|
Muslim School to Open in Norway Next Month
OSLO, July 26 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - In another significant achievement for Norway's Muslim community, they will have their first elementary school next month. The establishment of the Urtehagen (Herb Garden) Elementary school in downtown Oslo comes after ten years of intensive struggle on the part of acting principal Trond Ali.
The success of the school, due to open on August 15th, can be gauged from the fact that all available seats were filled up just two weeks after student registration opened, and more than 100 students are already on the waiting list.
Urtehagen Elementary will follow the same educational curriculum as other Norwegian schools with minor changes. Norway's mandatory religious classes for example will be replaced with a course on Islamic religion and lifestyle. Qur'anic classes will be offered in an after school program.
Norway's state religion is Evangelical Lutheran, whose adherents comprise 87% of the population.
Urtehagen's students, most of whom are from immigrant families, will be schooled in the Norwegian language by enrolling them in additional courses. A room in the school will be designated especially for prayers and gym classes will be conducted separately for boys and girls.
The new school is private, but 85% of its funding comes from the state. The remainder of expenses will be covered by student tuition, and foreign and private donations, according to the Aftenposten daily newspaper.
According to latest estimates, there are approximately 75,000 Muslims who legally reside in Norway, and Islam is considered the second largest religious denomination after the Norwegian Lutheran State Church. The number of Muslims in Norway has increased seven times in the past seven years. In addition, there are 24 active mosques and 40 Islamic organizations in Norway.
In 2000, Muslims were granted permission by the local council of Old Town in Oslo to give azaan (the prayer call) for Friday prayers on the public address system. The permission is restricted only for Friday prayers and requires the azaan to be finished in three minutes.
Some 150 people demonstrated at that time in downtown Oslo against allowing permission for the prayer call. A proposal by the Progress Party to ban the azaan on loudspeakers was rejected by parliament on the grounds that it would violate human rights in the country.
|
