Islam is gaining ground in Finland – should we worry?

A couple of years ago, I first heard rumours that there was a “hidden” mosque in the area where we live. Every Friday, dozens of immigrants gathered in front of an office building, including men whose attire indicated their religious affiliation. Now my suspicions have been confirmed, as there is a sign in the stairwell of the office building indicating that there is a mosque.

There are approximately 140,000 Muslims in Finland. The number is small compared to many other countries. In Sweden, for example, Muslims account for almost 10 per cent of the population.

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However, Islam is on the rise in Finland, and the number of Muslims is growing. This is partly because the birth rate in muslim families is much higher than the birth rate of original Finns and partly because of immigration.

Studies

The organisation Statistics Finland recently published numbers on the popularity of religious studies in schools in Finland. It is quite common for schools to teach several religious and worldview subjects. For example, Espoo, the second-largest city in Finland, offers eight religious and worldview subjects.

The statistics show that Lutheranism is the most popular religious education subject in schools, with over 77 per cent of primary school students studying it in 2024. This does not really come as a surprise, as a large proportion of Finns belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Alongside the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the Orthodox Church of Finland is one of the two churches in Finland that have official status in legislation.

I suspect that the teaching may well be confessional, as we lack a deep understanding of Islam.

Nevertheless, the number of students studying the Islamic religion now exceeds the number studying Orthodox Christianity for the first time. Last year, 4,2 per cent of elementary school students participated in Islamic subjects. In comparison, 2,2 per cent of elementary school pupils studied Orthodox religion. Islam is the third most popular subject in Finland after ethics.

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There are significant regional differences in the study of religion. Ethics and Islam are clearly more popular topics in Uusimaa (Southern Finland), where more than a fifth of elementary school pupils are foreign-language speakers, than elsewhere in Finland.

Confessional

In Finland, religious teaching must not be confessional. Everyone is familiar with the confessional aspects of Christianity, such as praying, but do we have enough information about what Islamic teaching is like? I suspect that the teaching may well be confessional, as we lack a deep understanding of Islam.

Do we have enough knowledge about what is taught in mosques? A couple of years ago, it was revealed that a mosque was operating secretly in the basement of an apartment building in Helsinki. The space had been zoned for use as a kindergarten. In an interview, the mosque's leader said that, in his opinion, Islamic Sharia law is well-suited to Finland.

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Gospel

I must emphasise that I support freedom of religion. It is a fundamental right of every human being. Everyone has the right to practice their religion, and the right to belong or not belong to a religious community.

However, I am concerned that Islam is gaining ground without us noticing. Finnish politeness and hospitality are easily taken advantage of. We are often too naive and gullible.

The special status of Christianity must be defended. Christian values are the foundation of our society, even if not everyone acknowledges or recognises this. Christian values include justice, love for one's neighbour, the inalienable human dignity of every person, respect for others, responsibility, honesty, freedom, and so on. It is important to defend these values.

Christians should boldly approach people with a Muslim background and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. Perhaps God has sent Muslims to our country so that we may win them to Christ.