Abid Raja (V) no longer believes that increased tolerance and more time is the answer to the integration of Muslims in Norway. The former Minister of Culture and Equality writes this himself in a column in Aftenposten, published on Monday. He lists the reasons he believes are the basis, under the heading “Values in reverse”: Islam does not allow homosexuality, sex outside marriage, self-determined abortion or blasphemous speech. Left-wing politician and former Minister of Culture and Equality Abid Raja. Photo: Christian Breidlid / news – Have we really gotten closer to each other in the last 50 years? Is it going to work itself out if we just give it enough time? No, I mean, on both questions, writes the left-wing politician. In Tuesday’s Dagsnytt 18, Raja met Linda Noor, managing director of Minority Policy Think Tank (Minotenk) and Najma Ahmed, 1st deputy leader of Socialist Youth (SU). Both Noor and Ahmed are Muslims themselves. – Norwegian values - I ask the question whether Islam threatens Western values, says Raja in the broadcast. – What I see in Norway, and what I have seen on visits to upper secondary schools in Oslo, is that this is the start of something we must tackle now. If not, we will get population groups that do not respect each other, and that do not tolerate each other, says the left-wing politician. Najma Ahmed from SU does not recognize what Raja describes. – I myself am a first-time immigrant and have grown up in a Muslim environment and community. I was taught about tolerance, community and charity. Classic Norwegian values, says Ahmed. – Do you disagree with his reasoning that there is alienation and a growing parallel society? – No, I would agree with that. But the biggest problem is that minority youth feel they are not part of Norwegian society. They experience racism and feel left out, Ahmed answers. – We have a society where there is no room for everyone. We have to deal with this, adds the youth politician. On collision course Abid Raja believes fellow students have now taken over the social control previously exercised by “parents, aunts and uncles”. He points out that certain schools in Oslo have a high proportion of pupils with minority backgrounds. – Then you won’t get to know Norwegian either. That is the recipe for a society where we don’t know each other. Ahmed believes that the way Raja refers to Muslim youth contributes to worsening an already polarized debate. – Solutions can be social housing policy and leisure facilities for all. I don’t think the solution is to talk about Muslim youth in such a black-and-white way, she says. – I agree with what is said here, but the Islamic set of values, for example around women, are on a collision course with Western values, answers Raja. Raja believes that the Islamic value set is on a collision course with Western values. – What we must succeed in is getting the youth generation to understand that Western values are something they want to adopt, he says. When asked if she feels that Muslim youth have a different set of values, Ahmed replies no. – And it’s not because I have a problem with talking about it or dealing with it. The problem is how unnuanced it is portrayed, she says, and points to Raja’s chronicle. She believes it contributes to creating more xenophobia. – Little constructive Linda Noor, manager at Minotenk, also believes Raja’s chronicle is problematic. – I almost have a little trouble believing that he means this. I feel it almost turns into demagoguery, says Noor. – This is a type of rhetoric that is difficult to get anything constructive out of, she adds, and points to research showing that Muslim youth are moving closer to the majority. Leader of Minotenk, Minority policy think tank, Linda Noor. Photo: Christian Breidlid / news Noor thinks the chronicle is oversimplified. – It plays against far-right ideas about the danger of Muslims in Europe, for example. In the chronicle in Aftenposten, Raja writes that in 25 years there could be 100 million Muslims living in Europe. Even if that were to happen, they are a minority on the continent, emphasizes Noor. Raja is adamant that he is still concerned about developments at home in Norway. – I have not seen the sum of all this before. My alarm bells are going off now. It is going in the wrong direction, says Raja. Published 27.08.2024, at 21.34
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Abid Raja with a critical chronicle about Islam – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
