Sweden Cuts Aid to Islamic Relief Citing Extremism and Anti-Democratic Activity Concerns
Sweden halts aid to Islamic Relief over concerns of supporting extremism and anti-democratic activity, an organization with alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas
The Swedish government and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) have moved to cut funding to the Islamic Relief, citing a “precautionary principle” tied to concerns that taxpayer funds must not end up supporting extremist or anti-democratic activity.
In an interview reported by Aftonbladet, aid minister Benjamin Dousa said the government has instructed Sida to ensure support is not given to organizations that support “anti-democratic activity, violent extremism, Islamism, anti-Semitism, terrorism or undermine the rights of women and girls,” and that Sida “cannot 100% rule out” misuse of funds in this case.
Sida’s broader, documented governance direction also reflects tightened screening. In 2024, The Swedish government released a national strategy against violent extremism and terrorism—prevent, avert, protect and manage—which includes new law proposals aimed at preventing the allocation of public funding to operations linked to violent extremism or other anti-democratic environments.
Islamic Relief Sweden Cut-Off
Official Swedish aid records show that Sida has backed Islamic Relief Sweden’s humanitarian work through a large, multi-year contribution. In Openaid, Sida describes a multi-year agreement designed to fund both recurring humanitarian projects and a rapid-response mechanism, totaling 676,961,204 SEK (approximately 74.18 million USD), with annual disbursements listed for 2022–2025.
At the same time, Swedish media has reported that a review attributed to the Swedish Centre for Preventing Violent Extremism (CVE) concluded that “a few individuals” connected to Islamic Relief Sweden or its broader network have, or previously had, links to violent extremism or anti-democratic milieus, and that some links were described as familial rather than organizational.
In its own statement, Islamic Relief Sweden says it has held a strategic partnership with Sida since 2014, applied in November 2024 to renew it, and was informed in December 2025 that the new strategic partnership was not granted, following an opinion from CVE.
Islamic Relief Worldwide’s Alleged Terror Ties
The Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) — the international network — has faced recurring allegations of ties to Islamist networks, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, and terror-financing concerns connected to Hamas.
According to findings by NGO Monitor, Israel’s defense minister declared IRW illegal in 2014 over allegations it funneled money to Hamas. Similarly, IRW was a founding organization of the “Union of Good,” designated (by the U.S. and Israel) and described by the Israel Ministry of Defense as “affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood and to Hamas itself.”
In August 2020, the organization faced major leadership turmoil after antisemitism-related controversies, most notably the reported 2020 resignation of its entire board following statements attributed to its incoming chair — Almoutaz Tayara — had referred to Israel as the “Zionist enemy” and praised Hamas as “great men” answering the “divine and holy call of the Muslim Brotherhood.”