Mr. Njie,

Thanks for your comments. I would however back up assertion by pointing out one or two facts witnessed by me in Norway from several years ago to recently.

I used to be one of the founders of the Gambian mosque in Oslo way back in the 80's. Even then the state contributed to the maintenance of the mosque. But this was official government policy. Virtually all religious denominations received some form of assistance from the state in order that they may practise their religion. This, however, has nothing to do with the way Islam is being opposed in Norway. The debate around the granting of the Mosque in Oslo the previledge to make FRIDAY calls for prayers is still fresh in my mind. The issue of whether the moslems
should be allowed to call for prayers or not was hotly debated in the national media and very much opposed to by a large cross section of the Norwegian population. In England prayers are called during all the five prayer times of the day. In Norway, the concession was limited only to Fridays, and despite the existence of several mosques in the country, the Groenland Mosque is the only mosque given this concession.

Now coming to the separation of church and state, I would want to remind Mr. Njie, that even though the church is a state institution, the majority of Norwegians are not church goers. In fact a large number of them do not belong to any orthodox (Islam, Christianity, Judaism etc) religion. They belong to the "Humanetisk forbund", whose main focus is the relationship between man and his fellow man, rather than between man and God. Even before I left Norway in 1994, the debate on the separation of church and state was on, triggered off by the "Humanetisk forbund"
So this is not new.

Finally, that the state subsidises other religions than Christianity, is government policy.

I hope we have seen eye to eye now. I am not in any way asserting that all Norwegians are anti-Islam. My point is for a large cross section of the Norwegian people, Islam is a threat, being associated with terrorism, gender inequality etc. etc. Therefore, the opposition.

Amadu Kabir Njie wrote:

> Dr: Jeng,
>
> Allow me to disagree with your assertion below. A recent poll (few days ago) shows clearly that a majority of Norwegians support the separation of church and state. All religious houses here, including all mosques, receive state sponsorship. The biggest mosque in Oslo, completed recently, has been making Friday calls for prayers with loud speakers in down town Oslo! Which Islamic country would allow Christians the same level of tolerance? It has also been consistently, throughout the debate here, made clear that FGM has no religious basis or justification.
>
> Regards,
>
> Kabir.
>
> "Dr Alhaji S. Jeng" <[log in to unmask]>
>
> > Hablie,
> >
> > Your discourse on the issue of FGM given at Munnesota 3 days ago was most impressive. I
> > must admit that the psycho-physico effects of the practice were always my main concern.
> > And I am sure it's the same for a great number of people. To treat the subject from a
> > human rights point of view is indeed extremely important in the fight towards abolishing
> > this degrading practice.
> >
> > I was happy that you pointed out that the issue is not a religious issue, as it seems to
> > be seen as by the Norwegians. You see, Noway is a christian country. Christianity is the
> > official religion, and the Ministry of Church and Education  is a ministry that has a
> > central position in the Norwegian government. Discrimination based on religion is
> > therefore not uncommon.The potent presence of Islam in their midst has always been seen
> > as a threat to them They , therefore, would go to any lengths to discredit Islam. Making
> > FGM a religious issue is one way of showing their anti-Islamic values.
> >
> > Thanks again for the well-focussed angle in which the issue has been treated by you. We
> > have learnt a lot from it.
> >
> > Alhaji
> >
>
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