Skip to main content

Islamic Education in the Nordic Countries

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of Islamic Education

Part of the book series: International Handbooks of Religion and Education ((IHRE,volume 7))

  • 326 Accesses

Abstract

The Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) shared an educational foundation until the beginning of the 1990s, when education was radically changed in all these countries except Denmark. The latter country has a long tradition of private education, which has allowed Muslims to start their schools when they started to arrive to the country. The other countries were very strict in relation to private schools in that regulations and control were strong and subsidies low. This was changed in the beginning of the 1990s, and 20 years later, Sweden had some 15 Muslim schools. The chapter uses Denmark and Sweden to illustrate the Nordic case. The other countries did not yet in 2013 have any Muslim schools, due mainly to the fact that there were few Muslim immigrants.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Al-Quds School Statue (1995). Unpublished leaflet.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jørgen Bæk Simonsen, J. (1990). Islam i Danmark. Muslimske institutioner i Danmark 1970–1989 (Islam in Denmark. Muslim institutions in Denmark 1970–1989). Århus: Århus Universitetsforlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bæk Simonsen, J. (1998). A means to change or transform images of the other private Arab schools in Denmark. In J. S. Nielsen & S. A. Khasawnih (Eds.), Arabs and the west: Mutual images. Amman: Jordan University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bekendtgørelse af lov om folkeskolen (Announcement of law the comprehensive school). (2009). LBK nr 593 af 24. juni 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bekendtgørelse af lov om friskoler og private grundskoler m.v (Law on independent and private comprehensivxe schools). (2008). LBK nr 962 af 26. September 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bekendtgørelse om formål, trin- og slutmål for folkeskolens fag og emner (Fælles Mål) (2009). (Announcment of the on pre-formulation, process and final golas of the comprehensive schools’ disciplines. Common goals). BEK nr 748 af 13. juli 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berglund, J. (2009). 2009 teaching Islam, Islamic religious education at Muslim schools in Sweden. Munster: Waxmann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brattlund, Å. (2009). What role of God and national curriculum in school life? A comparative study of schools with a Muslim profile in England and Sweden. PhD dissertation. Stockholm: Stockholm University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danish Ministry of Education. (2009). Statistik og analyse (Statistics and analysis). Copenhagen: Danish Ministry of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daun, H., Brattlund, Å., & Robleh, S. (2004). Educational strategies among some Muslim groups in Sweden. In H. Daun & G. Walford (Eds.), Muslim educational strategies in the context of globalization. Leiden: Brill Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebaugh, H. R. (2010). The Gülen movement. Amsterdam: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Friskoleforening, D. Fortegnelse over foreningens friskoler. (The Danish Association for Independent schools. List of indepdendent schools of the association). http://www.friskoler.dk/index.php?id=17

  • Hamzeh, N. A., & Hrair Dekmejian, R. (1996). A Sufi response to political Islamism: Al-Ahbash of Lebanon. The International Journal of Middle East Studies, 28(2), 217–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ihle, A. H. (2007). Magt, medborgerskab og muslimske friskoler i Danmark (Power, citizenship and Muslim independent schools in Denmark). København: Institut fot Tværkulturelle og Regionale Studier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inglehart, R. (1997). Modernization and post-modernization: Cultural, economic and political changes in 43 countries. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, A.-M. (1987). Islamiske skoler i Danmark (Islamic schools in Denmark). In A. Olesen (Ed.), Islam og undervisning i Danmark (Islam and education in Denmark). Århus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, T. (2004). Muslimske friskoler i Danmark (Muslim independent schools in Denmark). Svensk Religionshistorisk Årsskrift, 3, 79–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Johansen, B. (2005). Imamuddannelse i europa: Udfordringer og perspektiver (Education of imams in Europe: Challanges and perspectives). København: Københavns Universitet.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johansen, B.S. (2006). Islam at the European universities, Report II. København: Københavns Universitet.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kühle, L. (2006). Moskeer i Danmark: Islam og muslimske bedesteder (Mosques in Denmark: Islam and Muslim places for praying). Højbjerg: Forlaget Univers.

    Google Scholar 

  • LPO 94. (1994). Läroplan för grundskolan, 1994 (Curriculum for the comprehensive school, 1994). Stockholm, The Swedish National Board of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, J. (1992). Muslims in Western Europe. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norris, P., & Inglehart, R. (2004). Sacred and secular: Religion and politics world-wide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Østergaard, B. (2007). Indvandrerne i Danmarks historie. Kultur og religionsmøder (Immigrants in Denmark’s history: Cultural and religious encounters). Odense: Syddansk Universitetsforlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Politiken, August 28, 2009. (Danish newspaper).

