Islam in Norway

Historian of religion Kari Vogt estimates that 10% of Norwegian Muslims were members of a mosque in 1980, a proportion which had increased to 70% by 1998.

[12] In 2010 a Muslim from Örebro in Sweden wanted to build a mosque in Tromsø with money from Saudi Arabia but the Norwegian government declined to give permission on the grounds that Saudi Arabia has no freedom of religion and potential Norwegian money to churches in the opposite direction would be stopped as churches are illegal there.

[13] In June 2018, the parliament of Norway passed a bill banning clothing covering the face at educational institutions as well as daycare centres, which included face-covering Islamic veils.

[14][15] Studies conducted for a TV channel in 2006 found that 18% of Norwegian Muslims reported visiting the mosque once a week.

[16] According to a 2007/2008 survey of students at upper secondary schools in Oslo, 25% of Muslims pray regularly while 12% attend religious services weekly.

[19] According to a survey of 4,000 Muslims in 2017, only two percent agreed to statements such as "Islam allows the use of violence" and that the September 11 attacks on America in 2001 can be justified.

In other words, the largest group of Norwegian Muslims originate in Pakistan, but no single nationality constitute as much as a quarter of the total population.

[citation needed] According to the Verdens Gang newspaper, during the 1990s around 500 people converted to Islam in Norway and this number increased to around 3,000 in 2019.

Several mosques also do different forms of social work, e.g. organising the transport of deceased members back to their countries of origin for burial.

[36] The initiative for the mosque came from Pakistanis who were helped by the Islamic Cultural Centre which had already opened in Copenhagen in Denmark.

Such establishments were by immigrants from Pakistan, Turkey, Morocco, Arab world, Somalia, The Gambia and Bosnia.

[40] The Muslim Defence Committee was established in 1989 to give an Islamic response to the Salman Rushdie affair.

[43] The MSS soon expanded its activities to include conducting interfaith dialogue, courses on dawah,[43] iftar during Ramadan,[44] and other community projects.

[46] By 2005, only one purpose-built mosque existed in Norway, built by the Sufi-inspired[47] Sunni Muslim World Islamic Mission in Oslo in 1995.

Initially, the mosque received permission from Gamle Oslo borough to perform the adhan once a week.

[56] In 1991, the Islamic Women's Group Norway (Islamsk Kvinnegruppe Norge) was founded, after an initiative by the Norwegian convert Nina Torgersen.

[citation needed] In 1995, a Muslim Students' Society (Muslimsk Studentsamfunn) was established at the University of Oslo, with some of its officers, such as Mohammad Usman Rana, becoming important voices in the Norwegian public sphere.

[citation needed] The Islamic foundation Urtehagen was established in 1991 by the Norwegian convert Trond Ali Linstad, at first running a kindergarten and youth club.

The Labour Party government of Gro Harlem Brundtland rejected the application in 1995, stating that it would be "detrimental to the integration of the children".

[61] Profetens Ummah is a Salafist organisation notorious for its statements and vocal demonstrations praising Islamic terrorism.

[67] Since 2007, the Islamic Cultural Centre stages an Eid Mela annually that attracts around 5,000 visitors.

[69] In 2007, a debate arose over banning face veils in higher education but institutions advised against such a bill.

However, the Oslo City Council and County Board of Østfold banned niqabs in teaching situations at their high schools.

[71] In June 2017, the Norwegian government proposed rules banning female students from wearing full-face veils.

The administration is subsequently examining the likelihood of controlling the utilization of such pieces of clothing in childcare focuses, schools and colleges.

[72] The Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg stated in an interview that in Norwegian work environments it is essential to see each other's faces and therefore anyone who insists on wearing a niqab is in practice unemployable.

[73] In June 2018, the parliament of Norway passed a bill banning clothing covering the face at educational institutions as well as daycare centres, which included face-covering Islamic veils.

[74][75] In April 2019, telecom company Telia received bomb threats after featuring a Muslim woman taking off her hijab in a commercial.

Among Muslim immigrants who have lived in Norway for at least 5 years, 28.9% had negative attitudes towards Jews (compared to 8.3% for the population).

[84] Islamophobia refers to the set of discourses, behaviours and structures which express feelings fear, towards Islam and Muslims in Norway.