In the suburbs of Malmö in southern Sweden where riots and burning cars once marred the streets, today Muslim and Christian children play together during summer activities organized in the Church of Skrävlinge.

Here, the Church of Sweden is taking an active part in organizing social work directed to immigrants in the area. Mousa Zeid Baker is one of the young leaders, engaged by the local church to work with the program, “Summer Fun.”

“I didn´t know much about Christians or the Church before. Today, I like the Church much more – I have seen the good work they are doing. But working in the Church also challenged me as a Muslim, and I am a more devoted Muslim today than some years ago,” says Mousa (pictured below).



Mousa was only fifteen years old when he started to work in the Church of Skrävlinge with the children from nearby Rosengård, a suburb where he also lives. Every summer children are invited to take part of “Summer Fun,” three weeks of activities in the neighborhood. Mousa and some other young Muslims and Christians are engaged as leaders in the summer activities organized by an informal coalition, including the church, the town of Malmö, the Muslim community and sometimes other organizations.  Initially, Mousa was employed by the town of Malmö as a part of a program to provide young adults with jobs during summer. At the age of 18 he was too old for the program.

“The congregation of Skrävlinge thought I did a good job, and so they decided to employ me the following summer. People around here, most of them Muslims, feel safe when they leave their children to a Muslim,” says Mousa.

Few Christians in the community

In Rosengård, 98% of the population is born outside Sweden. Most of them are Muslims. Only a small percent are Christian.  Many families cannot afford to leave their homes during summer vacation. For them, “Summer Fun” is a way to give their children meaningful summertime activities, when schools are closed. The children meet every day at the church, and eat their lunch at the nearby Mosque and “Islamic Center.” The summer activities include playing games and going on local outings, but no church services or spiritual education are involved.

“Five years ago, when we started “Summer Fun,” there were around fifteen children participating in the daily activities. But numbers of participants have grown, and last summer we had nearly 80 children. It was a bit too much, so this year we only accepted 50 children,” says Mousa.

Ten young adults take care of the children, most of them employed by the city of Malmö. Some of the young leaders are Christian, others are Muslim. After having finished the three weeks of “Summer Fun” the leaders take several days off together. This year they went on a trip to the Swedish city of Karlskrona.

“The young leaders often discuss religion and faith, and they do not always agree, but there are no harsh arguments,” says Mousa.