Ahmadiyya in Norway
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Ahmadiyya is an Islamic community in Norway, under the spiritual leadership of the caliph in London. In the history of the Community it is stated that two Norwegian women converted in the 1920s. However, it was not until 1958, during the era of the Second Caliphate, when Kamal Yousuf, then a missionary in Sweden, moved to Oslo to establish the first Ahmadiyya mission in the country. Today, there are a number of mosques, including the largest mosque in Scandinavia, the Baitul Nasr Mosque, representing an estimated 1,500 Ahmadi Muslims in the country.
History
Establishment
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community records that two Norwegian women converted in the 1920s.[1][2] However, it was not until almost 50 years later, in 1958, during the era of the Second Caliphate, when Kamal Yousuf, then a missionary in Sweden, moved to Oslo to establish the first Ahmadiyya mission in the country.[3] The move came as a consequence of three individuals who contacted Yousuf themselves, when they became interested in Islam. Following their conversion, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Norway was founded.[1][2] However, the Community was first officially registered in the country in 1974, following larger immigration of Pakistani Ahmadis into Norway.[1][2]
Events
Among the early converts was Truls Bølstad, who later became the national head of the Ahmadiyya movement in Norway for a number of years.[4]
In the year 1980, the Community bought a villa in Frogner, a residential borough in Oslo, which became the Community's first mosque. Five years later, in 1985 a bomb was planted inside the mosque by a 19-year old neo-nazi member of the National Democratic Party, injuring at least one Ahmadi Muslim woman. The attack took place during the month of Ramadhan.[4]
In 2011 the Ahmadiyya caliph Mirza Masroor Ahmad inaugurated the first purpose-built Ahmadi mosque in Norway. The inauguration ceremony was attended by over 120 non-Ahmadi guests including the Minister for Defence Grete Faremo and a two-time former Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik.[5][6]
Demographics
Today there are about 1,500 Ahmadi Muslims in Norway, the majority of which consist of immigrant populations from Pakistan. Ahmadis primarily reside in Eastern Norway.[2]
There are at least two Ahmadi Muslim mosques in Norway. The Nor Mosque, located in Frogner, a residential borough in western Oslo, served as the national headquarters of the Community, until the 2011 construction of the Baitul Nasr Mosque in Furuset, a borough in eastern Oslo. This mosque is the largest in all of Scandinavia and can accommodate over 4,500 people.[6]
There are plans to construct mosques in several cities and towns in Norway, including Kristiansand,[7] the southernmost Norwegian city and Honningsvåg, the northernmost city in the country. If constructed, this would make the Ahmadiyya mosque the northernmost mosque in the world.[8]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Vogt, Kari (2008). Islam på norsk : Moskeer og islamske organisasjoner i Norge (in Norwegian). Cappelen Damm. p. 30.
- 1 2 3 4 "Moskédrøm og mareritt" (in Norwegian). October 1, 2010. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ↑ Lewis, James R. (2015). Handbook of Nordic New Religions. Brill.
- 1 2 "Han er Norges første muslim" (in Norwegian). December 25, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ↑ "Norwegian leaders call on Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad in Oslo". Press Ahmadiyya. October 6, 2011. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- 1 2 "4,500 capacity mosque opens in Oslo". World Architectural News. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ↑ "Frp-topp godtar moské i Kristiansand" (in Norwegian). March 6, 2007. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ↑ "Verdens nordligste moské" (in Norwegian). August 15, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2015.