Foreign financing of religious activities

The plan guarantees religious freedom and commits the party to defending the rights of vulnerable groups, with Muslims explicitly mentioned, and warns against strategic racism being used as a political tool. To prioritize specific rules against foreign financing of faith communities with reference to Islamism points in the opposite direction to these commitments. The plan's tools against undemocratic activities are general transparency, not religion-targeted rules.

• guaranteed religious freedomdecisive»garanteras och staten ska vara sekulär« (party programme ↗)“guaranteed and the state shall be secular”
• defend vulnerable groups»just den här gången handlar om sjukskrivna, muslimer eller transpersoner.« (party programme ↗)“just this time it is about the sick-listed, Muslims or transgender people.”
• warning against strategic racism»Strategisk rasism har länge varit en del av högerns retoriska och politi« (party programme ↗)“Strategic racism has long been part of the right's rhetorical and political”
• general transparency instead»Vi vill gå mot en större samhällelig insyn« (party programme ↗)“We want to move towards greater social transparency”

The plan requires that corruption and improper influence be prevented, that democratic institutions be protected and that violent extremism be combated. Rules against foreign financing of religious congregations are a measure against precisely such improper influence on activities in Sweden. That the election manifesto wants to ban new religious independent schools shows that the party is prepared to legislate to limit religious influence when democratic principles are at stake.

• stop improper influencedecisive»Förhindrande av korruption och otillbörlig påverkan.« (party programme ↗)“Prevention of corruption and improper influence.”
• combated extremism»Bekämpande av våldsbejakande extremism och förhindrande av terrordåd.« (party programme ↗)“Combating violent extremism and preventing acts of terrorism.”
• protection of democracy»De demokratiska institutionerna måste skyddas.« (party programme ↗)“Democratic institutions must be protected.”
• limited religious influence»Därför vill vi förbjuda nya religiösa friskolor.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Therefore we want to ban new religious independent schools.”

The plan defends freedom of religion and every person's right to exercise their faith and explicitly warns against civil society being cast under suspicion and silenced. Hurrying to implement rules targeting faith communities' financing goes against that stance and against the requirement that support and conditions for civil society be long-term and clear. The question of foreign financing is not directly addressed, therefore low certainty.

• civil society shall not be cast under suspiciondecisive»i Sverige ser vi prov på hur civilsamhället misstänkliggörs och tystas av krafter som vill« (party programme ↗)“in Sweden we see evidence of civil society being cast under suspicion and silenced by forces that want”
• freedom of religion»behöver ständigt försvaras. Vi står upp för varje människas rätt att utöva sin« (party programme ↗)“must constantly be defended. We stand up for every person's right to exercise their”
• counteract Islamophobia»Arbetet mot all typ av rasism måste stärkas. Antisemitism, islamofobi och afrofobi är« (party programme ↗)“Work against all kinds of racism must be strengthened. Antisemitism, Islamophobia and Afrophobia are”
• clear conditions for civil society»Stöd och villkor för civilsamhället måste vara långsiktiga och tydliga« (party programme ↗)“Support and conditions for civil society must be long-term and clear”

The election manifesto explicitly says no to restrictions on freedom of religion, and the party programme makes freedom of religion and association inviolable principles where policy should support civil society rather than control it. Rules against foreign financing of faith communities directly interfere with the communities' activities. The party certainly wants to strengthen resilience against external influence, but that commitment applies to political parties. The plan therefore rejects the counter-proposal.

• no to restricted freedom of religiondecisive»Vi säger därför nej till visitationszoner, kollektiv bestraffning, omvänd bevisbörda, anonyma vittnen, preventiv avlyssning och inskränkningar av religionsfriheten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We therefore say no to search zones, collective punishment, reversed burden of proof, anonymous witnesses, preventive eavesdropping and restrictions on freedom of religion.”
• inviolable freedom of religion»Yttrandefrihet, religionsfrihet och föreningsfrihet är därför orubbliga« (party programme ↗)“Freedom of expression, freedom of religion and freedom of association are therefore inviolable”
• support rather than control»Politiken kan stödja civilsamhället genom att involvera det i fler processer« (party programme ↗)“Policy can support civil society by involving it in more processes”
• protection against external influence»Reglerna för finansiering av politiska partier bör skärpas och deras motståndskraft mot yttre påverkan och infiltration rustas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The rules for financing of political parties should be strengthened and their resilience against external influence and infiltration enhanced.”