    Google Scholar 

  • Robleh, S.M. (2001). Islamic revival, education in Somalia and Qur’anic education among Somalis in Sweden. M.A. Thesis. Stockholm: Institute of International Education, Stockholm University.

    Google Scholar 

  • SFS. (1997). Lag om ändring i skollagen (Law on change of the Education Act). SFS 1997:1212. Stockholm: Ministry of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • SFS. (2010). Skollag 2010:800. (Education law 2010:800). SFS 2010:100. Stockholm: Ministry of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shakoor, T. (2006). Indvandrerfriskoler i Danmark (Immigrant independent schools in Denmark). In P. B. Andersen, C. Dahlgreen, S. Johannesen, & J. Otterbeck (Eds.), Religion, skole og kulturel integration i Danmark og Sverige (Religion, school and cultural integration in Denmark and Sweden). København: Museum Tusculanums Forlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shakoor, T. (2008). Formål for muslimske friskoler i Danmark: Udviklinger i formålserklæringer og vedtægter i danske friskoler for muslimske børn. (Goals of Muslim private schools in Denmark: Changes in charters and rules for private schools for Muslim children in Denmark). Tidsskrift for Islamforskning, (3).

    Google Scholar 

  • Skolverket (1997a). Barn mellan arv och framtid. Konfessionella, etniska och språkligt inriktade skolor i ett segregationsperspektiv (Children between inheritance and future: Confessionally, ethnically and linguistically-oriented schools in a segregation perspective). Dnr 97:810. Stockholm: National Agency for Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skolverket. (1997b). Fristående grundskolor and grundsärskolor (Private comprehensive schools and special comprehensive schools). Stockholm: The National Agency for Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skolverket. (1999). Godkännande av fristående skolor som motsvarar grundskolan. Erfarenheter och synpunkter (Approval of independent schools that correspond to the comprehensive school: Experiences and points of view). Stockholm: National Agency for Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skolverket. (2004). Skolor och elever i grundskolan, läsår 2004/05. (Schools and pupils in comprehensive school, school year 2004/05). Stockholm: The National Agency for Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skolverket. (2006). Skolor och elever i grundskolan, läsår 2006/07. (Schools and pupils in comprehensive school, school year 2004/05). Stockholm: The National Agency for Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skolverket. (2008). Skolor och elever i grundskolan, läsår 2008/09. (Schools and pupils in comprehensive school, school year 2004/05). Stockholm: The National Agency for Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skolverket (2009). Statistik, grundskola: Elever, riksnivå. (Statistics, comprehensive school: Pupils, national level). http://www.skolverket.se. Accessed 12 Oct 2009.

  • Skolverket. (2010). Skolor och elever i grundskolan, läsår 2010/11. (Schools and pupils in comprehensive school, school year 2004/05). Stockholm: The National Agency for Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skolverket. (2012). Skolor och elever i grundskolan, läsår 2012/13. (Schools and pupils in comprehensive school, school year 2004/05). Stockholm: The National Agency for Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skolverket. (2014). Skolor och elever i grundskolan, läsår 2014/15. (Schools and pupils in comprehensive school, school year 2004/05). Stockholm: The National Agency for Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skolverket (2016). Fristående grundskolor (Private comprehensive schools). http://www.skolverket.se/skolutveckling/statsbidrag/riksprislistan/bidrag-till-fritaendeskolor-1.81055. Accessed 25 July 2016.

  • SMES. (1997). The Swedish education system. Stockholm: The Ministry of Education and Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Sweden. (1998). Statistics of population, 3. Stockholm: Statistics Sweden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tibi, B. (1995). Culture and knowledge: The politics of Islamization of knowledge as postmodern project? The fundamentalist claim to de-westernization. Theory Culture and Society, 12, 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tittensor, D. (2014). The house of service: The Gülen movement and Islam’s third way. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Widgren, J. (1980). Svensk invandringspolitik (Swedish immigration policy). Stockholm: Liber.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Values Survey. (2015). http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSContents.jsp. Accessed 28 Aug 2016.

  • Yavuz Hakan, M. (Ed.). (2013). Toward an Islamic enlightenment: The Gülen movement. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jørgen Bæk Simonsen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Cite this entry

Simonsen, J.B., Daun, H. (2017). Islamic Education in the Nordic Countries. In: Daun, H., Arjmand, R. (eds) Handbook of Islamic Education. International Handbooks of Religion and Education, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53620-0_29-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53620-0_29-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-53620-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-53620-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

Publish with us

Policies and ethics