Turks in Sweden


Turks in Sweden or Swedish Turks are people of ethnic Turkish origin living in Sweden. The majority of Swedish Turks descend from the Republic of Turkey; however there has also been significant Turkish migration waves from other post-Ottoman countries including ethnic Turkish communities which have come to Sweden from the Balkans, the island of Cyprus, and more recently Iraq and Syria.
In 2009 the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs estimated that there were 100,000 people in Sweden with a Turkish background, and a further 10,000 Swedish-Turks living in Turkey. Many Turks in Sweden have double citizenship and 37,000 are registered voters in Turkey.

History

The first Turks came to Sweden in the early 18th century from the Ottoman Empire, whilst the second wave came in the 1960s from modern post-Ottoman nation states, especially from Turkey but also from the Balkans, but also from the island of Cyprus. More recently, since the European migrant crisis Turks from Iraq and Syria have also come to Sweden.

Charles XII creditors

During the Battle of Poltava in 1709, Charles XII's Swedish field army was defeated by the Russians. To escape arrest by the Russians, Charles XII had to leave the defeated army and go to the Ottoman Empire where he stayed for five years. Upon his return to Sweden in 1715, a smaller number of creditors came to Sweden to collect the debt he owed them. But it took a few years before they got repaid so they stayed a while. They left after getting paid.
According to the prevailing church law, everyone who was in Sweden, but was not a member of the Swedish state church, would be baptized. In order for the Muslim and Jewish creditors to avoid this, Charles XII wrote a free letter so that they could perform their Islamic services without being punished. The free letter showed that Karlskrona was the first city in Sweden where Muslims could perform their worship. According to Harry Svensson, this fleet's presence in Karlskrona has contributed to the religious and culturally open climate in the city over the past 300 years.

Modern migration wave

The second wave of Turks who came to Sweden was in the 1960s when Sweden opened the door to labor immigration. Most ethnic Turks arrived from the Republic of Turkey as well as Bulgaria and Yugoslavia.
Turks who came from the former Yugoslavia in the 1960s came largely from the Prespa region. From different contexts, many knew each other and they began to organize and strive for common interests. Approximately, 5,000 Macedonian Turks settled in Sweden, with 90% living in Malmö.
Due to the forced Bulgarian assimilation policies, approximately 30,000 Bulgarian Turks have migrated to Sweden, most of which arrived in the late 1980s.
More recently, since the European migrant crisis, there has been a significant rise in the number of Iraqi Turks and Syrian Turks.

Turkish organizations

Mosques controlled by Diyanet

According to Dagens Nyheter in 2017, nine mosques in Sweden have imams sent and paid for by the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs. Along with their religious duties, the imams are also tasked with reporting on critics of theTurkish government. According to Dagens Nyheter, propaganda for president Erdogan is openly presented in the mosques.Muslimska församlingen i Malmö is a Turkish congregation connected to the Turkish directorate of Religious Affairs, Diyanet. According to its own records, it has 2200 members. The imam was trained and sent by Diyanet. According to the Swedish Agency for Support to Faith Communities, the mosque has good relations to the Malmö Millî Görüş chapter. In 2011, after decades of collecting donations from its members, it bought a property to use as a mosque for 8 million SEK. In 2017, the congregation donated its property to Svenska Islam stiftelsen which is part of Diyanet.

Football clubs

In 1973 the Macedonian Turks formed the KSF Prespa Birlik football club. Players of Turkish nationality have also played in FBK Balkan fotball club.

Political parties

Nuance Party is a minority focused party that was founded in 2019 by Turkish-born politician Mikail Yüksel.

Politics and elections

In the 2018 Swedish general election, 10 000 Swedish citizens living in Turkey were expected to cast their votes in Turkey.
As in May 2022 Sweden made an accession bid to join NATO, Turkey demanded that Sweden ends its alleged support for the Gülen movement.

Notable Swedish Turks