Bellevue Mosque
Encyclopedia
The Bellevue Mosque is the largest mosque
in Gothenburg
, Sweden
. It is located at Generalsgatan 2A in the "Bellevue"-district of Gothenburg. The mosque is administered by the Somali
-dominated Islamic Sunni Centre Denomination and advocates the Salafi movement of Islam.
The mosque has been in the focus of media several times for its alleged ties to various Islamist
and terrorist-designated organizations. According to an article in Göteborgs-Tidningen, Mirsad Bektašević
, the Swedish citizen of Bosniak
descent who was convicted on terrorism-related charges in Sarajevo
in 2007, was a frequent attendee of the Bellevue Mosque. In the same article it was further claimed that the mosque had financial ties to the al-Haramain Foundation
, a Saudi
-based charity group which has been listed on the United Nations
list of "entities belonging to or associated with al-Qaeda
". Representatives from the foundation are also said to have visited the mosque at several occasions.
In December 2006 it was reported that the mosque has been used to collect money for the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in Somalia
.
In July 2009 it was reported that Xasan Xuseen, described as spiritual leader
of the Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab
, had been invited to speak at a conference at the mosque. al-Shabaab has carried out several suicide attack
s in Somalia and is designated
as a terrorist organization by the United States Department of State
. It is also described, although not officially designated, as a terrorist organization by the Swedish Security Service
among others.
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It is located at Generalsgatan 2A in the "Bellevue"-district of Gothenburg. The mosque is administered by the Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
-dominated Islamic Sunni Centre Denomination and advocates the Salafi movement of Islam.
The mosque has been in the focus of media several times for its alleged ties to various Islamist
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
and terrorist-designated organizations. According to an article in Göteborgs-Tidningen, Mirsad Bektašević
Mirsad Bektaševic
Mirsad Bektašević , alias Maximus, is a Swede of Bosniak descent who in 2005 was arrested in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, charged with planning a terrorist attack against an unnamed target...
, the Swedish citizen of Bosniak
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
descent who was convicted on terrorism-related charges in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
in 2007, was a frequent attendee of the Bellevue Mosque. In the same article it was further claimed that the mosque had financial ties to the al-Haramain Foundation
Al-Haramain Foundation
Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation was a charity foundation, based in Saudi Arabia, alleged by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in a September 2004 press release to have "direct links" with Osama bin Laden...
, a Saudi
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
-based charity group which has been listed on the United Nations
United Nations Security Council Committee 1267
The 1267 Committee , was established on 15 October 1999, pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1267 concerning Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda and/or the Taliban and associated individuals and entities. The 1267 Committee is one of three Security Council committees dealing with counter-terrorism...
list of "entities belonging to or associated with al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
". Representatives from the foundation are also said to have visited the mosque at several occasions.
In December 2006 it was reported that the mosque has been used to collect money for the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
.
In July 2009 it was reported that Xasan Xuseen, described as spiritual leader
Spiritual leader
Spiritual leader is a form of title that is used to refer to religious leaders.In Buddhism, spiritual leaders are usually the people who have attained high level of spiritual awareness. Those spiritual teachers can guide people on their path toward spiritual awakening.Spiritual Leader may be a...
of the Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab
Al-Shabaab (Somalia)
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen , more commonly known as al-Shabaab , is a terrorist group of militants fighting to overthrow the government of Somalia. As of 2011, the group controls large swathes of the southern parts of Somalia, where it is said to have imposed its own strict form of Sharia law...
, had been invited to speak at a conference at the mosque. al-Shabaab has carried out several suicide attack
Suicide attack
A suicide attack is a type of attack in which the attacker expects or intends to die in the process.- Historical :...
s in Somalia and is designated
U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations
"Foreign Terrorist Organization" is a designation of non-United States-based organizations declared terrorist by the United States Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act...
as a terrorist organization by the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
. It is also described, although not officially designated, as a terrorist organization by the Swedish Security Service
Swedish Security Service
The Swedish Security Service , former name Rikspolisstyrelsens säkerhetsavdelning , is the security service of Sweden, belonging to the Swedish National Police Board....
among others.