Muslim religious rights as Sweden heads towards a general election. 

Visionpartiet — or Visionparty in English — filed the 21-page submission on 26 August, raising concerns about alleged violations of religious freedom, xenophobia, racism and anti-Muslim targeting by the SD. It argues that the party’s rhetoric could affect Muslims’ ability to live openly and practise their faith in Sweden.

The local party, founded in early 2023 as a pro-minority group, accuses the hard-right SD of moving beyond rhetoric ostensibly focused on combating extremism and increasingly targeting Islam, Muslim institutions and Muslims in Sweden.

Adel Sadat, Party Secretary of Visionparty, told The New Arab that the UN submission was prompted by what he described as "a marked escalation in political rhetoric during August."

He added: "The debate had increasingly moved beyond questions of violent extremism, Islamism or specific security concerns and towards Islam itself as a religion, as well as the institutions and practices through which Muslims live their faith."

The submission focuses on SD MP Richard Jomshof, whose outspoken opposition to Islam has drawn criticism in Sweden.

The report criticises Jomshof over proposals he has previously advanced in the Riksdag, or Sweden's parliament, including measures to investigate and potentially ban foreign funding for Muslim congregations and mosques; prohibit calls to prayer from religious buildings; ban full-face Muslim veils in public places; and restrict veils and other visible religious symbols in schools and preschools.

In 2023, Jomshof faced criticism from opposition parties over social media posts targeting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad amid wider outrage over Iraqi Christian asylum seeker Salwan Momika's public burning of the Quran on several occasions after receiving permission from Swedish authorities.

"Richard Jomshof’s statements concerning “de-Islamisation”, a society free from Islam, Muslims abandoning their religion and the Qur’an, together with proposals affecting Muslim religious institutions and practices, led us to conclude that the matter warranted scrutiny under international standards concerning freedom of religion, minority rights and non-discrimination," Sadat told The New Arab.

Rhetoric and attacks on Muslim communities

Muslim community leaders across Sweden have warned that discriminatory rhetoric about Islam and Muslims by political figures has contributed to a higher frequency of threats and attacks against their communities.

Citing a 2025 national study on the vulnerability of religious communities, the party said Muslim and Jewish congregations were particularly exposed to recurring violent offences and vandalism. More than one in five Muslim congregations surveyed reported graffiti vandalism at least six times in a year, while many respondents said the graffiti contained anti-Muslim or racist messages.

The submission also referred to accounts from Muslim community representatives who said they had found anti-Muslim or racist graffiti on religious buildings. One representative warned that such incidents could escalate to "arson or shots at mosques".

"If these institutions and practices are progressively restricted because they are Islamic, Muslims may formally retain freedom of religion while finding it increasingly difficult to exercise that freedom in practice," Visionparty's Sadat told The New Arab.

"What is therefore at stake is whether Muslims can participate fully in Swedish society while continuing to live openly and collectively as Muslims."

Visionparty argued that recurring attacks and hostile rhetoric should be understood in the context of mounting concerns over intolerance towards religious minorities in Sweden. It cited earlier UN observations on minority rights, as well as concerns raised by Muslim and Jewish communities.

In December 2025, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) urged Sweden to strengthen efforts to combat racist hate speech and hate crimes. The committee expressed concern over the prevalence of racist rhetoric, hate crimes and negative stereotypes affecting protected groups, including Muslims, and called on authorities to publicly condemn and distance themselves from racist hate speech by public figures, including politicians.

Visionparty also called on Muslims, mosques, Muslim organisations, other minority communities and Swedish civil society to speak out and "draw a clear line".

Sadat emphasised that UN action should not amount to "international intervention in Swedish party politics", but rather involve an independent assessment by UN experts to "assess whether the documented rhetoric and policy proposals raise concerns under international standards relating to freedom of religion or belief, racial discrimination and minority rights."

He added: "We would welcome a joint communication to the Swedish authorities seeking clarification regarding these developments and the safeguards in place to protect Muslim citizens from discriminatory restrictions on lawful religious life."

Visionparty has since urged the Swedish government and the Sweden Democrats to clarify their position on the treatment of Muslims in Sweden and reaffirm their commitment to minority rights.

"If statements advocating “de-Islamisation”, a Sweden free from Islam, or encouraging peaceful Muslims to abandon their religion are incompatible with the Sweden Democrats’ official position, the leadership should publicly repudiate those statements," Sadat told The New Arab.

"If they are considered compatible with the party’s programme, this should also be made explicit."

Visionparty urged the SD leadership to publicly clarify whether Jomshof's views are compatible with the party's position.

It further argued that, if they are not, the politician should face disciplinary action, potentially including his removal from senior party responsibilities or expulsion from the party.

"The issue is not whether Richard Jomshof is entitled to personal views. The issue is whether those views are compatible with representing a party seeking greater governmental authority," Sadat said.

He continued: "From the Swedish government, we would like a clear reaffirmation that freedom of religion applies equally to Muslims and that peaceful Muslim religious practice cannot be treated as synonymous with extremism."

The Sweden Democrats, a far-right, anti-immigration party with roots in Sweden’s neo-Nazi movement, are Sweden’s second-largest party in parliament. They do not hold ministerial posts but provide parliamentary support to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s centre-right government.

The submission comes less than three weeks before Sweden’s 13 September parliamentary election, in which the Sweden Democrats are seeking to enter government for the first time if the right-wing bloc retains power. The party is currently polling at about 19–20 percent, making it Sweden’s second-largest party, although support is marginally below the 20.5 percent it won in the 2022 election.

The New Arab has contacted Richard Jomshof for comment on the party’s latest claims but had not received a response by the time of publication.

Editor's note: This article was amended on September 4, 2026, to include comments from Visionparty's Adel Sadat provided to The New Arab.