Abdirizak Waberi

Waberi was born in Somalia. Prior to entering politics, he worked as a principal at the Römosseskolan Islamic private elementary school in Gothenburg.[2] The school teaches islamic doctrine two hours a week, more than other schools. It is taught that a man can have many wives, which is contrary to the values of the Swedish education system which specifies equality between men and women.[3] The institution was criticized by the Swedish School Inspectorate (sv: Skolinspektionen) for its unusual grading pattern, wherein all the ninth grade boys within the system graduated with full marks and were eligible to apply for college, while a lower 71% of girls graduated with full marks. This was in contrast to the gender ratio typically seen in other local schools in Sweden, where the girls tended to outperform the boys.[4]

In the 2010 election, Waberi was elected to the Swedish parliament, representing the Gothenburg Municipality constituency. He was a deputy member of the legislature's Committee on Defence.[1]

Waberi has served as the vice president of Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), where he headed the citizenship and public relations duties.[5]

In addition, Waberi has served as the chairman of several organizations, including the Islamic Association in Sweden, Muslim Political Forum and Islamic Schools of Sweden.[6] He is also a member of the board of the Muslim Council of Sweden.[6]

Waberi lives in Angered, Gothenburg. He is married, with five children.[7]

In a 2006 interview by the Ottar magazine published by the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU), he stated that according to the Quran, that a man may have up to four wives. He also stated a man is capable of loving four wives, but that woman cannot love four men. According to Waberi, Islam teaches that a Muslim man may marry a woman of a different religion, but a Muslim woman must marry a Muslim man.[3]

• Official website
• Abdirizak Waberi at the Swedish parliament