Mehmet Kaplan
| Mehmet Kaplan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister for Housing and Urban Development | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 3 October 2014 | |
| Monarch | Carl XVI Gustaf |
| Prime Minister | Stefan Löfven |
| Preceded by | Stefan Attefall |
| Member of the Swedish Riksdag for Stockholm Municipality | |
| In office 2 October 2006 – 29 September 2014 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 July 1971 Gaziantep, Turkey |
| Political party | Green Party |
| Religion | Islam |
Mehmet Güner Kaplan (born 18 July 1971 in Gaziantep, Turkey) is Sweden's Minister of Housing and Urban Development, aligned with the Swedish Green Party (Miljöpartiet de Gröna). He was previously a member of the Riksdag (2006-2014) and before that spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Sweden (2005–2006) and Young Muslims of Sweden (2000–2002). He was also a founding member of the organization Swedish Muslims for Peace and Justice, a Muslim peace movement, as well as a strong supporter of the Swedish peace movement. He was a member of the board of the Green Party between 2003 and 2011.
Kaplan was on board the Ship to Gaza flotilla which tried to send necessities through the Israeli embargo of the Gaza strip.[1] The Israeli armed forces boarded the flotilla on 31 May 2010 and the clash killed 9 flotilla members in the heat of battle.[2]
On 1 July 2014, in a Fight Racism Now seminar held in Visby, Kaplan compared the young Muslims from Sweden who went to fight for any force in the Syrian civil war (including the Islamic State) with those young Swedes who volunteered to fight for Finland against Russia in the Winter War during the Second World War. Kaplan commented that his statements had been misrepresented, but admitted to having chosen his words poorly.[3]
In a Turkish newspaper interview, Kaplan said that it is natural for Sweden to recognize Palestine as a state, and that the "occupied territories will, if Allah willing, be freed, and east Jerusalem will become the capital of Palestine." Further he said that Israel will be forced to a peace agreement.[4]
He has also been labeled being an Islamist by various personalities, including the previous MP, Nalin Pekgul of the Social Democratic party of Sweden.[5]
References
- ↑ "Two Turkish killed, 30 wounded in clashes with Israeli troops". News.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
- ↑ Uddén, Cecilia (31 May 2010). "Fem svenskar på fartygskonvojen mår bra". Ekot.
- ↑ "De nya ministrarna som det stormat runt". Aftonbladet. 3 Oct 2014. Retrieved 6 Oct 2014.
- ↑ "Mehmet Kaplan: Avrupa’daki İslamofobi gençleri IŞİD’e itiyor". stargazete. 12 Oct 2014. Retrieved 20 Oct 2014.
- ↑ http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/sa-svarar-kaplan-pa-islamist-angreppet/