DistantNews
Support us
Sweden Ends Aid to Ethiopia Over Islamic Relief Links to Extremism Concerns
🇸🇪 Sweden /Disasters & Emergencies

Sweden Ends Aid to Ethiopia Over Islamic Relief Links to Extremism Concerns

From Dagens Nyheter · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Sweden is ending its support for undernourished children and families in Ethiopia due to risks linked to Islamic Relief.
  • The Swedish head of Islamic Relief, Waseem Ahmad, expressed confusion and stated the organization does not inquire about employees' relatives' ideologies.
  • Concerns involve potential links to extremism, with two employees specifically mentioned due to family ties to individuals assessed as having extremist connections.

Sweden's support for vulnerable children and families in southern Ethiopia is set to conclude on May 31, following concerns raised by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) regarding potential risks associated with the aid organization Islamic Relief.

We do not ask about the ideology of our employees' relatives.

— Waseem AhmadIslamic Relief's Sweden director on the organization's vetting policies.

Waseem Ahmad, the Swedish director of Islamic Relief, stated he remains unaware of the specific reasons behind the decision. He emphasized that the organization does not investigate the ideologies of its employees' relatives, asserting, "We do not ask about the ideology of our employees' relatives. I cannot see that it would be right."

Islamic Relief was reportedly informed in December of the decision not to extend their funding after a months-long review. Sida cited the government's new precautionary principle, which mandates ensuring partners have no ties to extremism, and a statement from the Centre for Prevention of Violence Extremism (CVE). The CVE statement, while not directly accusing Islamic Relief's operations of being anti-democratic, highlighted risks linked to individuals associated with the organization in Sweden.

Should we as an aid organization conduct intelligence work? It is beyond our mandate.

— Waseem AhmadIslamic Relief's Sweden director questioning the scope of their responsibilities.

Two employees were specifically identified due to family connections to individuals believed to have links to extremism. Islamic Relief has only seen a redacted version of the report. Ahmad believes they know who is being referred to, but insists these individuals had no influence on the organization's operations. He questioned whether an aid organization should be expected to conduct intelligence work, stating it falls outside their mandate. Despite rigorous vetting procedures, including checks against terror lists, the organization faces scrutiny over familial ties.

Our goal is to provide the most relevant information we have found. Then the agency is free to evaluate it along with other information they have access to.

— Anna StrempelUnit Manager at CVE on the agency's role in providing information for Sida's decisions.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dagens Nyheter in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog