Thursday, February 28, 2013
Muslims and unbelievers alike get permits in Norway's capital
The request by the Islamic congregations of Oslo to be allowed to proclaim the Azan - the Muslim call to prayer - first prompted a fierce nationwide debate on religious freedoms, on Norway's gradual Islamification, and on the terms of what constitutes “disturbance of the peace”.
Muslims and Christians alike tossed insults at one another and found themselves obliged to make public withdrawals and apologies for their comments. In particular a representative of the Christian People's Party enraged Muslims in the country by claiming that “God has but one ambassador, Jesus. Jesus has a unique status, and Mohammed does not even reach up to his ankles.”
“When we grant permission to one, then we have to grant it to all other takers. I would not be at all surprised to hear that the local shopkeepers have put in a bid to use loudspeakers to tell consumers about their cheap sausages and other special offers. Every other association and society could advertise its meetings in just the same fashion”, sighs Werner, and he fears that the chimney-stacks of the capital will be home to loudspeakers - and perhaps unamplified citizen snipers - bellowing out the latest news on lace-making courses and scout troop excursions to the people below.
Werner also feels that it is paradoxical that in the Internet era people should be considering climbing on roofs and screaming opinions and advertisements to the winds. The Azan calls from the large mosque on Åkebergveien will be delivered from the minaret towers, while the atheists plan to clamber onto the roof of an apartment block to proclaim their own message to the unfaithful.
“We have not yet bought any sound equipment, but we shall do so just as soon as we get confirmation of a favourable decision”, reports Raja Abdul, the secretary of the World Islamic Mission, which worships at the Åkebergveien mosque. Abdul estimates that the calling to prayer will start on a regular weekly basis from April.
The permit granted to the mosque allows for a call to prayer that may not exceed 60dB. Apparently the congregation has some 5,000 members, and there are generally around 300-400 worshippers at prayer meetings. The Azan lasts two or three minutes. Oslo is home to roughly 36,000 Muslims, and there are eight mosques. Muslim communities received around NOK 7 million (EUR 840,000) last year in state grants.
The atheists are appreciably thinner on the ground. In the Gamle Oslo quarter of the capital there are only a couple of dozen members, and in Norway as a whole they number perhaps 300. Nonetheless, Gamle Oslo has the potential to become a veritable audio war-zone, as the area has around 26,000 residents already armed with a pair of lungs. Immigrants make up something like 35% of the local population, according to Geir Werner.
Decibel Størm: Oslo's impending holy war of sound (26.3.).
According to Tuesday's ruling, the call to prayer may last a maximum of three minutes. At least for the time being, the calls can be made only once a week. The Heathens' Society applied for shouting rights twice a week and they intend to cry out the words “God is dead, Hell has gone out!”, just as soon as they have got the necessary go-ahead from the condominium they use as a base.
The Heathens' Society has gained the attention it sought by its application, and has won over a handy number of new converts. In the view of those supporting the decision, the Islamic congregation should be able to practice their religion. Those who opposed the permits fear the forced Islamification of Norway and the gradual increasing of the frequency of the calls until they are daily, five times a day.
The meeting at which the decision was taken itself became a rather animated and noisy affair, when Heathens, Muslims, and Christians alike staunchly defended their own positions at the point where the audience were given the chance to have their say. Since it is Norway, we might expect that next the supporters of Thor will be seeking the Thursday slot for a bit of thundering, and Odin/Wotan fans will be looking to cry their deity's name in midweek. Watch this space.
The Heathens' Society has gained the attention it sought by its application, and has won over a handy number of new converts. In the view of those supporting the decision, the Islamic congregation should be able to practice their religion. Those who opposed the permits fear the forced Islamification of Norway and the gradual increasing of the frequency of the calls until they are daily, five times a day.
The meeting at which the decision was taken itself became a rather animated and noisy affair, when Heathens, Muslims, and Christians alike staunchly defended their own positions at the point where the audience were given the chance to have their say. Since it is Norway, we might expect that next the supporters of Thor will be seeking the Thursday slot for a bit of thundering, and Odin/Wotan fans will be looking to cry their deity's name in midweek. Watch this space.
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