Bahrain Mirror - Exclusive: Middle East Eye published a report revealing plans for building a new mosque in the Finnish capital Helsinki, with Bahraini funding. The report noted that this plan raised a lot of concerns of spreading extremist Wahhabi beliefs in the area, and demands to put an end to Gulf influence in the Finnish society.

"News that the project will be financially backed by the oil-rich Gulf state of Bahrain has sparked a national debate on Muslim integration and the influence of so-called Wahhabi Islam on the country," the MEE report issued Tuesday (May 2, 2017) noted.

Though Bahrain funds a number of think tanks such as the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Helsinki mosque is thought to be the first it has backed in Europe.

According to the report, the mosque project comes as Finnish politics takes a rightward turn with the anti-immigrant Finns Party - ideological cousins of Britain's UKIP - now the country's second largest party.

Meanwhile the country is grappling with an influx of refugees from the Middle East and authorities fear Islamic State group-inspired attacks - as was seen in neighboring Sweden last month - could take place.

At the time when this mosque plan enjoys support from senior politicians, there have been protests against the project, while the incoming mayor of Helsinki Jan Vapaavuori said in the run-up to his election: "I'm going to work against it being built."

Tarja Mankkinen, an interior ministry official responsible for Finland's anti-radicalisation policy. Said that that while the ministry finds many "positive aspects" in the mosque project "the challenge is that the mosque is planned to be funded by Bahrain and possibly by other Gulf countries".

She noted that "the rise of violent far-right activities might "increase the breeding ground for the violent extremism motivated by religion", the report added.

The interior ministry official and other observers have pointed out that Bahrain's human rights record is a cause for concern.

On her part, Finnish journalist Liisa Liimatainen said that Bahrain's support for the mosque "means bringing hate politics to Finland", stressing, "I'm not against a mosque - I'm against a mosque built by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia."

Liimatainen, who has written a number of well-regarded books about the Middle East, said because Bahrain is a close ally with Saudi Arabia in what she calls a "hegemonic battle" with Shia Iran, the mosque could bring "Sunni-Shia hate politics into Finland". She reiterated that judging from the "experience in Europe about Saudi financing of mosques", it is "an illusion that this money is without conditions".

MEE reported that some human rights groups have suggested that Finnish arms companies may have contributed to this.

According to Finnish NGO SaferGlobe, in January 2011, a month before Bahrain's crackdown on protesters who had taken to the streets as part of the Arab Spring began, the kingdom received 3.5 million euros' worth of small arms - including snipers and ammunition - from Finland.

Amnesty International has described human rights violations in Bahrain as "chilling" and called on Finland to halt arms sales to Bahrain in 2011.

On another hand, and based on reports, the MEE said that Abbas Bahmanpour, imam for Helsinki's main Shia mosque, has expressed "alarm" in the past at the prospect of Gulf countries that follow a "very hard-line Islam" funding the Oasis center mosque.

Moreover, the report noted that Bahrain's king, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, took a personal interest in the mosque project and met Pia Jardi, the lady who is leading a campaign to build Helsinki's first grand mosque.

She denied that Bahrain would have influence over the running of the mosque and was adamant that there would be a Finnish imam who would be "someone who knows the context of the country and who can tackle issues that are taking place in Finland."

The mosque, supposedly to be named "Helsinki Oasis Center", will be built in a drab car park on a Helsinki industrial estate, with space for 1,200 worshippers. The report described that its four minarets will compete on the skyline with the smoke stacks of surrounding factories.

The 140,000 euros that Bahrain has pledged will only go as far as funding an architecture competition and buying literature - the community will have to fund the shortfall, the MEE report also added.

Arabic Version