The plan explicitly requires that hidden financing of faith communities is stopped so they do not become tools for extremist forces, and that follow-up of grant-giving is strengthened. It also wants to prevent foreign non-democratic actors from having influence in Sweden. The counter-proposal's demand that work on rules against foreign financing is prioritized now therefore aligns directly with the plan's direction.

• stop hidden financingdecisive»Vi vill både stärka uppföljningen av bidragsgivning och stoppa dold finansiering av trossamfund så att de inte blir verktyg för extremistiska krafter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to both strengthen follow-up of grant-giving and stop hidden financing of faith communities so they do not become tools for extremist forces.”
• stop undemocratic foreign actors»Vi vill sätta stopp för religiösa friskolor och hindra utländska icke-demokratiska aktörer från att äga skolor i Sverige.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to put an end to religious free schools and prevent foreign non-democratic actors from owning schools in Sweden.”
• no funds for anti-democrats»Inga skattemedel ska gå till verksamheter som vill förändra det demokratiska samhället med« (party programme ↗)“No tax money shall go to activities that want to change the democratic society with”
• counter Islamism»Islamister och kriminella klaner spär på segregationen och hotar sammanhållningen i Sverige.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Islamists and criminal gangs reinforce segregation and threaten cohesion in Sweden.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The election manifesto points out that there are areas where Islamist extremists have decisive influence on community life, and the party programme conditions public support to religious communities on the activity being in accordance with human dignity. Religious freedom must never mean that other people are violated in faith's name. That rules against foreign financing of religious communities are prioritized follows from these commitments, with the plan's requirement for freedom from state control as a limit.

• extremism affects community lifedecisive»Det finns också områden där islamistiska extremister har en avgörande påverkan på samhällslivet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“There are also areas where Islamist extremists have decisive influence on community life.”
• support conditioned on values»till de trossamfund som bedriver verksamhet vars karaktär och ändamål står i« (party programme ↗)“to religious communities whose activity is in accordance with”
• religious freedom with limits»Friheten att utöva sin religiösa tro får dock aldrig medföra att« (party programme ↗)“Freedom to practice one's religious faith must never mean that”
• communities free from state control»utvecklas i frihet utan statlig styrning« (party programme ↗)“developed in freedom without state control”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan commits to stopping payments to extremists and organizations that do not share society's fundamental democratic values, and to strengthening democracy's protection against violence-affirming extremism. Prioritizing rules against foreign financing of religious communities with links to Islamism and extremism serves the same purpose. Foreign financing is not mentioned in the documents, which is why the conclusion is derived from these commitments.

• no funds to democracy-hostiledecisive»• Stoppa utbetalningar av skattepengar till organisationer som inte delar det svenska samhällets grundläggande demokratiska värderingar utan som hotar människors frihet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop payments of tax money to organizations that do not share Swedish society's fundamental democratic values but threaten people's freedom”
• stop support to extremists»• Stoppa utbetalningar av skattemedel till extremister« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop payments of tax funds to extremists”
• protection against extremism»Vi måste också stärka demokratins skydd mot våldsbejakande extremism och andra kriminella hot.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We must also strengthen democracy's protection against violence-affirming extremism and other criminal threats.”
• strengthened security police»• Stärka Säkerhetspolisen för att öka deras förmåga att skydda den liberala demokratin och landets alla medborgare« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strengthen the Security Police to increase their ability to protect liberal democracy and the country's all citizens”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan explicitly requires that foreign financing of extremist religious communities and organizations should be prevented and states that Islamist extremism is financed through public funds and foreign donations. The counter-proposal's requirement that work on rules against foreign financing of religious communities be prioritized now is precisely this commitment. The plan moreover wants to combat Islamism and stop public grants to communities that promote extremism.

• stop foreign financingdecisive»Hindra utländsk finansiering av extremistiska trossamfund och organisationer« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Prevent foreign financing of extremist religious communities and organizations”
• extremism financed from abroad»Samtidigt vet vi att den islamistiska extremismen finansieras både genom statliga medel, och utländska donationer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“At the same time we know that Islamist extremism is financed through both public funds and foreign donations.”
• no grants to extremist communities»Moskéer och andra trossamfund eller organisationer som verkar för extremism ska vare sig få bidrag från det offentliga eller utländska regimer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Mosques and other religious communities or organizations that promote extremism should receive neither grants from the public nor from foreign regimes.”
• combat Islamism»Bekämpa islamism« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Combat Islamism”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.