Bellevue Mosque

Generalsgatan 2A

The Bellevue Mosque (Swedish: Bellevuemoskén) is a mosque in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is located at Generalsgatan 2A in the "Bellevue" district of Gothenburg. The mosque is administered by the Somali-dominated Islamic Sunni Centre Denomination (Swedish: Islamiska Sunnicentret Trossamfund, ISC) and advocates the Salafi movement of Islam.

The mosque has been in the focus of media several times for its alleged ties to various Islamist and terrorist-designated organizations. According to an article in Göteborgs-Tidningen, Mirsad Bektašević, the Swedish citizen of Bosniak descent who was convicted on terrorism-related charges in Sarajevo in 2007, was a frequent attendee of the Bellevue Mosque. In the same article it was further claimed that the mosque had financial ties to the al-Haramain Foundation, a Saudi-based charity group which has been listed on the United Nations list of "entities belonging to or associated with al-Qaeda". Representatives from the foundation are also said to have visited the mosque at several occasions.

In December 2006 it was reported that the mosque has been used to collect money for the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in Somalia.

In July 2009 it was reported that Xasan Xuseen, described as spiritual leader of the Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab, had been invited to speak at a conference at the mosque. al-Shabaab has carried out several suicide attacks in Somalia and is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States Department of State. It is also described, although not officially designated, as a terrorist organization by the Swedish Security Service among others.

See also

• Gothenburg Mosque