Norwegian mosques are changing. Qamar Muneer is one of more and more imams who speak Norwegian to the congregation.
They put off their shoes before going in and sit on soft blankets. The prayer room is gradually filled while Imam Qamar Muneer performs a prayer, in Arabic, as usual. But then he switches to Norwegian when he gives the speech before the Friday prayer.
In front of him sit men of different ages. Some wearing a robe and beanie, others with caps and jeans. A girl in pink pants is sitting with her father.
The Imam talks a little about doomsday. As more people flock to the stocking, he says that “all our needs will be fulfilled through Allah subhanahu wa ta-ala” (Praise be to Him, editor’s note) He reminds the congregation of Allah’s eternity, greatness, mercy, forgiveness – how great power and control he has.
In the Friday speeches, imams can talk about godliness, but also about current conditions in society, such as the coronary pandemic.
Many understand everything the Imam says. But not everyone, we hear afterwards.
Norway got its first mosques several decades ago. Then it went into Arabic, Urdu and Somali – the immigrants’ mother tongues. Many did not master Norwegian and not at all the Imams. They were hired from abroad, led the prayer, but had little knowledge of the Norwegian language and society.
