ABSTRACT
The Kurds are a new but a relatively large minority in Sweden today. After the Sweden-Finns (ca 440,000), Iranians (70,000), Tornedalians (also called Tornedalian Finns, 50,000–60,000) and Syrians (45,000), the Kurds (30,000) are the fifth largest ethnic group in Sweden (SOU, 1997:192:127–128; Aghaee, 2002; Dagdeviren, 2000; Deniz, 1999:6). 1 During the two last decades this minority group has drawn attention to itself in Swedish cultural life because of the increasing literary production in Kurdish. Today the Kurds produce the largest amount of literature among all the ethnic minorities in Sweden. Taking a world perspective, one can say that Sweden is today the Kurdic Diaspora’s literary centre. A great number of Kurdish associations and publishing houses have been founded in Sweden during the last twenty years. 2 Sweden – especially Stockholm – has became a centre for Kurdish culture in Europe.
