ABSTRACT

In 2005 the Muslim population in Norway was estimated at approximately 120,000 out of a total population of 4.5 million.1 Most Muslims in Norway are migrants, asylum seekers, refugees or descendants of migrants. Migration to Norway from Muslim countries started comparatively late, but it followed a pattern similar to the “Muslim migration cycle” as described in other WestEuropean countries.2 From the late 1960s, mainly male migrant workers started to arrive from Pakistan, Morocco and Turkey. A majority of the largest Muslim group, the Pakistanis, came from the rural Punjab area, but also from urban areas in Punjab and elsewhere. As for the Moroccans, a majority were Berbers from the rural areas of the North in the vicinities of Al-Hoceima and Nador. Migrants from Turkey came mainly from the Konya area, and also included a quite large group of Kurds. The labour migration to Norway from these countries largely took the form of a “chain migration” that is currently sustained through transnational marriage practices. After the ban on labour migration in 1975, the Muslim population was added to via family reunification and refugee movements notably from Bosnia, Kosovo, Iran, Iraq and Somalia. Some 15,000 to 20,000 Muslims from other countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Africa add to the Muslim population (Leirvik 2006a; Opsal 2005). Moreover, in 2007 there are approximately 900 to 1,000 converts,3 a majority of whom are women. The capital has attracted a larger number of Muslim immigrants than other parts of the country.4 The spatial distribution of immigrants in Oslo is closely related to existing socioeconomic structuring, and the bulk of Muslim immigrants and non-Western immigrants in general live in Oslo Centre East and the eastern suburbs (Blom 2002).5 Muslims are a visible part of the Eastern city centre, with some 30 mosques and organizations concentrated here. The first mosque specifically built for this purpose was finished in 1995, and in 2007 a grand multifunction mosque that accommodates various religious, cultural, social and financial activities was inaugurated. Otherwise, most mosques in Norway are flats, lofts and basements, warehouses and old factories, converted schools and houses with gardens (cf. Naguib 2001). In contrast to Oslo, Muslims in Bergen, the second-largest town in Norway, have remained largely invisible in the townscape until recently, when a conflict over prayer facilities and the construction of a new mosque attracted considera-

ble media attention. Many smaller Norwegian towns and townships also have a Muslim population with their own mosques and organizations.